3.

The soundtrack album features the songs:

“Long to Live”
Written by Emily Haines, James Shaw, Howard Shore
Performed by Metric

“I Don’t Want to Wake Up”
Written by Emily Haines, James Shaw, Howard Shore
Performed by Metric

 “Call Me Home”
Written by Emily Haines, James Shaw, Howard Shore
Performed by Metric

“Mecca”
Lyrics by Don DeLillo and K’NAAN
Performed by K’NAAN

Hi all,

The question on everyone's lips/fingertips right now is: "when are we going to get some information on the Hobbit's music?" The short of it is, I've been asked to not talk about The Hobbit yet. I can tell you that Howard Shore is working on it, and has been for some time now. I'll even go a step beyond that and tell you that he's made a handful of trips to New Zealand already, and will continue on his "long commute" schedule (a few weeks here, a few weeks there) during the summer. But beyond that, I can't tell you specifics regarding new themes, big moments, etc.

Composing is a very conceptual thing. It's much like writing in that sense. 95% of what one does occurs prior to a physical product, yet that physical product is what one is really creating. (For The Hobbit, that physical product will be scores, parts, and a recording.) I can't imagine being a sculptor -- no matter how much careful planning a sculptor tends to, concept and execution are essentially the same. You chip away the first bit of marble and it's gone, forever dedicated to an immovable goal. That's got to be a lot of pressure ... although the neat, self-contained process must be exhilarating. Music is more like writing a play, perhaps. The final staging is the goal, but most of the creative work happens prior to that point. That's not to suggest that the final staging is any less creative, but in terms of pure percentages, most of the work involves quiet dreaming, paper, graphite, and ink. (Computers de-romanticize my flowery imagery here, but of course they're essential.) For a composer, like a writer, everything that leads to that last 5% of execution is fluid, thus subject to editing, revisions, and whole-scale 're-do's. This is precisely why most composers don't like to speak publicly about works as they're being created. As soon as one says something publicly, the music is in a box, conceptually frozen. That's antithetical to a composer's creative process.

Some of these lessons I learned during the long-gestating The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films. Every once in a while I shared a inchoate idea of mine that suddenly everyone latched onto. And it was tough to go back and explain that I was sharing early notions and that we now had a better, clearer notion of where we were headed. Chronicled, it looks like indecisiveness; it looks messy! The reality of it is, this is how things are created.

Think of it this way: if this were April, 2003 and I was to starting run on about the score to The Return of the King, you'd be hearing about all the male vocalists lined up, and about this new song "Use Well the Days" that was meant to close the score. We all understand the progression of these ideas now, and certainly they haven't been swept under the rug or treated as some sort of secret shame. In fact, the whole point on The Rarities Archive is that these early ideas have their own beauty. But how distracting would it have been to sit down to ROTK in its full glory and find that these elements had been rethought?

Oh, if you prefer a food analogy: they're currently baking you the grandest cake imaginable. I'm not about to start feeding you raw eggs in preparation. :)

Peter Jackson is running a pretty transparent production right now, but note that the script to The Hobbit was created in quiet solitude. The reason he can be transparent now is because the production has entered the execution stage -- the ideas are in place. Later this summer, Shore will likewise cross the terminus into the next stage of his process. At that point, ideas will be in place, music-driven moments will be fully shaped, pacing and architecture will polished, and the music of The Hobbit will be ready to be realized. That also when there will be (considerably!) more to say.

***

I like to keep my current projects in folders on top of the filing cabinet in my office. I realize this sort of defeats the purpose a cabinet, but such is life. Right now there are two folders atop the cabinet: one fat, one thin. The fat folder pertains to my current project, the one I've been hinting about lately. I'll have more to say on that subject soon, probably in May and June. The thin folder is The Hobbit folder. Inside are a few notes, a few ideas. It's a little lean, but it's begun.

I’ve been looking for something to hang an Ongoing Discussion board on for a few days now. Here’s a good candidate: Howard Shore’s score for A Dangerous Method has won the 2011 Genie for Best Original Score! (The Genie is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television each year; read more about the awards HERE.)

You can read the full rundown of this year's Genies HERE or HERE,but I imagine this part will be of particular interest to blog readers:

Cronenberg was also in good spirits. Accepting the Best Original Score award for an absent Howard Shore, his friend and frequent collaborator, he joked: “Howard is in New Zealand working on The Hobbit. It’s kind of a sequel to A Dangerous Method.”

