THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

DISC 2

The Wraiths attack the hobbits on Weathertop while Shore develops his Mordor themes in D-minor, slowly building a crescendo as the hooded villains move in for the kill. Even timpani get in on the action, presenting heavy melodic phrases from the Threat of Mordor.    

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With an electrifying burst of Fellowship fragments, Strider intercepts the Wraiths, and Shore introduces the Heroics of Aragorn's next stage of development. Rising shapes in French horns recall the shady cello phrase that accompanies Aragorn in Bree, now emphasizing a bolder heroism. "He saves Frodo," says Shore. "He's Aragorn the hero - Aragorn the savior of Frodo. He's so essential to the Fellowship."

The defeated Wraiths skulk back into the night while the Threat of Mordor hisses curses at their vanquishers. The collective dangers of Middle-earth, however, are far from conquered. Isengard has been ripped to shreds, converted into a deadly collection of machines and malice. The score introduces the Five Beat Pattern as the soulless drive of the once beautiful land, and the Isengard/Orc theme as its call to arms. "Here’s all that metal percussion," Shore says, ominously. "It's the industrial might of Middle-earth."

Also debuting here is material from the opposite end of the spectrum: Nature's Reclamation, sung by boy soprano Edward Ross. This theme's first appearance is flanked on either side by the Orcs' bellicose Five Beat Pattern. Although the pattern fades when the Nature theme enters, the score actually calls for the London Philharmonic percussion section to continue playing the entire time. Shore wrote this way, fully intending to dissolve a section of the Five Beat Pattern so that this rhythm would never lose its energy. In the film, the Pattern reenters after the vocals with a ruthless sense of continued drive.

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Arwen encounters Aragorn and the hobbits in the forest. In introducing Arwen's Theme, Shore stresses the dulcet tones of female voices - the characteristic choral sound of the elves. Arwen picks up Frodo and, with Ringwraiths in pursuit, makes for Rivendell with all her might. She defeats the Black Riders at the Ford of Bruinen, but the ride has taken its toll on Frodo. Arwen offers him a blessing and the score returns to its Elvish vein, repeating Arwen's Theme then echoing her words in female chorus.    

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Gandalf recounts his escape from Isengard over a hostile brass line that lightens momentarily to hint at Nature's Reclamation before the chorus' entrance. Gandalf leaps from the tower, landing on Gwaihir, the Windlord, ushering a rousing fanfare style of writing that won't be heard again until Rings' second and third films.

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Safely deposited in Rivendell, the score relaxes a moment to commingle music from the hobbit and Elf societies. The iridescent Rivendell theme enters, with all the beauty and finality that it imparts. "It's music for the end of a civilization," Shore reminds us. The female choir now sings "Hymn to Elbereth" in reference to the Elves' Queen of the Stars.

The Hymn Setting of the Shire theme returns, reuniting Frodo and Bilbo. "You haven't heard that since you saw Sam talking to Frodo in the cornfield," says Shore. As Bilbo shows Frodo his book's progress, the theme's Pensive Setting returns as well, now scored for clarinet, then flute. "It seems a little more elegant with Bilbo. Again I couldn't use the whistle here, it's too tender a scene. There are none of the hobbit folk sounds in Rivendell," the composer explains. "It's more classical."

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The Rivendell arpeggios cloud over as more visitors arrive. "It's a darker version of that opening," notes the composer. Soon the score dabbles in significantly grimmer tones, previewing the musical palette of Mount Doom. Elrond details Isildur's long-ago refusal to destroy the One Ring and the music bursts into a passionate rumbling of brass chords and rolled timpani before the arpeggios return again, gloomier yet dulled by disappointment.

Later, the second appearance of the Evil Times motif in the cor anglais greets Aragorn and Boromir as they meet over the shards of Narsil. The wilting phrase foreshadows the suffering the Ring will soon bring, as Boromir suspiciously examines the shattered blade.

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The Aníron theme marks a rare inclusion of a non-Shore melody in The Lord of the Rings score, although it was he who championed Enya's inclusion. "I imagined her voice for this scene," he recalls. "She wrote the music and I orchestrated. Somehow, it all felt natural. She sounds beautiful."

After this moment between Aragorn and Arwen, the challenging Council of Elrond sequence begins. This scene, a mixture of tense moods and solemn resolve, is central to the plot of The Lord of the Rings.

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The Realm of Gondor (in Decline) theme begins this composition with its only appearance in The Fellowship of the Ring. "I wanted to begin that theme right at that moment when Boromir talks about his father, Denethor Steward of Gondor."

"It took so long just to get all these gestures just perfect. Gandalf closes his eyes. It's such a great moment, it had to be just right. It's all gestures and eyes - so much of the movie is that. It's big and epic, but so much of it is just eye movement and looks and turns. It's very opera-like in the gestures. There's beautiful detail in the story. It's great storytelling - and it's all on small levels and relationships."

Concluding this piece, the Fellowship theme appears in its first fully formed statement. In a crescendo of brass and cymbals, Elrond officially pronounces the nine members the Fellowship of the Ring. "That's the first time you hear it in its full orchestration," smiles the composer.

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Sung by alto Hilary Summers, Gilraen's Song marks the first use of the Diminishment of the Elves, the melody that represents the Elvish concept of death and finality, but which will be more thoroughly explored in The Two Towers. Aragorn's visit to his mother's grave offers a literary finality, but also calls Aragorn's future into question. Will he face the weight his heritage carries? If so, what will be the cost?

Back indoors, Shore introduces a bright oboe line orchestral voice matched to the mithril vest Bilbo has just bestowed upon Frodo. But the elder hobbit spies a former possession chained around Frodo's neck, and a jolting high string chord reminds us of the Ring's lurid power. "Again, it's all the gestures," the composer remarks. "These little pauses, they're operatic, as if the score were sung first and the gestures were being created by the director afterwards."

