I'm really exited about this project and wanted to get into the community. I never got involved with RitD because I hadn't, and still haven't, watched the films ... which raises questions about why I listened to RitD. But anyway, I'm totally qualified to imagine and have read the Silmarillion, so here is where I think I can dive in.
I think the discussion of music should start at a high level, focusing on the texture of the music, genre influences, and most importantly, building a list of musicians and works to reference (I'm going to be taking an orchestral score as granted, but it'd be cool to think of alternatives ... but I can't think of any so I won't mention it again)
I'll start of with a few thoughts on the most obvious source to work with: Howard Shore's works on the PJ films.
I think the most successful aspect to Shore's work is how he portrayed Hobbits and the Shire: the simple melodious songs arranged chiefly for strings with some woodwind felt honest, friendly, and innocent.
Concerning Hobbits is of course, one of the most recognisable pieces.
In general, Shore did an amazing job characterising cultures, King of the Golden Hall did a similarly good job capturing the men of Rohan. Shore also wrote great music for all the helicopter shots of New Zealand.
What I think is less successful in Shore's work is that the mythic feeling is a bit lost; it is surely epic but the sense of age and mystery that comes with myth is not as present (I'll propose an alternate source of inspiration for that in a moment). And though it's not a failure, the way Shore depicts evil is not appropriate for the Silmarillion. Evil in LotR is extremely industrial (which Shore does a great job with), but it is less so in the Silmarillion.
I think Shore's work could be the basis of the music for the frame narrative(s). It has less of a mythic feeling, making it more familiar to the viewers, and it is already associated with the third age from the movies. Drawing from Shore for scenes in the frame could be a good way of differentiating myth from frame.
To get a feeling for the mythic, I think Ralph Vaughan Williams is the person to look to.
Vaughn Williams is characteristically British (Tolkien would appreciate that), and his work is inspired by old English folk music. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is a great place to start. Vaughan Williams has a very rich texture and a slight touch of mystery and sadness that I think fits the diminishing of the elves and the splendour of the Valar.
There are many pieces by Vaughan Williams that, to me, feel like the perfect fit for many scenes:
Sinfonia Antartica is clearly the music of the Helcaraxë.
Serenade to Music seems like the kind of thing the Valar would sing on a lazy afternoon.
A Sea Symphony feels kind of 'burning of the boats' in the second movement.
Dona Nobis Pacem is very 'war of wrath' once the brass really kicks in, especially about the 4:00 mark.
Then there's Benjamin Britten. I think he has some great stuff for the darker and more dramatic stuff.
War Requiem I think could be a good starting point for Melkor/Morgoth; you'd need to rough it up a bit, but the atmosphere is there.
String Quartet no.1 is a bit Turin Turambar.
(Though in general, Britten's music is a bit to avaunt-guard to be appreciated by most; especially your average T.V. viewer.)
That's as far as I've gotten in thinking about it. What does everybody think?
I think the discussion of music should start at a high level, focusing on the texture of the music, genre influences, and most importantly, building a list of musicians and works to reference (I'm going to be taking an orchestral score as granted, but it'd be cool to think of alternatives ... but I can't think of any so I won't mention it again)
I'll start of with a few thoughts on the most obvious source to work with: Howard Shore's works on the PJ films.
I think the most successful aspect to Shore's work is how he portrayed Hobbits and the Shire: the simple melodious songs arranged chiefly for strings with some woodwind felt honest, friendly, and innocent.
Concerning Hobbits is of course, one of the most recognisable pieces.
In general, Shore did an amazing job characterising cultures, King of the Golden Hall did a similarly good job capturing the men of Rohan. Shore also wrote great music for all the helicopter shots of New Zealand.
What I think is less successful in Shore's work is that the mythic feeling is a bit lost; it is surely epic but the sense of age and mystery that comes with myth is not as present (I'll propose an alternate source of inspiration for that in a moment). And though it's not a failure, the way Shore depicts evil is not appropriate for the Silmarillion. Evil in LotR is extremely industrial (which Shore does a great job with), but it is less so in the Silmarillion.
I think Shore's work could be the basis of the music for the frame narrative(s). It has less of a mythic feeling, making it more familiar to the viewers, and it is already associated with the third age from the movies. Drawing from Shore for scenes in the frame could be a good way of differentiating myth from frame.
To get a feeling for the mythic, I think Ralph Vaughan Williams is the person to look to.
Vaughn Williams is characteristically British (Tolkien would appreciate that), and his work is inspired by old English folk music. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is a great place to start. Vaughan Williams has a very rich texture and a slight touch of mystery and sadness that I think fits the diminishing of the elves and the splendour of the Valar.
There are many pieces by Vaughan Williams that, to me, feel like the perfect fit for many scenes:
Sinfonia Antartica is clearly the music of the Helcaraxë.
Serenade to Music seems like the kind of thing the Valar would sing on a lazy afternoon.
A Sea Symphony feels kind of 'burning of the boats' in the second movement.
Dona Nobis Pacem is very 'war of wrath' once the brass really kicks in, especially about the 4:00 mark.
Then there's Benjamin Britten. I think he has some great stuff for the darker and more dramatic stuff.
War Requiem I think could be a good starting point for Melkor/Morgoth; you'd need to rough it up a bit, but the atmosphere is there.
String Quartet no.1 is a bit Turin Turambar.
(Though in general, Britten's music is a bit to avaunt-guard to be appreciated by most; especially your average T.V. viewer.)
That's as far as I've gotten in thinking about it. What does everybody think?