In other news, I'm hoping to turn my attention fully toward Middle-earth sometime this summer. Things should slowly gather momentum until they hit full speed later in the year. (Amazing things are already happening in NZ!) While all that gets moving, I've agreed to pursue another rather large project. It's an entirely different type of piece from the Middle-earth work, but it sort of ties into the pieces I've been doing for the past four or five months. I don't want to say too much right now -- primarily because I'm still making some of the overarching creative decisions -- but suffice it to say that between the Hugo writing and a piece on Puccini and Edison that I just finished for the Seattle Opera, my desk is absolutely overflowing with research materials ... as is the kitchen table, the nightstand, etc. I'm not sure what the timeline for this new project will look like, but I'll let you know as soon as I do! (This is all in addition to three or four projects that have been developing since last fall that are still in the pipeline.)

So we're in the 'inchoate' months right now. I guess that's usual for this time of year. Everything is gestating and forming. But enjoy the calm while you can -- once things get cranking later this year, it's going to be quite a ride!

Happy New Year, everyone!

We're finally here: 2012. Every new year is full of exciting possibilities, but if you frequent this blog, you know that this year looks to be especially promising. I was a little quieter than usual during the final months of 2011, and will probably remain a bit guarded through the beginning of 2012, but I have much to say, and will proclaim it all soon enough. In the meantime, let's all enjoy the unlimited promise of a year not yet lived!

While I certainly don't wish to burden the light mood, I do feel we should take a second to recognize the passing of Bob Anderson. If you don't know who Mr. Anderson was, please take a moment to read the linked Wiki page. His artistry contributed not only to The Lord of the Rings films, but also to The Princess Bride, Star Wars, and more. I had brief contact with Mr. Anderson's daughter in September of 2010. He was living in London at that point, and his daughter had heard about the Royal Albert performance of The Return of the King: Live to Projection. Plans were made for him to attend, but he was ultimately not well enough to do so. Nevertheless, this gentleman touched many lives, and I know we'll all send our thoughts to his family.



On a lighter note, today (it's officially just past midnight on January 3 in Chicago) marks the 120th birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien. TheOneRing.net is reminding everyone of the usual 9:00 p.m. salute. I may be a bit early -- and a bit digital -- but: "The Professor!"

Salude!

We've been looking at Hugo a lot during the past month, and we will continue to do so during the coming weeks. However,  I didn't want to allow A Dangerous Method to pass without some scrutiny. I spent the better part of last spring preparing Of Rings and Myths -- and have, in fact, been working through a few self-imposed revisions just this last month -- so Wagner has been very much on my mind this year. I knew Shore was working on Dangerous Method at the same time but, other than the Idyll, I didn't know which bits of Wagner would be quoted in the score. When I finally heard the album, I was happily encouraged by just how many common selections we'd made in terms of the motifs.

I'm not sure how many Wagnerians there are on the blog ... though Timdalf certainly fits the bill! Anyway, I thought it might be fun to pick through the motifs that appear in the score. I found the use of the Wagner in this score to be quite clever, since it's often well digested into Shore's writing. For example, the album's first track ("Burghölzli") would appear to begin with an appropriately re-formed setting of Wagner's motif for Mime's obsession.

Some of the Wagner quotes seem to relate to the spirit of Wagner's drama while others relate to the undercurrent and meaning behind the leitmotifs; they're not all simple answers.

So please, have a go at it! And by all means, invite your favorite open-minded Wagner scholars to stop by and contribute. I'm anxious to see what you all pick out!

I'm currently working on a bit of research that's one part related to Hugo, one part inspired by Hugo. I'll talk about that more when the next installment of Clock Work runs. As I've noted on the boards, I'm remaining tight-lipped on all things (well, most things) Hobbit-related until 2012, but when speed picks up on that front, expect it to pick up quickly.

Back soon with more Clock Work.

D

Official Hobbit news has now begun to trickle in from writers embedded in the production. If you haven't read the report on AICN, I strongly encourage you to do so. (And as ever, if you're sensitive to strong language, I suggest you remain above the Talkback section -- both literally and metaphorically.) As announced in Ghent, Howard Shore has recently been down to New Zealand as well, but that's all the Hobbit news that's fit to print for the moment.

Anyway, it's not as if there's a Shore drought right now. A Dangerous Method is out in Europe, and will be circulating in the States soon enough. Hugo is on its way as well -- and the impatient among us can hear some preview snippets on the official Hugo site. Another Cronenberg picture, Cosmopolis, is currently in production. Canadian band Metric recently revealed that they'll be collaborating with Shore on that score.

