Hi folks,
A brief -- and admittedly preemptive -- comment regarding certain lines of questioning. Please do not use this blog to discuss anything that is not commercially available. We're going to have a ton to discuss later this year, but we will wait until materials are distributed through legitimate commercial channels. Discussion of any materials other than these -- which includes but is not limited to press kits, awards promos, scoops from your crazy Uncle Frank who played the nose flute solo in the score's finale, etc. -- is strictly prohibited.
We're all heading back to Middle-earth in just a few short weeks/months. Let's arrive together, yes?
Now I gotta get back to work ... :)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Celebrate Howard Shore's Birthday with the LOTR Symphony
Thursday is the sixty-sixth birthday of composer Howard Shore. Classic FM will be celebrating with an 8 pm airing of The Lord of the Rings Symphony. Please see the note below from Kyle Macdonald, Classic FM's Community Manager.
And happy birthday!
*****
At Classic FM we're doing as much as we can to champion great movie soundtracks. Tomorrow at 8pm we'll play Howard Shore's immensely popular Lord of the Rings Symphony, in full.
Thursday is the composer’s 66th birthday and his LOTR score has also recently been voted by our listeners as their number one Soundtrack, in our Movie Music Top 100.
It's an astonishing piece and we'll broadcast it in its entirety, without interruption. Shore's Symphony is based on themes from the phenomenally-successful Lord of the Rings trilogy.
HERE is a link to our programme on Thursday.
We're also celebrating with a gallery of Howard Shore and his movie soundtracks.
We'd be delighted if you would share this with your fans and followers.
Best regards,
Kyle Macdonald Community Manager
And happy birthday!
*****
At Classic FM we're doing as much as we can to champion great movie soundtracks. Tomorrow at 8pm we'll play Howard Shore's immensely popular Lord of the Rings Symphony, in full.
Thursday is the composer’s 66th birthday and his LOTR score has also recently been voted by our listeners as their number one Soundtrack, in our Movie Music Top 100.
It's an astonishing piece and we'll broadcast it in its entirety, without interruption. Shore's Symphony is based on themes from the phenomenally-successful Lord of the Rings trilogy.
HERE is a link to our programme on Thursday.
We're also celebrating with a gallery of Howard Shore and his movie soundtracks.
We'd be delighted if you would share this with your fans and followers.
Best regards,
Kyle Macdonald Community Manager
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Mabel Faletolu
Our good friend Earl at TheOneRing.net is running at interview with Mabel Faletolu today. You'll recognize her name -- and, more importantly, her voice -- from Gandalf's fall in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Read Earl's full article HERE.
QUESTION I
It’s been said that when Peter Jackson set out to work with Howard Shore on the music for The Lord of the Rings, he desired to have a cast of vocalists for the songs that would be sung during significant events in the films. How did you come about to be a featured vocalist on The Fellowship of the Ring?
AIVALE COLE
I was studying at the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art in Christchurch, New Zealand. I got a call from a friend, Igelese Ete, who was the choir director for the male choir featured on the same album. He said that they were looking for a soprano with the right amount of richness in the voice for this particular part. When all was approved then they arranged my flights and it was all go. No audition. Just got the job. Howard Shore had a lot of faith in Igelese so I had better get it RIGHT!! ARrrGH!!
Read Earl's full article HERE.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Commencement
In the summer of 2011, the producers of The Hobbit began releasing still images from the film. One of the first -- maybe it was the very first, I'm not sure -- featured Bilbo Baggins carefully reviewing his contract with the Dwarves. I remember the day well because that afternoon I also received a contract. Mine, if somewhat less perilous, also offered a grand adventure full of new challenges and an unparalleled chance for self-discovery. It was my contract for a book on Howard Shore's music to The Hobbit.
