THE MUSIC OF
THE RETURN OF THE KING
ANALYSIS
.1 - GROND - THE HAMMER OF THE UNDERWORLD
(1:32)
Over the Five Beat Pattern brass sounds a theme that combines the Realm of Gondor and the Evil of the Ring into a single corrosive theme. The assault on Minas Tirith has escalated. The lower levels burn while Grond's grimacing snout grows ever nearer to bursting through the main gate. Evil is taking the night, and soon its theme dominates the score; Mordor's rhiata returning to present the line again over the Orc's lopsided Five Beat Pattern.
Grond breaks through and Minas Tirith's entrance is flooded with armored Mountain Trolls and Orcs. A deep brass setting of the Realm of Gondor tries valiantly to rally its remaining courage, but it too is beaten down by the constant assailment and gives way to the Evil of the Ring.
2 - SHELOB THE GREAT
(5:12)
Weary but driven, Frodo pushes on through the edge of Torech Ungol - Shelob's Lair. A faint tremor in the music reveals that the giant spider is once again hunting Frodo, eager to make a meal of his flesh. Frodo senses something is wrong, his eyes combing the darkness for any sign of a pursuer. The score attempts vainly to locate Shelob's eight-note motive, but it refuses to materialize. With a sudden plunge and a convulsion of strings, Frodo is struck. Shelob has hunted him from above. The demonic spirit catches Frodo's paralyzed body and spins him, encasing him in her web. Shore's music rattles with a chattering snare drum, what the composer refers to as a "diabolical sewing machine." Metal chimes clank away, relating Shelob to the industrial militarism of Mordor, her home for centuries.
But a familiar glow catches the spider's eye. Samwise, carrying Galadriel's phial and Frodo's sword, has come back. The Fellowship theme accounces his appearance, brassily proclaiming Sam's heroism. Shelob drops Frodo, launching her massive form at Sam. In the complex knot of Shelob's musical voice the two fight. With a sustained horn line, Sam thrusts Sting into Shelob's gullet, wounding her. She is staggered, her limbs flail in pain, and she is left to do naught but slink back off into the darkness, taking her compositional voice with her.
IN THE MAKING
The first part of this composition, where Shelob hunts and strikes Frodo, was not used at all in the film - silence and sound effects carried the scene.
The first part of Sam's fight with Shelob was not used in the film either; there, music from earlier in the Shelob sequence was reused.
Sam rushes to Frodo and parts the webbing over his face. Frodo, eyes wide and unblinking, lies utterly motionless. Sam weeps while elegaic strings and cor anglais mourn his loss, the Shire theme here stained by the hobbit's tears. But he hasn't long to sorrow, for soon Sting glows blue. Orcs are about! Sam realizes now how near they are to Cirith Ungol, and ducks away just before a troop of monstrously gnarled Orcs arrives. The Descending Third motif follows them, extending, here in Sauron's domain, far past its usual limit.
3 - THE TOMBS OF THE STEWARDS
(3:58)
Sam overhears the Orcs and learns that Frodo is not dead, flutes piquing along with his interest. The Orcs pick Frodo up in order to cart him to Cirith Ungol. At a safe distance, Sam pursues.
But concurrent to Sam's renewed hope is Denethor's total abandonment of the same. The steward prepares a funeral pyre, the flames of which are meant to engulf both him and Faramir. Horns, trombone, and tuba chant bits of the Ring's History/Evil hybrid - Denethor has lost his sense just as his city needs him the most, maddened by his lust for the Ring. Pippin attempts to free Faramir, but Denethor casts him out of the chamber. The hobbit searches through the streets for Gandalf, but the city burns, overrun by a host of Mordor's most horrible warriors. The chorus' sopranos sing Tolkien's text "On the Fields of Pelennor" to the hybrid History/Evil theme.