As for me -- I think I'm now fully recovered from my recent press tour. Maybe. While October's travels and concerts are still recent memories, my mind has actually turned back a few pages to early September. For the past few months I've held my tongue regarding a fun little excursion I enjoyed in the waning days of summer 2011. I can't reveal the story quite yet, but if you'll check back later this month, I'll tell you a bit about my involvement with Hugo.

More to come!

When I signed on to The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films, I expected it to be a highly exciting, entirely behind-the-scenes type of job. Taking the stage, and sitting in on TV news and talk shows was never part of the plan. But "best laid plans" and all that ...

The last few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of planes, trains, and rental cars. I don't know if my crash courses in everything from vocal modulation to remedial TV blocking have paid off in any great way, but they were certainly fascinating.

I'm glad Of Rings and Myths came right in the middle of the madness, since it was a wonderful change of pace. My deep gratitude to the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra for their dedication and musical sensitivity, and to J.R. Cassidy for his creativity, musicianship, and for issuing the invitation in the first place. I'm never one to put too much stock in reviews, but since I technically never got to experience this performance from the outside, these outside views were most welcome ... and most kind.

Cincinnati.com wrote:

" ... [A] one-of-a-kind program ...

The KSO’s “Of Rings and Myths” was part performance, part academic lecture on comparing and contrasting two epic tales about powerful rings. The orchestra, under the direction of conductor James Cassidy, alternated between selections from Howard Shore’s score to the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Rings” series and Richard Wagner’s “Ring” opera cycle.

[...]

What made the concert different was what took place between the selections. Doug Adams, the author of the 2010 book “The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films,” was what you might call the star of the show.

Introducing each musical excerpt, Adams explained what the audience would hear – what Wagner and Shore intended to accomplish in the way they used rhythm and strings and brass, and how the two composers created musical moods relating to themes such as love, death, heroism and conflict.

[...]

Adams knew what he was talking about, but it was just as rewarding to let the orchestra perform, and some of the best moments of the two-hour performance were those when the band played, uninterrupted, for five minutes or so. Accompanying the orchestra were three featured vocalists: sopranos Jennifer Cherest and Kara Shay Thomson and tenor Ric Furman; and the KSO Chorale – which was charged with such tasks as singing certain songs in tongues native to Middle-earth.

The finest vocal performances occurred during the Wagner pieces. Furman and Thomson shined during the excerpt of “Brunnhildle the Valkyrie and Siegfried’s Heroism,” where Thomson’s Brunnhildle tries to dissuade Furman’s Siegfried from falling in love with her."

MusicInCincinnati.com wrote:

"If Richard Wagner were alive today?

No doubt about it, he would be making movies. His idea of Gesamtkunstwerk, or “complete art work,” uniting word, music, drama, visual art, etc. has come true in the realm of cinema.

How natural, then, that James R. Cassidy, innovative, “can do,” music director of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, would find a link with Wagner in film-making. And not just a philosophical one. Music for films has long been where classical music “went” when audiences began abandoning contemporary art music.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” published in the 1954-55, draws from the same wellspring of North European mythology as Wagner’s four-opera “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (“The Ring of the Nibelung”). Director Peter Jackson made Tolkien’s novel into the tremendously popular “Lord of the Rings” films in 2001-03. Hugely successful along with them was the musical score by Howard Shore.

The KSO, KSO Chorale and three superlative vocal soloists joined with “Lord of the Rings” expert Doug Adams to compare and contrast Shore and Wagner Saturday night in Florence Baptist Church at Mt. Zion (Florence, Kentucky). Adams, a Chicago based musician and writer, author of “Music of the Lord of the Rings Films,” provided narration for the concert, which comprised excerpts from both composers’ music and a comparison of the two “Ring” tales (Wagner wrote both the words and music for his four operas). It was a giant-sized task, 15 hours of opera and 11 hours of film score condensed into 92 minutes of music, but accomplished with considerable success.

[...]

... [T]he program, written by Adams, was meticulously planned and well presented. Adams' narration was pointed, intelligent and well keyed to the music (though familiarity with the two "Rings" was definitely an advantage). The 72-member KSO performed admirably, with strength in all sections, give or take a fumble or two now and then (notably by brass and percussion). Concertmistress Manami White gave just the right Celtic lift to her solo in “Concerning Hobbits,” Shore’s charming evocation of the Shire. And the trumpets, which definitely could be heard, were resplendent in such excerpts as Wagner’s “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla.”

