Not to sound as alarmist as Fredegar Bolger rousing the Hobbit-folk in the wee hours of a peaceful Shire morning, but perhaps the time has come for fans of Howard Shore’s scores to sit up and reconcile themselves to a very dismaying possibility – that the unheard music of Middle-earth might well in fact never be heard.

DougHobbitBTS
It’s Earl, your soundtrack-obsessed TORn-staffer, and the reason I’m venturing to make this statement is because of the recently announced Limited Collector’s Edition of the movies, which makes it almost excruciatingly clear that the Warner Bros studio is so very, very far removed from knowing what fans really, truly want, and are willing to pay for.

Continue reading “Awake! Fear! Fire! Foes! or What Does the Limited Collector’s Edition Portend for the Unheard Music of Middle-earth?”

BilboChristmasListHave you finished all of your Christmas shopping yet? Or are you yet to start? If you’re like us, you’ll definitely have a few more things on your list and what better way to complete the task than buying some Tolkienesque presents. TORn’s staffers deej, Elessar, Earl, Altaira and Kelvarhin scoured the internet to find the perfect presents to celebrate the holidays  and we were astounded by how many wonderful choices there are. So, without further ado, here are some lovely gift suggestions for your favourite Tolkien fan (even if that happens to be you). All prices are in U.S. dollars.

Continue reading “TORn’s Tolkien Christmas Gift Guide for 2015”

Frodo (Elijah Wood) in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - In Concert” Peter Jackson delivered the images and Howard Shore’s delivered the unforgettable musical score for “The Lord of the Rings.” Music and film lovers haven’t forgotten, voting in the favorite film score fro the sixth consecutive year at Classic FM.

The site, that calls itself the world’s biggest classical music radio station in the world, plays such music including film and video game scores. It is said to be the UK’s only 100 percent classical music radio station that includes radio on all platforms including streaming world wide on the web.

After thousands of votes, Shore’s score edged John Williams’ effort for Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” and Hans Zimmer’s music for Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator.”

Those who have been with TORn from the early days will remember that a Burger King tie-in commercial was the first time Shore’s score was heard by the masses, as the “Fellowship” theme showed off flame-broiled goodness along with the miracle of in-scale Men, Hobbits, with a pony, a Dwarf and Wizard.

The score carried themes from “Fellowship” into the following movies, earning an Academy Award for “Return of the King,” after a snub of even an nomination for “The Two Towers.”

There are many highlights, and different fans would have different favorite moments.

You can read Classic FM’s story here and find more links to more of the top 100.

Doug Adams’ book, “The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films,” stands as the definitive word on the score but is also one of the finest books written on musical scores anywhere. You can read our review of it here.

The Knightwind Ensemble, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin musical organization under the direction of Dr. Erik N. Janners, will present a Lord of the Rings themed concert on Sunday, October 25, 2015, at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center (901 15th Avenue, South Milwaukee, WI) at 3PM local time.

The group of fine musicians who enjoy preparing and performing music written for wind ensemble will be performing Johan de Meij’s descriptive and expressive Symphony No. 1 “Lord of the Rings”, published in 1988,  and H. Owen Reed’s “Awakening of the Ents”, among other selections with British connections.

For more information, you can visit their website or their facebook page.

1978_LOTR_Soundtrack_CoverAs you’ll have read a few days ago, we’re excited for the upcoming debut of the score of the classic 1978 animated Lord of the Rings movie, directed by Ralph Bakshi and scored by Leonard Rosenman. This very special release is on vinyl and is accompanied by an amazing set of collector’s items from the beloved film.  Now you can have more chances to WIN one of the two copies we have to give away by TWEETING a link to the YouTube video about the release. Simply tweet the video URL AND the tag #TheOneBoxSet before midnight EST September 19th. One winner will be chosen at random from all the tweets with the correct link and hashtag.

So tweet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW7sHYdGcfQ and #TheOneBoxSet – and whatever else you would like to include! – for another chance to win.

The contest will run through September 19th with winners to be announced on September 20th.

Read the official press release below.

1978_LOTR_Soundtrack_DetailsFantasy Records presents the classic score to the 1978 animated feature J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, from Academy Award-winning composer Leonard Rosenman (East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Barry Lyndon).  This highly collectable, vinyl box set will be a must-have for fans of the landmark film and audiophiles alike. Inside the box, there is a wealth of ephemera, including reproductions of rare items from the original Tolkien Fanclub!

 

 

Contents include:

-Two 180-gram vinyl LPs, housed in a reproduction of the original gatefold jacket

-24” x 36” theatrical poster, featuring Gandalf

-12” x 8.5” map of Middle-earth

-Lobby card, reproduced from the original theatrical release

-Sticker

-Replica Production cel, suitable for framing

-16-page illustrated booklet, featuring behind-the-scenes photos, a new Leonard Rosenman appreciation by Jon Burlingame, the nation’s leading writer on the subject of music for films and television, plus liner notes by Tolkien Enterprises’ Laurie Battle. Also in the booklet is a backstage look at the making of the film by music historian and reissue producer Bill Belmont.

1978_LOTR_Soundtrack_CoverIn conjunction with our friends at Fantasy Records, TheOneRing.net is proud to present the exclusive debut of the score of the classic 1978 animated Lord of the Rings movie, directed by Ralph Bakshi and scored by Leonard Rosenman. This very special release is on vinyl and is accompanied by an amazing set of collector’s items from the beloved film. The exclusive (and very clever) video below shows everything that is included.

 

 

 

 

The set is available for purchase for $69.98 USD on Amazon here. Also, Fantasy Films has graciously donated copies to TheOneRing.net to give away to two lucky readers! The contest can be entered at the link at the bottom of the page and is available to people world-wide! The contest will run through September 19th with winners to be announced on September 20th.

Read the official press release below, and be sure to enter to win and/or order your own beautiful collector’s set today!

1978_LOTR_Soundtrack_DetailsFantasy Records presents the classic score to the 1978 animated feature J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, from Academy Award-winning composer Leonard Rosenman (East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Barry Lyndon).  This highly collectable, vinyl box set will be a must-have for fans of the landmark film and audiophiles alike. Inside the box, there is a wealth of ephemera, including reproductions of rare items from the original Tolkien Fanclub!

 

 

Contents include:

-Two 180-gram vinyl LPs, housed in a reproduction of the original gatefold jacket

-24” x 36” theatrical poster, featuring Gandalf

-12” x 8.5” map of Middle-earth

-Lobby card, reproduced from the original theatrical release

-Sticker

-Replica Production cel, suitable for framing

-16-page illustrated booklet, featuring behind-the-scenes photos, a new Leonard Rosenman appreciation by Jon Burlingame, the nation’s leading writer on the subject of music for films and television, plus liner notes by Tolkien Enterprises’ Laurie Battle. Also in the booklet is a backstage look at the making of the film by music historian and reissue producer Bill Belmont.

Click here to enter