I read the contract over during the day, and by that evening had set it back on the shelf. I was beyond excited, but I also knew to be patient. After all, the creation of The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films was a long, long journey. It was on May 16, 2001 that I originally received the call to do "something"with Howard Shore's music for these stories. And it was in October 2010 that the book was finally released. The Hobbit contract loomed large, but as of summer 2011, there was not yet any Hobbit music to speak of. Howard Shore was still very much in the world of Hugo -- and, frankly, even I hopped into that world for a short but memorable stay. So my Hobbit contract sat still, ready to go, but on hold.
The funny thing about adventures, though, is that you're rarely sure when they'll begin or when they'll end. Shortly after Martin Scorcese's charming film -- and Shore's brilliant score -- was in theaters, a new trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey appeared featuring new music by Howard Shore. The composer's work on The Hobbit had quietly overlapped Hugo. Sure it was just a trailer, but it ensured that the new music for Middle-earth would be firmly lodged in our ears for months to come. I honestly cannot remember the last time a piece of music from a trailer had so many YouTube covers a year before the film's release.
As 2012 rolled in, Shore made his official return to Tolkien's world. He was now a full-time resident, though he made committed excursions to oversee his new Cello Concerto and the releases of his vibrant scores to Cosmopolis and S.U.N. He and I would chat from time-to-time, and I would record the important details in the back of my mind, but I was also overlapping projects a bit. By this time, I had begun work on a second book that followed up both on three Hugo articles I penned for Shore's official site and on a piece I wrote for the Seattle Opera. And while this new book occupied much of my creative time, there was also a wedding to tend to ...
By June of 2012, I was 200-something pages into writing book two when real-life dictated a pause. It was time to sign a wedding license. I tend to get a little too focused when writing, and temporarily abandon such niceties as eating and sleeping, so it's good to have someone pull me away from the desk now and then. I don't mind the intensity, but I'm sure it's better for me to take breaks. However, no sooner was the wedding contract signed than I received an email: it was time to return that Hobbit contract from a year ago. I jotted down another sloppy signature and signed my second contract of the day.
About two weeks ago that contract returned to me in the mail. It was now countersigned, binding, and official.
This post is going online on Monday, August 20, 2012. Why? Because today marks the official start of The Hobbit recording sessions in London. Today the musical world of Middle-earth begins expanding once again. Today, you can no longer say that you know every note of Shore's music for Tolkien's world. In fact, you only know about half of it. (This is a ballpark figure; I have no idea how long the three Hobbit films will be!) Today the subject of The Music of the Hobbit Films exists not just in concept, but in reality. Today a new journey begins ...
I'm going to keep working intently on book number two for the time being, but I expect to be fully drawn into Middle-earth during the course of the next month. In fact, I expect to embark upon a rather less-metaphorical journey in just another few weeks. I'll keep you posted. From there, it's back to the constantly moving world of plane tickets, review deadlines, and stacks and stacks of score pages. I believe the book I'm currently writing will hit shelves before the book on the Hobbit scores does. However, I tend to think that you'll see some form of my Hobbit work before either book.
So this is it, the official start to my work on The Music of the Hobbit Films. It's now a project being pursued in earnest. I've been promising for a long time that this site would pick up in the late summer of 2012, and here we are! Of course, I'm not going to be a source of freely flowing news -- official announcements will still be made via press releases, etc. -- but I'm very much looking forward to the subtle hinting and suggesting of days of old. Anyway, it's a long process, and you wouldn't want me to give everything away all at once, would you?
I don't know exactly where this new road ends, but somehow I feel perfectly content to have found its beginning. But that's Tolkien for you: "You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
Today, we step onto the road ...
I read the contract over during the day, and by that evening had set it back on the shelf. I was beyond excited, but I also knew to be patient. After all, the creation of The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films was a long, long journey. It was on May 16, 2001 that I originally received the call to do "something"with Howard Shore's music for these stories. And it was in October 2010 that the book was finally released. The Hobbit contract loomed large, but as of summer 2011, there was not yet any Hobbit music to speak of. Howard Shore was still very much in the world of Hugo -- and, frankly, even I hopped into that world for a short but memorable stay. So my Hobbit contract sat still, ready to go, but on hold.
