‘Simply astounding’: Howard Shore reflects on ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ score ahead of 25th anniversary shows at The Auditorium
On the second day of the new year, the Collider entertainment website listed its “10 Greatest Movie Scores of the Last 100 Years.”
At No. 1, selected above scores composed by Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Hans Zimmer and others, was Howard Shore’s score for the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
“What Howard Shore achieved with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is simply astounding,” Collider’s Ryan Heffernan wrote, “developing over 80 distinct themes that flaunt every emotion imaginable, from comfort and joy to imposing dread, rousing adventure, and even devastating heartbreak.”
The first film in director Peter Jackson’s trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001) earned Shore both an Academy Award and a Grammy Award for its score.
That came a few years before the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures gave the Canadian composer a career achievement award in 2005.
It’s among many awards, accomplishments and assignments he’s earned, including three Oscars, four Grammys, an officer of the Order of Canada — and “Saturday Night Live’s” first music director.
In tandem with the film’s 25th anniversary, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — In Concert” comes to The Auditorium in Chicago for three performances Friday and Saturday, March 13-14.
The score will be performed live while the film is projected on a 60-foot screen. The performance features 238 musicians, a full symphony orchestra, including chorus and soloists, and is presented by Columbia Artists Music LLC (CAMI Music).
The Daily Herald reached Shore, now living in New York, for his thoughts on the upcoming performances at The Auditorium.
Q: Tell us just a little bit about yourself.
A: I live in an oakwood, and the garden and the forest that I live in are very much an inspiration. My wife, Elizabeth, and I have been restoring the garden for 30 years.
Q: What is your involvement with this tour?
A: I’ve worked with CAMI Music to bring the concert to Chicago, selecting the orchestra, choirs, soloists and conductor. I try to maintain the performances at the highest level.
Q: What is your favorite among the many scores you’ve written? Where does “The Fellowship of the Ring” fit in?
A: “The Fellowship of the Ring” was the beginning of my journey into the world of Tolkien, and I will always hold a special fondness for the music and the experience.
Q: What is your process writing a score?
A: I like to start with the source material. In this case Tolkien’s book. I like to read and I like to dream.
I always start with the words when I’m working on a film … Then I essentially write thematic ideas. Later, I will start to work those pieces into the film, to figure out where they fit. I know they belong somewhere, I just don’t know where they go quite yet.
I never like to sit in front of a scene and try to work it out head-on, I like to go in on the angle.
Q: What will the listener hear instrumentally in “The Fellowship of the Ring”?
A: Tolkien’s story points the compass North, South, East and West. To depict the different cultures of Middle-earth, I used instruments from the East — Japanese taiko drums, Chinese cymbals, Tibetan gongs, East Indian bowed lutes, the sarangi and the dilruba.
In the West, you had the Celtic instruments — the tin whistle, the Celtic harp, the bodhran, guitars, mandolin, dulcimers and the fiddle.
North, you had the hardanger, a Norwegian fiddle with sympathetic strings.
And South, we had African instruments, the rhaita and the ney flute, and African percussion.
Q: What are you working on currently?
A: Most recently, I’ve been working with the renowned organist Anna Lapwood. She has created a new piece: “The Lord of the Rings Organ Symphony,” transcribing the original scores for the organ.
Anna will be premiering the work on May 1 in Atlantic City, performing on the world’s largest pipe organ at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
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“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — In Concert”
Location: The Auditorium, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 13, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14. Doors open one hour prior to the show.
Tickets: $94-$383 at ticketmaster.com