 Ring Ping!! |
Posted on 06/20/2002 12:06:33 PM PDT by maquiladora
Film fans taken by the Hobbit habit will be able to journey to treacherous and magical Middle-earth and back, all for the price of a concert ticket.
In a world premiere, film composer Howard Shore is set to unveil an orchestral suite based on his epic Oscar-winning soundtrack to ``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' on two consecutive August nights at the Hollywood Bowl.
Shore's grand score was an integral part of the film's atmosphere, plot development and producer-director Peter Jackson's realization of the enchanting Middle-earth. ``Fellowship's'' 170-minute final cut contains 150 minutes of music.
``I've always been a huge opera fan, so I had a good background in what sort of music was required for such an enormous story,'' Shore said. ``I looked at it as more of a historical piece, and I found myself doing research that took me back to the beginnings of music and notation. Hence, there is a great deal of solo and choir singing - in essence, the beginnings of music.''
Recorded on two continents with a 200-piece ensemble, the operatic ``Fellowship'' soundtrack - which has sold more than a half-million copies - received numerous nominations and honors, culminating in March with the Academy Award for best original score.
Critics raved that Shore's musical vision for the first segment of author J.R.R. Tolkien's ``Lord of the Rings'' trilogy resulted in the most interesting film soundtrack in years. Shore penned the score for the forthcoming ``Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and is currently at work on the finale, ``Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,'' due for release next year.
Christian Clemmensen, a reviewer at Filmtracks, a widely respected Web site devoted to the critical appreciation of film music from around the world, said Shore's themes ``don't parade with attitude, and his action music is deeply woven into a choral fabric that provides the magic the Tolkien world demands and deserves. He has produced one of the most intriguing and enjoyable big-screen fantasy scores since Jerry Goldsmith's 'Legend.' ''
For his part, Shore concedes the ``Rings'' trilogy presents a daunting task.
``It's my biggest score ever,'' Shore said from his home in New York. ``The challenge was to take the listener on an emotional journey through this time and place called Middle-earth. It's a three- to five-year project.''
Shore's work is the centerpiece of the ``Musical Mythologies: The Lord of the Rings'' concerts Aug. 9 and 10 at the Hollywood Bowl. The piece will be performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, conducted by John Mauceri, and the Pacific Chorale.
``What we're doing is part of a nine-movement symphony,'' Mauceri explained. ``Howard is telling an epic story in symphonic terms. It's contemporary film music done with incredible depth of feeling and knowledge. Howard is meeting a very, very difficult challenge. Middle-earth is something like 7,000 years old, and to create music that has the feel of antiquity but is far more than historical is extremely difficult. That's what Howard succeeds in doing.''
Born 55 years ago in Toronto, Shore studied composition at the Berklee School of Music in Boston before hitting the road with the rock group Lighthouse. He scored theater and radio productions, landing the high-profile musical director chair for NBC-TV's ``Saturday Night Live'' from its premiere in 1975 until 1980.
His soundtracks for more than 60 feature films, including the hits ``The Silence of the Lambs'' and ``Philadelphia,'' include an extensive collaboration with auteur David Cronenberg, for whom he scored such stylish and offbeat films as ``The Fly,'' ``Dead Ringers'' and ``Naked Lunch.''
Shore is comfortable with a wide range of genres and styles, from mainstream comedy in ``Big'' and ``Mrs. Doubtfire'' to quirky biography in ``Ed Wood.'' His jazzy score for ``Analyze This'' and the use of emotional strings in ``Philadelphia'' drew acclaim.
Shore plans to attend the Hollywood Bowl premiere of his new ``Rings'' suite, which includes some music not used in ``Fellowship'' as well as themes recently penned for ``The Two Towers.''
Although he's not conducting at the Bowl, Shore will wield the baton in February at London's Royal Festival Hall and next fall in his native Toronto. He said there is also considerable interest in producing ``Rings'' concerts in Dallas and Detroit.
In the midst of such a long, ongoing process, is Shore ever bored of the ``Rings''?
``Not at all,'' he said. ``In fact, it really was fun to revisit the first project because I was already involved in the second 'Rings' movie at the time I started the suite. It was actually quite nice to slip back into Middle-earth. And now I'm almost ready to wrap up Act 2 and start the third.''
Shore has nothing but praise for competitors like resident ``Star Wars'' composer John Williams in the galaxy of big-stakes movie music.
``Both the new 'Star Wars' movie and 'Fellowship' have some factors in common,'' he admitted. ``They are both epic-scale stories. But they have far more differences than similarities. 'Star Wars' takes place in space while 'Lord of the Rings' is set on Earth. One is a historical piece, and one is a futuristic creation. And, of course, 'Star Wars' is an ongoing story whereas 'Rings' is one book written by Tolkien over 14 years. There are no sequels.''
``Tolkien wanted it published as one long book, but the publisher put it out as three separate novels,'' he continued. ``That way, it was supposed to be easier to market.''
Shore keeps Tolkien's wishes in the back of his mind while composing what will eventually be a musical score of 10 hours or more.
``It's indeed grand,'' Shore affirmed. ``But there just aren't many stories outside of great opera that lend themselves to this sort of treatment. This is a workout.''
Didn't FoTR's soundtrack come out the November before the movie release? I would think that they will follow the same pattern as last year. Although they are being awfully stingy with new trailers.
Ring Ping!! |
Reprise will probably press a CD based on the live recordings. At least I hope so.
TTT soundtrack CD is due for release in mid-Nov I think.
Don't forget the 10-minute preview of TTT in the standard version DVD released in August.
He said there is also considerable interest in producing ``Rings'' concerts in Dallas and Detroit.
47 day bump! ;^)
I'll meet you at 2JM's. We can carpool from there...
I resemble that remark!
Neato news... thanks for the pings! This would be a wonderful concert to be at! Any of us going to be able to go? - Dan is the only hobbit I even know is in the state of California.... Dan?
OT, maybe if you and 2JM bring your whistles, Shore would let you enter into the jamb!
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