At daybreak Pippin finds Gandalf and the two rush to Faramir's side, accompanied by Gondor's opening pitches in high, clear trumpet - the instrumental timbre of Mankind. But they are intercepted by the most dangerous of their attackers, the Witch-king of Angmar himself. The increscent orchestra thunders with dissonance as the Rider holds his sword to sky, summons his evil might from a vortex of fiery clouds and shatters Gandalf's staff. Gandalf falls from Shadowfax as contrabassoon grunts the Threat of Mordor, a threat which has not so directly touched Gandalf the White since he was Gandalf the Grey. The Witch-king prepares to strike the wizard, but distant horns on the horizon distract him, staying his hand, drawing him to the fields below.
IN THE MAKING
Shore's music for the beginning Gandalf/Witch-king face-off was not used in the final film. This music picks up once Gandalf is knocked from Shadowfax.
4 - THE BATTLE OF THE PELENNOR FIELDS
(4:10)
The Rohirrim have arrived at Minas Tirith, the line of Riders extending over the width of the horizon. French horns ceremoniously recite the Rohan theme over the perpetual churn of militaristic percussion. Théoden surveys the battle before him, bathed in the milky light of predawn, and turns to the soldiers. Evil Times takes the music, but in such a vein that it holds its head high, the grand harmonies insistent that this suffering, these sacrifices in the War of the Ring, shall not be in vain.
The King calls to the Riders and touches their spears with his sword. "Ride now! Ride for ruin and the world's ending!" Nature's Reclamation begins a slow build through its first melodic phrase. Behind the Riders the sun breaks over the horizon, casting its glow behind the Riders like their last line of offense. The orchestra is invigorated, Nature's melody leaping up into heraldic trumpets and high strings. With the will of Middle-earth at their heels, the Riders launch their attack, the front line charging towards the Orkish legion. The Hardanger steps to the fore to sing a doxology for Rohan over the orchestra's thunder. Trumpets take the theme, embracing the Hardanger's dedication. The Orcs' faces spread in fear - this is no lot of unprepared Men. Brass fanfares in gleaming triplets erupt over the charge. The armies collide, not with a wincing dissonance, but with rich major-moded sonorities. Rohan is a force of Nature.
IN THE MAKING
The percussion writing for the first collision of Men and Orcs was shortened slightly in the film.
5 - THE PYRE OF DENETHOR
(2:59)
Denethor douses himself with thick oil. Percussion continues a steady pulse, indicative of the raging war outside as well as the raging madness inside the steward's mind. Gandalf bursts through the door with a bright burst of an open fifth. But Denethor already holds a torch. The orchestra shivers with an operatic series of inverting A-minor chords. With a scrape of the tam-tam he drops the torch next to Faramir's head, the neighboring area conflagrating.
Swiftly, Gandalf approaches, Pippin close behind. The wizard knocks Denethor to his back while Pippin climbs atop the pyre, dislodging Faramir with a splashing C-major triad. But Denethor is still conscious. He grabs the hobbit, attempting to allow Faramir to burn. But Shadowfax rears back, his hoof knocking Denethor back onto the pyre. Just before the fire envelops him, Denethor sees Faramir's eyes flutter, and knows his son is still alive. Denethor runs to the outmost wall of the top tier of Minas Tirith and throws himself off to a brass statement of Evil Times.
His fiery form can be seen from the field below, where the war still rages. There, despite their lesser numbers, the Rohirrim seem to be turning the Orcs back. The London Voices again sing "On the Fields of Pelennor," but now in a more triumphant setting. Théoden prepares to move into Minas Tirith and secure the city from within, but a terrible sight takes hold of him.
6 - THE MÛMAKIL
(0:57)
The Mordor Outline, the heavy timpani-laden line heard submerged beneath Sauron's most prominent threats, declaims its turbulent presence. From the south come the Haradrim, men of war, allies of Sauron, upon the backs of enormous Mûmakil. Shore introduces a variant of the Mordor Outline that is not unlike that heard in Osgiliath. Here it is heavier, more plodding. However, it promises the same result: slaughter. The Rohirrim reform their line and charge to meet the Haradrim head-on.