Best of all were the singers, sopranos Kara Shay Thomson and Jennifer Cherest and tenor Ric Furman. Cherest possesses a beautiful but lighter voice, while Thomson and Furman seemed eminently capable of walking off the stage into a production of Wagner’s “Ring” at any time.

Although the “Ring” stories were told concurrently, the first half was primarily Shore's music. A comparison was drawn between the “Forging Theme” from Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” (with anvils) and Shore’s metal-heavy depiction of the industrial wasteland of Isengard. Similarly, Adams contrasted the birdsong motif from Wagner’s “Siegfried” and “Nature’s Reclamation” from Shore’s “Two Towers.” The Chorale, which sang Tolkien’s languages (Dwarves, Elves, etc.), gave vicious voice to the Orcs in their 5/4 rampage. Soprano Cherest displayed a voice of crystal clarity in excerpts from “Return of the King.”

The second half focused on Wagner. Adams contrasted the ringwraiths from “Fellowship of the Ring” with Wagner’s “Valkyries,” the latter given splendid voice by Thompson backed by Cherest in their famous “Ride.” Also heard were Wagner’s “Magic Fire Music,” “Forest Murmurs” and the battle of Siegfried and the dragon Fafner from “Siegfried.” Cherest and the Chorale lit up “The Grace of Undómiel” from “Return of the King” (Shore), which made a nice contrast with the love story of Wagner’s Siegfried and Brunnhilde. Furman, who looks, acts and sounds like a Siegfried of the future, sang Wagner’s hero with heft and beauty, yielding nothing to Thompson’s formidable Brunnhilde, and leaving one wishing to hear more from him."

Of course, leave it to the message boards to offer the pithiest -- and maybe most genuine -- comments. One poster at FilmScoreMonthly.com offered:

"The KSO did a great job, and Doug Adams narrated the evening in an eloquent and efficient manner that tempts me to call him "film music's David Hyde Pierce" from now on. But I won't.

[...]

I enjoyed the mix of people that came to this, it would be terrific to have more events like this one that bring different audiences together."

I have to admit, I got a good chuckle out of that one! All in all, the program was received exactly as I'd hoped it would be. There's so much incredible music in the performance, it almost can't help but be uniquely satisfying. I expect we'll have a chance to do this show again sometime soon!

As soon as Rings and Myths was over, I was back on the road for a press tour. In the space of just over two weeks, I managed to see Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; Florence, KY; Cincinnati, OH; Dallas, TX (layover); Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA; Oakland, CA; and San Jose, CA. I'm sure those who travel for business on a weekly/daily basis are scoffing at my pusillanimity here, but that's a tall order of planes, trains, and rental cars as far as I'm concerned! And a press tour is not exactly a cakewalk -- just ask poor Harry Belafonte! There are a lot of early mornings and tight schedules. I mean, it's not digging ditches, but you do have to stay on your toes while constantly in motion.

I'm glad this was all able to come together, of course. My own goofy schedule almost prevented me from making the rounds, so I'm very thankful to all the producers and publicists that stuck with me while I tried to iron out early October.

And I certainly hope we help spread the word! Shore's Lord of the Rings in Concert performances are amazing. I know I'm likely preaching to the choir here -- literally in some cases -- but these shows are not to be missed. They're so difficult to describe. It's like an evening theater, a symphonic performance, and a premiere screening of a film all tossed together. Of course, it's not exactly any of those things, but maybe that's why it's so special. I hope my soundbite descriptions in the media have done some justice. I always leave feeling like I should have been just a bit more articulate, but I think everyone feels like that.

If you care to judge for yourself, you can see and hear a good bit of the resultant press below. Beware, my comments are redundant since I'm essentially pitching the show anew to each city. But if you want to watch me get slightly tireder upon each appearance, feast your senses!


- KING5-TV:





- 7Live









- KGO TV (video)


- Celluloid Dreams Radio (mp3 download)


 - KMJ Radio (mp3 download)


There's certainly more material to air -- I hit a ton of outlets -- but I'm not sure how much of will be directed toward the internet. Still, if you haven't yet slaked your thirst for media, I'm told there's more to come, so I'll keep adding to this post and announcing via Twitter and Facebook.

I'm fairly comfortable with the press appearances at this point. And I've been lucky: I haven't had to deal with anyone that seemed disinterested in either the concerts or the book. I know that's an interviewer's job, of course, because I used to dabble in that line of work. But that's also enabled me to recognize insincerity pretty quickly, so I was glad to be working with such great people.

