The Lord of the Rings

It begins with a six-minute quasi-overture in which the score's principal themes are introduced in fragmentary form then just as quickly overwhelmed. Avant-garde pyramidal chord structures and the dissonant Ringwraith motif contrast with sturdy, optimistic music for the hobbits; then, as the work progresses, the dark textures thicken and a chorus is introduced, moaning and chanting "Mordor" and "namnesor dranoel" (the composer's name backwards!). The score climaxes with the massive and utterly terrifying "Helm's Deep" and "The Dawn Battle", in which the composer builds increasingly hysterical fugue-like textures in a densely written musical assault that employs archaic wind and percussion alongside a groaning, shouting chorus of demonic voices. The almost unbearable tension is finally released in a triumphant statement of the principal march theme. Unlike almost all other Hollywood film music this is challenging stuff; but such extraordinarily bold music is its own reward and can quite happily be enjoyed in isolation from the film for which it was intended. This welcome CD release presents the complete remastered 77-minute score in film order and is only let down by the extremely sloppy presentation of the booklet. --Mark Walker