Though the Mûmakil wring no specific theme from the score, they are regularly portrayed with specific orchestral structures. The bottom of the ensemble bears the burden of the creatures' mass with hefty melodic limbs while the upper voices spin and sizzle. In battle, their music is no different, though the ensembles upper tessitura would seem to represent Rohan's swift attack as much as the oliphaunts.
7 - DERNHELM IN BATTLE
(2:06)
The Riders of Rohan attack the Mûmakil with all their swift might, but blunt as their attack may be, the Haradrim are expert riders in their own right. Éowyn, in her Dernhelm disguise, comes beneath one Mûmak and slices its legs, toppling it to the ground, but the impact shakes both her and Merry loose from their horse as the Weakness and Redemption triads run through the strings. Now at a better vantage point, she sees Théoden surrounded by Orcs and rushes to his aid. The music both rumbles and twitters with the battle's opposing forces, but an increasing dissonance and reliance on secundal harmonies suggests a more nefarious approach.
Théoden espies Éowyn, recognizing, in a momentary bewilderment, his niece in battle. But war holds no space for family, and so he fights on, slicing through the decreasing crowd of Orcs. Merry soaks his blade in the blood of the Haradrim while Éowyn slices at Gothmog's one good leg.
More close-spaced harmonies sound. A quick-paced reading of the Mordor Outline shudders through the timpani - the Witch-king exits the upper tiers of Minas Tirith and descends upon the Pelennor.
8 - "A FAR GREEN COUNTRY"
(1:27)
The Gondorian soldiers have retreated to the upper level of Minas Tirith, where a Mountail Troll beats its great leaden hammer upon the final door. The men have nowhere left to go. Pippin is fearful of death and tells Gandalf, "I didn't think it would end this way." Gandalf, unwavering in the face of danger, quietly regards him. "End? No, the journey doesn't end here." At this, the apparent hour of Mankind's doom, Shore introduces one of the most important musical themes in The Lord of the Rings, the theme of the Grey Havens.
The cellists of the London Philharmonic embrace this diatonic melody in the most singing ranges of their instruments. Cor anglais and clarinet offer humble counterlines and full strings harmonize with placid, non-vibrato chords. Gandalf tells Pippin of the next world that awaits - the reward for a life lived honorably.
IN THE MAKING
The film uses a different first performace on the Grey Havens theme, which features humming voices. This music was edited in from the music wrote for the film's concluding chapters.
The door shakes again and the Grey Havens theme fades, replaced by a stepwise cluster. Gandalf nods to Pippin. Their time has come.
On the Pelennor, the tide has turned. The Mûmakil toss the Rohirrim about like playthings. And from the sky, Théoden sees a shadow approach. Horns build as the Witch-king's fell beast clutches Théoden and Snowmane, his horse, in its jaws and spits them back to the earth. Théoden gasps for air, pinned beneath Snowmane. The Lord of the Nazgûl approaches.
9 - SHIELDMAIDEN OF ROHAN
(5:07)
Bravely, Éowyn steps into his path, impeding his ingress. The fell beast lunges at her, but she decapitates it with two strokes of her blade. The Witch-king dismounts his dying steed and draws himself up before this foolhardy soldier who dares to come between a Nazgûl and his prey. Mixed chords enter on the secundal harmonies of the Ringwraith theme, now set to "Angmar." He hurls his flail at Éowyn and a new variation of The Threat of Mordor appears below the chorus, now chromatically bent to match the exotic harmonies of Mordor. He strikes Éowyn, crushing her arm, and she falls back on Snowmane.
Elsewhere, upon the outskirts of the city, the Corsairs' black-sailed ships arrive before a crowd of Orcs. But no sailors are visible. A bass drum rolls expectantly. Three figures disembark: Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. A driving trumpet reading of Fellowship greets them, and the trio marches towards the Orcs, wildly outmatched. But as they charge, an eerie spectral mist materializes behind them. Aragorn leads the Army of the Dead! Shore produces a roiling marche macabre comprised of bitonal figures and clusters. The long-dead warriors wash over the Orcs, flooding into Minas Tirith and the Pelennor.