That said, my passion is the work, not the promotion. And right now I'm only a few weeks away from the start of the next project. You may have heard a little about it. If not, I'll fill you in as soon as I'm able.

I couldn't be more excited ...

Back soon,

D

Chicago in Review

I love the Chicago Symphony. It’s not only my “home symphony,” it’s one of the best in the world. I’ve watched this ensemble my whole life, and have performed with many of the players over the years. I love the heritage and the well-honed, sharp-toothed sound they bring to everything they play. When it was announced that Fellowship would play at Ravinia, I knew immediately that Ludwig Wicki would evince a completely unique sound from the orchestra. Howard Shore’s music has such a particular sense of voicing. His Rings music is really built on intersecting blocks of sound. In many ways, that’s the key to the ancient/modern sound. The blocks themselves have a Germanic sense of weight and gravity, but the interaction has a sort of smooth, delicate French/Italian flavor. It’s the “orchestration by ranges” approach we discus in the book. The CSO is such a lucid orchestra, and Wicki knew exactly how to use that clarity in service of Shore’s precise, contained sound. It’s was a remarkable pairing!

Ravinia presents the best that festival atmospheres offer. A concert like this brings out families, dates, wild-haired hippies, buttoned-down businessmen. It’s quite a diverse sea of humanity! Nearly 20,000 people attended over the course of the two performances. Our supply of books sold out approximately 10 minutes into the second night, so I spent the rest of the evening signing programs, ticket stubs, wine bottles, and arms! I’m glad the people that weren’t able to get their hands on a copy of the book were good natured about it, and I hope they’ll head off to Amazon ASAP!

I was actually shocked at how many people lined up for the book … including many people from the blog and from Twitter who came to say “hello!” The Tolkien gang from last spring’s Wheaton lectures was there as well, but perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was the appearance of my translator from Poland in 2009. He was in the States for a trip to New York, but had seen the concert in Chicago advertised and decided to reroute his schedule. If that’s not a testament to the power of this music, I don’t know what is.

September should be a good month around these parts. I'll be back with a couple of announcements later down the line, and of course, you all know about Shore's Lord of the Rings Symphony being released on September 13 (available right HERE on Amazon). And if you'd like to hear the performance a few days early, Bavarian Radio Klassik will be broadcasting the entire work on Sunday, September 4 at 4:00 (local German time). Details and links will be located on the BR-KLASSIK home page.

Before I wrap this post up, please enjoy a couple of video from the Chicago Fellowship performance. Many thanks to Guillaume for sending these in!


See you soon for more announcements!

I'm still holding on to an exciting announcement that ought to revealed later this month, though it's already leaked in some quieter corners of the internet. If you're really dedicated, you may be able to track it down. No, that's not a challenge!

But it's now well into August, and high-time we get the new Discussion Board up and running. Happily, Ravinia has just announced its new three-part contest, so we have something great to hang a new thread on!








And don't forget that I'll be signing The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films at 6:45 p.m. before the concerts on both the 18th and the 19th. Look for me in Ravinia Gifts, the official gift shop. I'll also be in attendance at the performances both nights as well (no sign-and-dash for me!), so come say "hello!"

In a rare fit of organization, I'm actually posting July's Ongoing Discussion board on July 1st. Will wonders never cease!

While most of my work this month remains under wraps, I can roll out announcement today.

On August 18 and 19 the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform The Fellowship of the Ring: Live to Projection at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL (just north of the city proper). Before each evening's performance, I will be signing The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films from 6:45 to 7:20 in the gift shop, Ravinia Gifts.

I'm incredibly excited to see Ludwig Wicki lead my hometown orchestra -- one of the world's greatest, if I do say so -- in Shore's magnificent score. And I'm doubly excited to be able to participate!

Ravinia Tickets are available HERE.

If you live anywhere near the Midwest you owe it to yourself to drop by! Ravinia Festival is an outdoor festival venue with very excellent acoustics -- not always the case with outdoor theaters/lawns -- and entirely appropriate for family outings.

And, of course, if you haven't yet picked up the book, here's the perfect excuse.

We should see a small flurry of press opportunities related to Ravinia ... and who knows, maybe I'll drop some additional news here and there while I'm at it!

Back soon,

D

It's June now, and far hotter than it should be in Chicago. This crazy weather is making me nervous, because it feels like it's late into the summer. I have a lot of work to get through between now and the true dog days, and even though there's plenty of time on the schedule, my heart's pounding ever so slightly because my internal clock has been thrown for a loop.