The funny thing about adventures, though, is that you're rarely sure when they'll begin or when they'll end. Shortly after Martin Scorcese's charming film -- and Shore's brilliant score -- was in theaters, a new trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey appeared featuring new music by Howard Shore. The composer's work on The Hobbit had quietly overlapped Hugo. Sure it was just a trailer, but it ensured that the new music for Middle-earth would be firmly lodged in our ears for months to come. I honestly cannot remember the last time a piece of music from a trailer had so many YouTube covers a year before the film's release.
As 2012 rolled in, Shore made his official return to Tolkien's world. He was now a full-time resident, though he made committed excursions to oversee his new Cello Concerto and the releases of his vibrant scores to Cosmopolis and S.U.N. He and I would chat from time-to-time, and I would record the important details in the back of my mind, but I was also overlapping projects a bit. By this time, I had begun work on a second book that followed up both on three Hugo articles I penned for Shore's official site and on a piece I wrote for the Seattle Opera. And while this new book occupied much of my creative time, there was also a wedding to tend to ...
By June of 2012, I was 200-something pages into writing book two when real-life dictated a pause. It was time to sign a wedding license. I tend to get a little too focused when writing, and temporarily abandon such niceties as eating and sleeping, so it's good to have someone pull me away from the desk now and then. I don't mind the intensity, but I'm sure it's better for me to take breaks. However, no sooner was the wedding contract signed than I received an email: it was time to return that Hobbit contract from a year ago. I jotted down another sloppy signature and signed my second contract of the day.
About two weeks ago that contract returned to me in the mail. It was now countersigned, binding, and official.
This post is going online on Monday, August 20, 2012. Why? Because today marks the official start of The Hobbit recording sessions in London. Today the musical world of Middle-earth begins expanding once again. Today, you can no longer say that you know every note of Shore's music for Tolkien's world. In fact, you only know about half of it. (This is a ballpark figure; I have no idea how long the three Hobbit films will be!) Today the subject of The Music of the Hobbit Films exists not just in concept, but in reality. Today a new journey begins ...
I'm going to keep working intently on book number two for the time being, but I expect to be fully drawn into Middle-earth during the course of the next month. In fact, I expect to embark upon a rather less-metaphorical journey in just another few weeks. I'll keep you posted. From there, it's back to the constantly moving world of plane tickets, review deadlines, and stacks and stacks of score pages. I believe the book I'm currently writing will hit shelves before the book on the Hobbit scores does. However, I tend to think that you'll see some form of my Hobbit work before either book.
So this is it, the official start to my work on The Music of the Hobbit Films. It's now a project being pursued in earnest. I've been promising for a long time that this site would pick up in the late summer of 2012, and here we are! Of course, I'm not going to be a source of freely flowing news -- official announcements will still be made via press releases, etc. -- but I'm very much looking forward to the subtle hinting and suggesting of days of old. Anyway, it's a long process, and you wouldn't want me to give everything away all at once, would you?
I don't know exactly where this new road ends, but somehow I feel perfectly content to have found its beginning. But that's Tolkien for you: "You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
Today, we step onto the road ...
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Countdown
Commencement.
See you tomorrow morning to talk a bit about the future!
Mikko takes us to two.
Earl's turn.
Like Peleowyn says.
Five, of course.
Six days.
One week.
Eight days.
Nine days.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Ribbons
The picture below showed up on Twitter the other day, but I didn't realize until just now that it was something I'd not actually seen before. Despite the fact that The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films has been circulating for almost two years now, I've never actually held a second printing in my hands. You'll notice that picture shows a golden ribbon bookmark protruding past the end of the book. This is actually a part of the book--something we were only able to include on the second printing. We thought we'd throw it in just to distinguish the two runs. (There's also a small change in the technical text identifying the second printing.) I approved the design change, but hadn't actually seen it until now. Quite fetching, if I do say so!