But this band will not meet Éowyn in time. The Descending Third motif at his back, the Witch-king takes Éowyn by the throat, brass chords again swelling with close harmonies. "Fool, no man can kill me." But Merry catches the Witch-king in the back of the leg, sending his small sword through the Nazgûl's leg. The Witch-king falls to his knees, and Merry collapses. Éowyn tears her helmet from her head, seizing her chance. "I am no man!" The French horns proclaim the Éowyn and Théoden theme in a gleaming Lydian mode. She juts her sword into the Witch-king's head and he crumples and dies.
At the head of his ghostly army, Aragorn takes to the Pelennor. A minor reading of the Gondor theme shows the advantage once again rests with Men, but the battle is not yet over. With a peal of string harmonics Gothmog pursues Éowyn, both of them crawling, subjected to their wounds. Aragorn reaches Gothmog just in time and kills him. A snippet of the same fanfare heard when Pippin dislodged Faramir from the pyre sounds - a theme for small victories at Minas Tirith.
IN THE MAKING
The theatrical version of this scene was shorter, but featured a version of Gondor (In Ascension) that was not used in the Extended Edition.
Legolas sees a Mûmak loaded with Haradrim soldiers approaching. He rushes the beast and the dichotomous weighty/spirited, deep/high music of the Mˆmakil returns. But this time the advantage belongs to the Elf. The music dives steeply into crackling fanfares reminiscent of the great tradition of cinematic spectacle. Shore recalls, "If I was ever going to write in a Max Steiner vein, this was it!" With a clip of Fellowship, Legolas slices the howdah's supports, sending the Mûmak's riders crashing to the grassy fields below. The heroes' theme broadens, and Legolas fells the beast with three precisely-placed arrows.
10 - THE PASSING OF THÉODEN
(2:16)
The Army of the Dead pours over the walls of Minas Tirith, overwhelming the simple-minded Orcs with fear and destroying them. But no victorious music emerges. Cor anglais sorrows over minor-moded strings. King Théoden lies dying upon the Pelennor. Éowyn crawls to his side and he looks upon her smile one last time. Chorus somberly intones "Death of a King" in Old English, but this is not the music of Men. This is the music of the next world, tones one step closer to the music of Valinor. The World of Men fades away. With a final remembrance, French horn recites the Rohan Fanfare. King Théoden, son of Thengel, passes.
11 - THE HOUSES OF HEALING
(2:58)
featuring "ARWEN'S SONG" performed by LIV TYLER
Pippin searches through the battle's debris and finds a cloak adorned with an Elvish brooch - Merry's cloak. Éomer discovers Éowyn, badly wounded, collapsed upon the figure of her perished uncle. Aragorn and Gandalf survey the carnage. Now is the time for healing.
Under Aragorn's care, Éowyn recovers in the Houses of Healing. "Arwen's Song" acts here as an Elvish blessing - an ethereal prayer for the suffering. Arwen, too, is somewhere in Middle-earth, just as lovelorn. Liv Tyler sings, "And the trees are now turning from green to gold/And the sun is now fading..." And yet, there is still hope. Faramir has also recovered in the Houses of Healing. He smiles at Éowyn. "Arwen's Song" continues, "I wish I could hold you closer."
The whistle continues in the same tender vein. Late at night, Pippin has found Merry on the quiet battlefield. Stepwise passages recall the Shire theme, but more mature and worldly.
12 - THE TOWER OF CIRITH UNGOL
(4:41)
Brittle non-vibrato strings scrape through thickly clotted harmonies. Upon the top level of Cirith Ungol, Frodo is held captive while two repulsive Orcs, Shagrat and Gorbag, feud over his mithril vest, of which he's been stripped. Gorbag tosses Shagrat from his perch, igniting a furious scuffle among the Orc crowds. At the tower's fron opening Samwise Gamgee begins his surreptitious ascent. Evil Times sounds prominently, for what other than the evilest of times could bring a hobbit to Cirith Ungol? Evil Times is struck into an impellent compound meter and Sam takes to the stairs. Nothing will stop Sam from reaching his friend. He uses Sting to disable a trio of Orcs that blocks his path, and the Shire theme turns down a path it has not before seen. In a heroic dash of brass and strings, the familiar stepwise line is led to unabashed heroism - Samwise the Brave, indeed.