Bilbo expresses his remorse, both for his outburst and for the dire task he has foisted upon Frodo. But Frodo accepts his responsibility and the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring assemble, ready to embark upon their mission. The Fellowship theme begins to swell within the orchestra, the down-and-back-up shape passing emotionally until, with a trill of strings and a striking French horn statement of the Shire, Shore sets the Fellowship theme alight: "It's all Fellowship in a slow setting, now a very heroic version!" The thematic progression illustrates that the hobbit are now members of the Fellowship first and citizens of the Shire second - a new set of priorities that will not be without its sacrifices.

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The Fellowship's quest starts out playfully and carefree with clips of hobbit music encouraging Merry and Pippin's wrestling match with Boromir and Aragorn. Soon the group learns that their progress does not go unwatched and decides to take the path through Caradhras. Another of Shore's Ring Quest themes debuts with their decision: the attenuated stretch of Dangerous Passes.

On the path, Boromir momentarily comes into possession of the Ring when it falls off Frodo's neck. Again, Shore uses the Seduction of the Ring theme, but now for the first time the boys chorus is able to articulate the text. The Ring's seductive message is not lost on Boromir.

Saruman's powers block the Fellowship's progress by way of an avalanche, and so Frodo the Ringbearer decides that the troupe shall pass through Moria. The corrupted White Wizard is pleased, both he and Gandalf know what dangers lay in the Dwarves' lair. Distant bass and taiko drums presage the harsh Dwarf music that will soon meet the band.

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Dangerous Passes sets the Fellowship back on the road, depositing them this time at the hidden entrance to Moria. The moonlit doors are eventually revealed with a rising series of major triads and the choral text "Gandalf at the Door to Moria." Once the doors creak open a brief overlapping statement of the Moria theme manifests, but soon dissipates as the Fellowship sees the carnage that awaits their arrival. Retreat, however, places them in even graver danger.

This composition marks the first of three sequential Monster moments in the score, each of which is approached differently. The music for the Watcher in the Water's attack is almost entirely aleatoric - built primarily of controlled streams of orchestral wriggles, for which Shore strictly dictated pitch, entrances, material, and performance style. The composer grins, "This is science fiction."

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This section of the film, charting the Fellowship's experiences in Moria, was the first Shore scored for The Lord of the Rings. These scenes made up a preview presentation for the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and were all performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. "This is where I started. I had written Dwarrowdelf, and I had the Shire and Fellowship themes, but these were the very first scenes I wrote," Shore remembers. "It was good to write Moria first because it was a set-piece in the middle of the film. Once I did that I worked my way out of it back to Hobbiton and to Lothlórien. I had the middle of the score done, and that approach seemed to work well."

The Moria pieces are among the most cheerless in the score. Shore's music creates an oppressively sinister path for the Fellowship to journey. The Moria music utilizes the deepest, most ghostly sounds in the orchestral array, including a bass drum struck with a large rattle. The male voices sing Durin's Song in the harsh, guttural sounds of the Dwarvish language.

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It is in this sequence that Gollum's Pity theme gains its greatest dramatic significance. The creature is wretched and vile to be sure, but in the end, he's a victim of the Ring. Here, as Gollum's crooked tune sings in the cor anglais, the music articulates a sense of sadness and regret - the same pity that stayed Bilbo's hand years ago.

As Frodo and Gandalf continue discussing the peril of their journey, an alto flute softly intones bits of the Hobbit's Understanding variation on the Shire theme. This sequence, also part of the Cannes preview, marks the first time Shore wove the Shire theme into his score. A nearly identical figure will return near the end of the first film when Frodo remembers Gandalf's words.

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Gandalf leads the Fellowship into Dwarrowdelf, and Shore's music expresses the sad beauty of the fallen city. "We called it faded glory, or ruined grandeur. I wrote it based on the Alan Lee drawings. Later, when Gimli is in front of the crypt you hear a bit of the Dwarrowdelf theme again, because he's mourning the loss of Balin. And you'll hear it once more in Moria."

In Balin's tomb, the Fellowship is attacked by a legion of Orcs. However, instead of hammering the action home, Shore's score suddenly drops out after a preparatory build-up. "It was Peter's idea," the composer recalls. "He thought it would be more brutal and realistic to end the score when the fighting began. It seemed more life-threatening."

In the midst of the fracas the Cave Troll enters the tomb; as it hunts Frodo, so does Shore's score. This, the second of Shore's Monster compositions, is the most emotional of the collection. After the orchestra reels with a series of musical hammer strokes representing the Cave Troll's deliberate tantrum, the score pauses for a heartbreaking moment of introspection. Frodo is presumed dead at the hands of the troll, a pathetic creature who threatened the Fellowship out of fear and confusion. With a sorrowful jolt, the members of the company realize that their quest will not be victimless. "You hear the Dwarrowdelf theme again when the hobbits are on top of the troll trying to bring it down," Shore explains. "It's been chained up by the Orcs and it's angry. It doesn't want to hurt anybody, but they won't feed it unless it does. You feel sorry for the cave troll."

As the next wave of Orcs moves in, the Fellowship flees to Moria's second hall. The Orcs' Five Beat Pattern pounds out a few bars before the Fellowship theme rips through the orchestra in one of the most thrillingly heroic statements in the entire score. Only in Moria is the entire nine-member Fellowship ever called to action. Here the brave theme appears in a fluid 3/4 time, directly opposing the Orcs' rocky 5/4. Eventually the meters battle each other for dominance, overlapping in dense polyrhythmic shapes clamoring through a furious crescendo.