By the way, Amazon continues to struggle to keep the book in stock. I think The Hobbit has increased the visibility quite a bit. If you've been holding off, don't hold off forever! We're not going to run dry any time soon, but available is occasionally an issue.
Back soon,
D
By the way, Amazon continues to struggle to keep the book in stock. I think The Hobbit has increased the visibility quite a bit. If you've been holding off, don't hold off forever! We're not going to run dry any time soon, but available is occasionally an issue.
Back soon,
D
Monday, July 30, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Well, Super ...
I had a bit of a go at the new Superman trailer on Twitter this weekend, but since genuine questions have arisen, I thought I'd address them here.
First, yes, this is indeed the music from Gandalf's fall in Fellowship -- you're not hearing things. Man of Steel, like The Lord of the Rings, is a Warner Brothers production (New Line is a subsidiary of WB) so they're well within their rights to reuse the music as far as I'm aware.
Second, it is unlikely in the extreme that this music will actually show up in the final film. Hans Zimmer is scoring Man of Steel, and he and his team tend to bring a strong personality to projects. Finalized films do occasionally work in borrowed compositions, but this is usually because the director used it in the temp and fell in love with it. Die Hard did this. The Star Wars prequels. Three Kings used an odd bit of Thomas Newman's Unstrung Heroes. There are some more recent examples I'm forgetting. But the director of Man of Steel recently announced that they will not be using the John Williams theme from the 70s in his film, so they're obviously trying to give it a new stamp.
Third, it's actually common practice to use preexisting music in teaser trailers. Generally speaking, the original music for a new film isn't ready until shortly before the film's release. There's no new Superman music in the Superman trailer because that music doesn't exist yet. It is very rare to have original, film-specific music in a trailer. Obviously, The Hobbit uses original music. So did The Return of the King a few years back. Tintin's trailer used some of the original score last year, but that was because Williams scored the rough animation and held recording sessions at least year in advance of the film's release. (Additional sessions were held once the animation was polished.) But let us remember that even The Two Towers' trailer used music from Requiem for a Dream, not music by Howard Shore, so The Lord of the Rings has been on both sides of this equation. (And since people still ask, no, Shore had nothing to do with the Requiem music.)
So why is this causing such a stir? Generally when a trailer repurposes a piece of film music, they chose something with a low profile -- something accessible, but not strongly associated with a particular narrative. The end of James Horner's Aliens showed up in action trailers for years. To this day, Randy Edleman's themes from Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and Dragonheart are probably better known for their many trailer appearances than for their places in the original films. Gandalf's fall, however, is an iconic moment in a classic score from a famous film. Does it work here? Sure -- but you could put Shore's beautiful music behind a video of me eating breakfast and it would still be inspirational. It's just that powerful. Is it distracting in Man of Steel? Yes, probably. At least for those of use who have lived so closely with the music. But I bet it will sell a lot of tickets at the same time.
Finally, as a result of my recent marriage, I am now related to the actor playing the bad guy in the new Superman movie -- so I'm keeping a safe distance from the rest of this brouhaha. ;)
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Upcoming LOTR Performances in Ireland and Shanghai
A pair of upcoming LOTR performances made the news today. The Two Towers will play in Ireland on Sunday, October 28, 2012 when the RTÉ Concert Orchestra presents a Live to Projection concert in the O2. Details and tickets are HERE.
But before that, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Opera Chorus and Shanghai Youth Choir will present Howard Shore's LOTR Symphony on Sunday, July 29, 2012. Details and tickets for that performance are right HERE.
Sounds like a pair of pleasant Sundays!
But before that, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Opera Chorus and Shanghai Youth Choir will present Howard Shore's LOTR Symphony on Sunday, July 29, 2012. Details and tickets for that performance are right HERE.
Sounds like a pair of pleasant Sundays!
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