Sam climbs higher, but Shagrat has reached Frodo too soon. The Orc raises his sword, angular patterns in low brass and piano clattering metallically. But trilling strings pierce the texture - Sam has arrived, and has thrust Sting through Shagrat's chest. Frodo and Sam are reunited. But this is no cheery reunion. Dark harmonies moan as Sam loosens Frodo's bonds. They are still on the road to unknown horrors.
Contrabasses drop to the lowest possible pitch. Sam stands and reveals that he now carries the One Ring in his pocket. Frodo looks both fearful and greedily envious. Sam is stunned and stands motionless. But it is Frodo's depraved behaviour that has immobilized him, not a lust for the Ring. He hands it back, the two clothe themselves with Orkish armor and return to the road. Languishing through the strings, The Journey There sounds yet again, arching higher and higher until, with a sallow knock, the orchestra drops to a chromatic cluster. The fires of Mordor are now before the two hobbits, and Sauron's greedy eye hungrily scans the barren landscape for his treasure as disjointed readings of the Journey There continue to sound in the brass.
13 - THE LAST DEBATE
(4:21)
featuring "AEËA ARANION" performed by SISSEL
Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Éomer congregate in Minas Tirith's throne room debating their next move, very much aware of the little time remaining. Aragorn has a plan. If they are to draw Sauron's Orcs out of the Black Gate, Frodo may yet be able to complete his journey to the Crack of Doom. The Fellowship theme builds slowly, cautiously. It is a risky move, one that if poorly times could spell doom for all. But inherent in bravery is risk. The orchestra warms, setting its weight behind Aragorn's decision.
The former Ranger takes Andúril, clutches the sword to his chest, and steps into the gaze of the Palantír. Sauron's eye turns to him, his attention on this man who would claim the throne of Gondor. Aragorn attires himself in Gondorian armor, the White Tree proudly on his chest, and leads the Army of the West towards the Black Gate. The Realm of Gondor sounds determinedly in Mankind's brassy voice. Upon its last pitch it is chased by the Rohan Fanfare, both kingdoms now united.
Éowyn and Faramir watch from a high courtyard. The ancient tones of the wood flute, like the pan flute before it, express the ancient wisdom of Gondor. Gondor knows war as the gateway to peace, sorrows as the stepping-stones on the road to joy. Éowyn and Faramir clasp hands. Norwegian singer Sissel sings "Asëa Aranion," which blossoms, like their love, over poignant strings and female chorus, decorated by cor anglais and French horn.
IN THE MAKING
"Asëa Aranion," which uses text from "The Grace of the Valar," was originally written for the film's Houses of Healing sequence. After "Arwen's Song" was placed there, Shore engaged Sissel to perform "Asëa Aranion" for the film's Fan Scroll suite.
It appears here, in the Complete Recordings, to represent the burgeoning love between Éowyn and Faramir.
14 - THE LAND OF SHADOW
(6:29)
Frodo and Sam encounter a parade of Orcs moving through the Black Land. The music of Mordor cackles all around them, spewing from the orchestra in a leathery gale. Though the Wraiths are not present, brass plays with their murky harmonies nonetheless, as if to expose the roots of the Nazgûl's power. The Orcs come upon the disguised Frodo and Sam, but in their brutish ignorance, only whip them, commanding them to fall back into line. The hobbits join the Orcs' march, rendering a disfigured combination of the Five Beat Pattern and the Threat of Mordor. A melodic line somewhere between Isengard's theme and the Orcs' Fourth Age motto sinuates through the pulsing, the orchestra a ropy net of timpani, bass drum, contrabassoon, low strings, and brass.
From the other side of the Black Gate, Aragorn's army continues its march, mankind's brass striking chords against the growling Five Beat.