We're supposed to drop from the mid-90s to the mid-60s in the next day or two, so the unavoidable hibernation instinct will probably drag me back to a steadier pace. It's all about balance.

Speaking of balance, my communication skills have been poorly balanced for the past month or so, and for that I apologize. I'm still behind on emails, so if I owe you one -- or several -- hang in there! I think things should get better soon.

The majority of my recent correspondence has been relegated to the blog ... which isn't all bad, I suppose. But with the West Coast Tour announcement and the New York Radio City tease, there's been plenty to address. And that's just the stuff I can tell you about at this time. There's still more to come ... which is why I'm toiling away at this and that. It's tremendously exciting; I'm getting to try my hand at a few new skills, which I absolutely love! You'll see ...

In the meantime, take a look at the updated calendar of upcoming performances at right. I think this is the fullest it's ever been! I've also made a few under-the-hood tweaks on the blog, including a mobile version that I think should show up on qualifying phones, etc. soon. Let me know if you see it.

Back soon,

D

I always wondered if Tolkien’s Elves were originally conceived of as being more along the lines of Sir Thomas Marley’s “dainty nymphs.” There’s an Elvish playfulness –perhaps a capriciousness? – in The Hobbit that’s not seen elsewhere in Tolkien’s writing. “Tra la la,” indeed!

This isn’t me dropping musical hints, by the way. I don’t know how the Elves will be portrayed in the film adaptation of The Hobbit, and I don’t know how Howard Shore will approach them musically. Don’t read into much into the above. Rather, Marley’s lyric, which includes both “Maying” and “fa la la,” perfectly encapsulates my mental state – or perhaps my ocular state: one eye forward, one behind.

I’m at a delicate cross-road just now. Part of my work is firmly in the world of The Lord of the Rings. There are upcoming performances, lectures, and permutations of the book to be shepherded into reality. The next six-to-twelve months look to be pretty Ring-packed. In fact, if you travel the right circles, I may be hard to miss for a while. You’ll see, you’ll see.

At the same time, we’ve begun very cursory discussions on The Music of The Hobbit Films … or whatever we decide to call it. What’ll be the same? What’ll be different? Switching back and forth between the two worlds is exciting, refreshing even, but it takes a little more concentration. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not digging ditches or breaking my back with an over-stuffed schedule. I'm not complaining. I’m just trying to clarify my thought process as much as possible … and trying to keep everything straight so that I don’t bungle anything too badly!

This winter’s spate of lectures was wonderful in that it helped me to work directly with audiences over an extended period of time. When you’re writing in an office all day, it’s easy to ignore that relationship. When the audience is in the room, you can see so clearly just how and to what they respond. Of course, every group is different, but it’s still an energizing and revealing process.

I feel a little bad the Luzern (and Wheaton) lectures were all uploaded to the blog in such a compressed time period – they were an awful lot to digest over a week. But May looks to be a pretty crazy month, and I wanted to post the files as soon as opportunity allowed. That’s the great thing about the digital age. Those lectures now await you at your leisure.

I can’t believe I still haven’t posted any reactions to Luzern’s Symphonic Film Music or Chamber Music performances. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that someday I’d hear the Se7en performed live. Or Ed Wood with a real Theremin! (Basil Bohni and I did a pre-concert lecture for this concert, and were joined by the Theremin player. I was able to finally speak the sentence, “Will you please play the Theremin for us now?” A life-long dream realized!) And the austere Bartokian harmonies of The Brood set aside the oft-sumptuous Seven Pieces … and The Departed … and The Fly … and, and, and!

By the way, rumor is they’d love to hold this festival again in 2013. If you haven’t already, start saving now. Nothing is official, and who knows what will happen, but if they do host, we all need to be there! Ludwig Wicki has shared some of his Howard Shore wishlist with me – some of the pieces he’d hope to conduct next time out. If he only gets half of them … wow! …

So it’s back to the coalface for now. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m hoping to have an announcement or two in just a few days – maybe a week or so. You should also be seeing some heavy duty press releases as summer rolls in – and more as it rolls along.

Oh, and I think I should have my contract for The Hobbit soon. It’s quite likely I’ll announce when that comes in!

See you on the boards,

-Doug

I'm back, thrilled, exhausted, and enthused. Luzern was unlike anything we've ever seen before. Bayreuth was referenced more than once, and as the week wore on, I became more and more apt to join the chorus of voices.

