Introduction | Fellowship of the Ring | Two Towers | Return of the King | Notes and Links

First things first: if you'd like to contact me about this, with questions, comments, criticism or clarification, you can reach me at etoile [at] etoilepb.com (and if you're a LiveJournal-inclined person, my username there is EtoilePB). I may occasionally be slow to respond, but I'll be happy to discuss any aspect of this.

If you have not already done, do yourself a favor and check out the Soundtrack Analysis I keep linking. It has sound clips of some of the songs that aren't available on CD (like Eowyn's lament), and the linguistic breakdown really is stunning. Using that site will give you a better understanding both of the music and of the film.

I also owe thanks to some people who helped me out after I posted the original analyses at LOTR @ LJ, who encouraged and corrected me, in particular jacinthsong, devilwrites, ilanalynn, soultoad and others. Thank you all.

With the exception of the people and site I have just mentioned, I compiled this analysis entirely on my own, using my ears as my best tool. In consequence, I made a decision to keep this description simple, a jumping-off point of the CDs alone. About a month after this site went live, I was happy to discover that I am not alone in my obsession! This site is a magnificent rundown of everything in FOTR, and I hope to see her analyze the other two films soon as well.

Now that all that's out of the way... In no particular order, here are lots of things worth knowing about all this:

• The scores, as presented on the CDs, are often fantastically out of order. I did note this relatively often in the analyses, but it happens a lot more than I mention it. Don't be surprised when the movie and the CD don't jive.



• Another of my favorite pieces of trivia: the very first time you hear a clear statement of the GONDOR theme is in FOTR, during the Council of Elrond. Listen while Boromir gives his, "...by the blood of our people" speech. It's there, impossibly clear. It's just that in 2001, none of us knew what that nifty horn solo really was.



• The first time in ROTK where the GONDOR music plays for Aragorn is on the Pelennor. However, the first time overall that the Gondor theme plays for Aragorn is in TTT:EE, during the exchange about the Northern Kingdom (Arnor) and his age that he has with Eowyn. The theme then transitions into the Rivendell music as Aragorn sits and smokes and has his flashback.



• In the TTT:EE, Gandalf delivers a long monologue to Aragorn. Somewhere in the middle, he says something about their hope, and a subtle variation of the theme for the West plays underneath.



• Eowyn's theme plays very clearly when she has her "bad stew" scene in the TTT: EE.



• If you want to take apart GANDALF THE WHITE's music, half of it kind of belongs to Shadowfax, lord of all horses. I always forget about the horse. What a bad Tolkienite I am.



• When in the TTT:EE Denethor corners Boromir and tells him to go to Rivendell, the music that plays is almost an exact parallel of the music that plays under Boromir's final temptation in FOTR.



• At least two sound effects -- the Evenstar's *ting* and the relentless Ringthrob -- are often integrated into the music surrounding each of these objects. Actually, the Ringthrob is an amazing sound effect in and of itself, constantly integrated into the aural landscape.



• If you're interested in the sound (beyond just the music), you may be amused by the background information on the Wilhelm Scream, which I've heard twice in TTT:EE and I think also appeared two or three times in ROTK.