The Orcs pause for inspection, their bullish overseer, his face half-rotted away by violence and neglect, combing through their ranks. He detects the hobbits! Aleatoric low brass juts in odd, scattered angles as he approaches. Sam saves Frodo in the only way he can - he hits him. Energized by the violence, the surrounding Orcs spread a riot, and again the Five Beat/Threat rants in the orchestra, the near-Isengard theme bellowing its war cry over it. In the midst of the violence, the hobbits steal away, climbing the final ridge before Gorgoroth. The orchestra coughs long, parched phrases, seeking the Journey There, but too weary, too light-headed, to find it.
While Frodo rests, Sam stares up at Mordor's starless sky. Evil Times situates itself in the score's foreground, again unmoving, unflinching, unfeeling. But the clouds part slightly, and a sole star peeks through. Violins gather a collection of major harmonies into a swath of hope on the plateau.
Over a hushed march the first three pitches of Gondor sound. In the valley, the men can now see the outer border of Sauron's lair.
Sam offers Frodo his water, but Frodo finishes his reserve and worries there won't be enough for the return trip. Sam shakes his head, "I don't think there will be a return journey, Mr. Frodo." Shore passes the opening pitches of the Shire up and down, reading the line forwards and backwards, sorrowfully echoing the discussion of a round trip. But with a swell, Sam helps his friend to his feet.
The subtle trod of military drums returns and the Army of the West organizes itself before Morannon, the Black Gate.
Frodo swats at the air before him, hallucinating. Harrowed violin seem to suggest Ring themes, yet keeps them hidden from sight. But Sauron's eye falls upon Frodo, the ensemble recoiling in a sudden sting of thick dissonance. Frodo drops; the great eye sees nothing.
IN THE MAKING
The music just before the eye comes to rest on Frodo was dissolved out of the final mix.
With the snap of a snare drum, Aragorn leads the Fellowship to the Gate's seam.
15 - THE MOUTH OF SAURON
(8:15)
featuring SIR JAMES GALWAY
IN THE MAKING
"The Mouth of Sauron" was composed to an early cut of the scene that was tightened when edited into the film, so some musical passages were truncated.
Shore's composition is heard here in its entirety.
Aragorn calls out to the Black Gate. With a throaty gasp of the six-note Evil theme, the gargantuan doors part. Out proceeds a rider, draped all in black, his eyes buried behind his helmet, his mouth a twisted, poisonous wound. It is the Mouth of Sauron, the Black Lord's repugnant emissary. The Lieutenant of Barad-dûr regards Aragorn's force mockingly. Gandalf commands him to relay a message to Sauron, "The armies of Mordor must disband. He is to depart these lands, never to return." Violins strike a familiarly pleading line... but it is not derived from Gandalf's request. it is the same line heard when Frodo came nearest the Black Gate in The Two Towers, the melodic entreaty that underscored Gollum's manic begging.
Once again Frodo's name meets the Gate. The Mouth of Sauron produces Frodo's mithril vest, assuring his friends that the hobbit is dead, his mission failed. Pippin gasps, "Frodo!" The figure repeats, descending into the sorrowful B phrase of Gondor (In Decline). Frodo was their last hope.
Aragorn rides to the front of the pack. French horn and strings shake with a telling phrase. The orchestra twitters with passing three-note figures, fragments of the Heroics of Aragorn. It is not yet the down-and-back-up figure that can change Gondor in Decline to Gondor in Ascension, but it marks an important turn. "It takes more to make a king than a broken Elvish blade," the Mouth of Sauron's final words ring true. Aragorn beheads Sauron's lieutenant with a shock of a varied Decline figure. A king must take action.
The orchestra stirs, striking up an unrelenting pulsation of low strings and woodwinds over a galloping percussion cadence. Aragorn will not believe that Frodo has failed. He will not give in to despair and hopelessness. He will not betray the trust of his people.
The Gates part wide, disgorging the Orkish host which has for so long lain in wait, ready to end mankind. Evil Times is tautened into an oscillating surge. Brass swells momentarily, singeing the texture as the red glow of Barad-dûr becomes visible, towering behind the Orcs. The Mordor Outline thumps in an eager, bloodthirsty retrograde.