I'll have plenty more to say when I regroup, unpack, and find my socks. I believe Jim and Sabsi will be registering reports and photos in the near future as well. I also have audio, images, and video from the entire lecture series, and will be dividing that up into multiple posts over the coming weeks. And of course, I'm still sitting on some wonderfully exciting announcements. We'll see if we can't work a few of these into April as well.

But, as I say, I'm still getting my head back into the correct timezone. So for now, I'll say only "thank you" to everyone who made last week so special -- the guests, the fans, the organizers, the incredibly patient staff at Seebar. I'll always remember that I was at the first LOTR score cycle, and I'll always remember that I was in amazing company.

Atop Mount Pilatus

We're in the lean season of the year, somewhere between the exciting times that closed 2010 and the fury of news and announcements to come. I'd hoped to time the March board with a number of announcements from a number of fronts, but these too are stuck somewhere between gestation and revelation. Maybe "stuck" is too severe a word. Nothing's "stuck" in the "impasse" sense. We're simply in the "tinkering" stage, which means that the announcements, many of which are tied together in chains of news, must remain behind the curtain for now.

So that's my wordy way of saying: I have nothing to say. 2011 is going to be a pretty incredible year. You'll see exciting trends continued, old projects spawn new iterations, and the births of brand new ideas. And I can't tell you about any of it right now!

That said, stick around, because when the dam collapses, it's gonna be a flood!

Feel free to talk it up in the meantime. The Hobbit will begin shooting soon, and I plan to introduce the much-request Silmarillion discussion as soon as I can think of the best way to format it.

Back soon!

-Doug

I'd hoped to time this month's Ongoing Discussion thread with an exciting bit of news, but alas and alack, the news isn't yet ready for the world. And since this thread is already over a week behind, I'm not going to hold it up any longer. But rest assured: while things have been sleepy in blog-land, there's a good bit of wheeling and dealing happening behind the scenes. I'd advise you all to 'hang in there,' but you have to be used to the waiting game by now, so I'll put my trust in your patience!

In the meantime, GeorgeKelly.org has just run a nice new mini-review of the book, and I'm due to be a guest on TheDunedain.net's podcast in the near future. Details should be forthcoming.

Oh, and speaking of forthcoming details, I hear that good news regarding the NY performance of ROTK should announced soon as well. I don't know when they plan to go public, but it shouldn't be too terribly long.

Back with details as soon as possible. Chat it up as you wait; the board is yours!

D

What a year it has been, what a strange mood I’m in, why it’s almost … well, you get the point.

Here at the outset of 2011 – ok, the third day since, per usual, I’m a bit behind – I, unsurprisingly, find my mind drifting back to 2010. The year began with an incredibly intense period of work, the likes of which I’d never known. Honestly, it was difficult, at times, to remember the end goal. It didn’t feel like we were working toward a book, necessarily. It just felt like each day began with a series of tasks – puzzles, or riddles, if you will, that had to be completed before sundown. It wasn’t art, it was survival. OK, that’s a tad dramatic, but the point is that the focus became so minute that I wasn’t seeing the forest for the trees, or the book for the pages.

We knew what we were working toward, but somehow, seeing that first book on my porch in midsummer, all I could feel was shock. “How did this become a physical thing? How did the contents of my hard drive end up on my porch?” Sometime back in December I found myself in the music library of my old graduate school. There I stumbled onto the lengthy composition I wrote to complete my Master’s – the music school equivalent of a thesis paper. The feeling was much the same: “Why is this outside of my house?” This composition, however, had been quietly gathering dust as a single engraved document, wedged deep into a musty college library. Ah, the comfort of obscuro academica. The book … not so much. It was announced. It was expected. Good or bad, it was going to see the world ... and, in return, be seen by the world.

As I sat in my office looking at the thing, a recurrent nag popped into my mind, a phrase that had shaken me awake all throughout the production. “What IS this thing?” At its heart, this was a book about music from a movie from a book. I used to pitch the project by crowing, “No one has ever tried this before.” But the truth was, I didn’t really know that. Maybe it had been tried dozens of times, but no one wanted such a beast!

