The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

On August 12th, 2002, our scoring odyssey for THE TWO TOWERS began. In creating the score for the film, we brought back all of the wonderful musical elements from THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING: The London Philharmonic, The Voices of London, and the Oratory School Schola Boys’ Choir. This year, we added some beautiful new voices to sing the music of Middle-earth, which include the extraordinary Emiliana Torrini who sings “Gollum’s Song,” Sheila Chandra, Elizabeth Fraser, Isabel Bayrakdarian, soloist Ben Del Maestro, and lastly Hilary Summers, who made her first appearance with us on the extended cut DVD for THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING.

Howard has made use of a range of culturally specific instruments to evoke the many different worlds of Middle-earth. Dermot Crehan plays the signature sound of Rohan on the Norwegian fiddle called a hardinger. More familiar to you will be the North African reed instrument the rhaita, played by Jan Hendrickse which forms part of the Mordor theme. Mixed in with all of this you can hear the sound of the cimbalon, which plays directly to Gollum, the dilruba, log drums, wood xylophones, to name but a few of the extraordinary sounds which feature in the score.

The size and scope of Howard’s score is complimented by the grand sound of the Colosseum at the Watford Town Hall. Many great classical recordings have been recorded in this building, which has spectacular acoustics. This recording space has become integral to the sound of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. The choir was recorded separately at Abbey Road Studios.

The preparation for the scoring of THE TWO TOWERS was immense. Starting in Tuxedo, New York, where Howard Shore and his team at Eventone Editorial spent months preparing for the monumental recording sessions that would eventually take place in London. Thanks to the technology of high speed internet/Polycom video conferencing and Dolby fax, the scoring process progressed seamlessly across the globe with Howard in New York and the filmmakers in New Zealand.

The score for THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, and for THE TWO TOWERS specifically, is a classical orchestral piece in the European tradition. Over four hours of music was written for the film in its longest form. After substantial work on the picture edit, three hours of music was eventually recorded and produced. Special mention must go to audio engineer John Kurlander, who has recorded with Howard for many years, and Peter Cobbin, who supervised the mixing of the music. Thanks also to the amazing team of music editors at Abbey Road who have given so much to this project.

PAUL BROUCEK Co-Executive Album Producer

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Post production began on THE TWO TOWERS in January 2002. It was at this time that Howard Shore and I were able to have our first in depth conversation about the score for the second film. We talked about a long held dream that one day all three films might play as one uninterrupted epic piece of cinema. That day is still far off, but the notion of preserving the music identity of Middle-earth has become a defining path for us.

The score for THE TWO TOWERS introduces the audience to the World of Men. From the plains of Rohan to the ruined city of Osgiliath, Howard’s music brings to life these ancient cultures as if they have always been. He has made extensive use of language to anchor this world of myth in its own reality. The score for THE TWO TOWERS utilizes the Elvish languages of Sindarin and Quenya that Professor Tolkien himself created, as well as drawing extensively upon the archaic sounds of Old English for the magnificent choral pieces. THE TWO TOWERS also features the much beloved Shire and Fellowship themes which have become so closely identified with the personal quests of Frodo, Sam and Aragorn.

Howard’s music continues to inspire, surprise and delight us. He has written a powerful and compelling score straight from the heart and once again I thank him for being part of this extraordinary journey.

Special thanks to Emiliani Torrini, Sheila Chandra, Elizabeth Fraser, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Hilary Summers, Ben Del Maestro, Dermot Crehan, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Voices of London, The London Oratory School Schola, John Kurlander, Paul Broucek, Rick Porras, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jan Blenkin, Danny Bramson, Josie Leckie, Nigel Scott, Duncan Nimmo, Peter Cobbin and the Abbey Road Crew, CTS Watford, Terry Edwards, The Eventone Editorial boys, Karen Elliot & the crew at Hothouse Music.