Sauron's eye spins northerly towards the gate. Frodo and Sam are free to continue on, unwatched.
Gondor's ringing trumpet sounds. Aragorn comes before his men. "Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers!" Fellowship dilates the brass writing. "A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day." Strings join the Fellowship theme, now singing its full phrase. "This day we fight!" Swords part scabbards; the Men of the West await the Orcs.
The pulsating ceases, all musical warmth dissipating. In the dust, Frodo and Sam climb the final embankment to the Cracks of Doom. Frodo has barely strength enough to stand, let alone climb the mountainside. Sir James Galway's whistle emits a singular, pure tone above the encroaching rumble of percussion. The stepwise motion of the Shire has come so far, but the journey's final steps may be its most perilous. Frodo lies motionless upon the soot. Chorus begins Philippa Boyens' "The Argument," the articulation of Sam's inner dialogue of doubt and determination. The whistle again tries to remember the Shire theme, locating its details, but forgetting its tranquil peace.
Sam knows he cannot carry the Ring... but he can carry Frodo. Orchestra and chorus surge, emerging in a profound, enveloping statement of the Grey Havens. Sam's gift to Frodo, his strength, determination, and resolve, will alone allow Frodo to be free of the Ring. But it is an act of self-sacrifice at least equal to Frodo's - Sam knows that, one way or the other, he will lose Frodo.
IN THE MAKING
The Original Soundtrack CD featured different, more hopeful music for Sam and Frodo's memories of the Shire, where the whistle line led directly into the Grey Havens theme.
Here, as in the finished film, those memories are bitterer, and minor-moded string lines lead to the Grey Havens theme.
16 - FOR FRODO
(3:16)
featuring "THE EAGLES" performed by BEN DEL MAESTRO
Sauron calls to Aragorn, tempting him just as he's tempted his kin. Aragorn turns back to the Army of Men, motionless... and smiles. "For Frodo." Whether to aid a fallen friend, or honor his memory, Aragorn will lead his men into battle. He will shut out the voices of temptation, the personal weaknesses and fears. He will become the king that mankind needs.
As it never has before, and never will again, the Fellowship theme sounds in religioso full chorus and orchestra. It is the ultimate act of the Fellowship, an act that embodies both the Company's mandate to destroy the Ring and the ideals the Ring threatens. The Army of the West charges, rushing towards the Orcs with unchecked abandon. The chorus continues as Sam carries his fallen friend towards the inferno's doorway a little further ahead.
But suddenly the voices lose the line, spinning into epic minor chords. Gollum emerges, leaping onto Sam's back, dislodging Frodo. The voices pick up the Mount Doom theme, two billowing minor chords a minor sixth apart. But these are also the opening harmonies of Gollum's Pity theme, a theme that has, all along, been hinting at Mordor's reserve of power without revealing its source. Gollum screams, maddened beyond retrieval. He claws at Frodo's throat, desperate to reclaim his Ring before it can reach the fires of Mount Doom. Hurling a heavy volcanic rock, Sam knocks Gollum aside, and the two roll downhill in a violent heap.
At the Black Gate, the Nazgûl have arrived, the fell beasts soaring down in wicked sorties. A block of the Threat of Mordor is dislodged in the brass. The beasts force their awful screams through their throats, but it is another winged creature that takes hold of the score. Gandalf pauses in the midst of battle as a tiny moth flutters before him. Boy soprano Ben Del Maestro begins Nature's Reclamation. This is no brassy setting dedicated to Man's natural alliance, this is the music of... the Eagles! Swooping in, undetected, Gwaihir the Windlord leads five Eagles against the Nazgûl.
Sam has broken free of Gollum, and continues his way up the mountain. But, newly determined, Frodo has gotten ahead of him. Sam settles his eyes on Frodo just in time to see him dart into the glowing doorway of the Sammath Naur. Six French horns bellow the History/Evil of the Ring hybrid, calling out the moment of decision.