Flash forward. Long story short, it seems people did want this. The book has been a huge hit for us. Our sales are approximately eight months ahead of projected schedule, but much more importantly, people have responded to the piece. Howard Shore's music is, I hope, better understood now. And, really, that was always the goal. The process of creating this book -- my efforts, as they were -- should never have been more than a sideshow to the main event. It was Shore's music that compelled me to keep working. That's not some ephemeral declaration of purpose, it's a very real statement. I wanted to celebrate his work and his achievement. I wanted to show how he allowed art and intellect to coexist so gracefully, and how he brought a world to life with pure sound.

The second half of 2010 was a dizzying spin wherein the preceding was happily realized. I don’t know that I’ll ever experience anything quite the same in my life. Fear, realization, relief, and excitement all commingled and rang on a grand scale. And after a year of big moments, of course, my personal life paused for a quiet change that’s the most profound of any. I don’t broadcast my personal life too terribly often. Just my nature, I guess. And really, if you have a public life of any sort, you do have to draw the line somewhere. Broadcasting each morning’s breakfast dilutes one’s content pretty darn quickly. I ate a bowl of Captain Crunch this morning. There, now try taking the rest of this post at all seriously! ☺ Anyway, thank you all for your kind words and support. You made both Jill and me feel pretty wonderful.

Now here’s the thing, as much as 2010 felt like a high watermark it was, in reality, just the gate swinging open. 2011 will see the second run of the book – later this month in fact. We also have some exciting plans that we’ll put into play once the second edition supplies begin to dwindle. We assume that will occur in another year, give or take, but at the rate we’re going, who knows! The LOTR performances will enter a brave new stage as full trilogy cycles begin to appear around Europe. And the US has a few surprises in store for it as well. You'll see!

And of course, in the meantime, we’re gearing up to re-enter Middle-earth and begin work on The Hobbit films. I believe I’ve said this before, but we used to joke that the crew on The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films was like the last team left in Middle-earth. When we were done, we were supposed to reach for the light switch and lock the door behind us. And, of course, as soon as we had wrapped things up, a burly band of Dwarves came marching over the horizon. Anyway, I’m particularly excited to return to the research and hinting that launched this blog in the first place. You didn’t think I was going to make things too easy on you, did you?

The number one concern I heard voiced at appearances this year regarded this very blog. Would it disappear with the book now complete? Nonsense! There’s more to report on than ever.

So here’s to projects completed, projects ongoing, and projects just beginning. And, appropriately enough, a toast to Professor Tolkien as well, on this, the anniversary of his birth in 1892.

Cheers!

-Doug

I'm late posting this month, but since no one's December is anything less than a mad-dash these days, I won't attempt to complain about my schedule.

So instead of bellyaching, I'll offer up a little gift. Please enjoy the following bonbon -- a quickie arrangement assembled by me and me alone (not Mr. Shore, to whom I apologize in advance): Gondorian Merry Gentlemen. 

Similar silly efforts from years past are linked below. Enjoy with a bit of holiday cheer ... they may go down smoother that way. :)

Back soon with more Chicago news.







Click to Download Gondorian Gentlemen (Dec 2010)
Click to Download Christmas Comes to Mordor (Dec 2009)

In honor of our first post-book release Ongoing Discussion post, allow me to proudly present the Magpie-initiated Show Us Your Book photo album!






Be sure to activate the captions on these via the word balloon in the lower left corner on the slideshow. If you'd like to add your own shot, please do! Magpie can be contacted here.

In the meantime, let the conversation roll on!

October 2010.
So, what shall we talk about ... ?

:)

While the blog is now more active than ever, I'm probably going to have a tough time posting for the next couple of weeks. That said, I'll do my best to be present. In the meantime, I'm going to be making use of both Twitter and Facebook to try and spread the word about the book. If possible, I would ask that you please consider retweeting as much of the Twitter Feed content as possible, since that will help direct people here. At the same time, if you're not already a fan of The Music of the LOTR Films Facebook Page, a simple 'become a fan' would also be a big plus for us! Our numbers are growing steadily, and now we're at our big push, of course.

Speaking of Facebook, I'm told that sidebar ads for the book will begin running Tuesday, Oct. 5. If those of you on Facebook see one of these ads, please click the affixed 'LIKE.' You don't need to actually click the ad unless you want to order the book through the link ... which you are, of course, welcome to do!

I hope this isn't social media overload. I'm still getting used to the idea of living in a world where 'retweet' is a valid word! But spreading this info helps us both keep our own advertising costs down and, more importantly, keeps the book visible. Or at least that's what I'm told by those who know considerably more about this than I ever will!

And with that bit of (important) business out of the way ... This is it. This is the discussion thread that will be running when the book is available worldwide. That is an encouraging thought!