An Evening in Rivendell

Last updated
An Evening in Rivendell
An evening in rivendell albumcover.jpg
Studio album by
Released30 September 1997
Recorded1997
StudioFocus Recording, Copenhagen, Denmark
Genre Classical
Length67:49
Label Classico
Producer Morten Ryelund Sørensen
The Tolkien Ensemble chronology
An Evening in Rivendell
(1997)
A Night in Rivendell
(1999)

An Evening in Rivendell is the first album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and forms the first part of what was to become a complete musical interpretation of all lyrics in the book.

Contents

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Verse of the Rings"Caspar Reiff4.06
2."The Old Walking Song, The Road..."Caspar Reiff4.58
3."Tom Bombadil's Song, Hey dol! Merry dol!"Peter Hall5.40
4."There is an inn, a merry old inn..."Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall4.58
5."Song of Beren and Lúthien"Caspar Reiff7.59
6."Galadriel's Song of Eldamar, I sang of leaves"Caspar Reiff6.23
7."Elven Hymn to Elbereth Gilthoniel, Snow-white! Snow-white!"Caspar Reiff5.31
8."The Ent and the Ent-wife"Caspar Reiff7.45
9."Sam's Rhyme of the Troll"Peter Hall5.19
10."Galadriel's Song of Eldamar, Ai! Laurië lantar..."Caspar Reiff6.10
11."Sam's Song in the Orc-tower"Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall5.20
12."The Old Walking Song, The Road...,Reprise"Caspar Reiff2.41

Reception

Af Søren Aabyen, reviewing the album for the Danish Tolkien Association, found that rarely had any music appealed to him as much. He was delighted by the mezzo-soprano Signe Asmussen's mellow rendering of "Galadriel's Song of Eldamar". He enjoyed the playful hobbit-song "There is an Inn, a merry old Inn", and Caspar Reiff's suitably melancholy guitar for "The Old Walking Song" alongside the rich baritone voice of Mads Thiemann and the lyrical violin of Mette Tjærby. Aabyen noted also the pleasure of finding Queen Margaret of Denmark's illustrations in the accompanying booklet. [1] Anthony Burdge and Jessica Burke, in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia , note that the album was the first of four by the ensemble, complete with the queen's illustrations "greatly admired by Tolkien." [2]

The Tolkien Ensemble called their Danish reviews "outstanding", noting that in other countries Tolkien Online had described it as "the most beautiful presentation of the poems of The Lord of the Rings", while Classic CD named it "Highly persuasive and splendidly performed". [3]

Credits

Production

Related Research Articles

Rivendell Fictional valley of Elves in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth

Rivendell is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, being the place where the quest to destroy the One Ring began.

Treebeard, or Fangorn in Sindarin, is a tree-giant character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He is an Ent and is said by Gandalf to be "the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth." He lives in the ancient Forest of Fangorn, to which he has given his name. It lies at the southern end of the Misty Mountains. He is described as being about 14 feet in height, and in appearance similar to a beech or an oak.

The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late Poem in The Lord of the Rings

"The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late" is J. R. R. Tolkien's imagined original song behind the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle ", invented by back formation. It was first published in Yorkshire Poetry magazine in 1923, and was reused in extended form in the 1954–55 The Lord of the Rings as a song sung by Frodo Baggins in the Prancing Pony inn. The extended version was republished in the 1962 collection The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.

The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have served as the inspiration to painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that he is sometimes seen as the "father" of the entire genre of high fantasy.

Do not laugh! But once upon a time I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic to the level of romantic fairy-story... The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama. Absurd.

Namárië Elvish poem by J. R. R. Tolkien

"Namárië" is a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien written in Quenya, a constructed language, and published in The Lord of the Rings. It is subtitled "Galadriel's Lament in Lórien", which in Quenya is Altariello nainië Lóriendessë. The poem appears in one other book by Tolkien, The Road Goes Ever On.

Bent Sørensen is a Danish composer. He won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 2018 for L'isola della Città (2016).

The Tolkien Ensemble

The Tolkien Ensemble is a Danish ensemble which successfully aimed to create "the world's first complete musical interpretation of the poems and songs from The Lord of the Rings". They published four CDs from 1997 to 2005, in which all the poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings are set to music. The project was approved by both the Tolkien family and HarperCollins Publishers. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark gave permission to use her illustrations in the CD layout.

<i>A Night in Rivendell</i> 2000 studio album by The Tolkien Ensemble

A Night In Rivendell is the second album by the Danish group the Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings and forms the second part of what was to become a complete musical interpretation of all lyrics in the book.

<i>At Dawn in Rivendell</i> 2003 studio album by The Tolkien Ensemble

At Dawn in Rivendell is the third album by the Danish group the Tolkien Ensemble. It featured a guest appearance by the actor and singer Christopher Lee, who voiced the spoken word tracks and sang the part of the Ent Treebeard.

<i>Leaving Rivendell</i> 2005 studio album by The Tolkien Ensemble

Leaving Rivendell is the fourth album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble, with Christopher Lee as additional vocalist. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and forms the end part of a complete musical interpretation of all lyrics in the book.

A Elbereth Gilthoniel is an Elvish hymn to Varda (Elbereth) in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is written in Sindarin, and not translated in the main text where it is first presented.

Sir Henry and his Butlers was a Danish rock-pop group which was formed during the summer of 1964 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The group is mostly known for its two front figures Ole "Sir Henry" Bredahl and especially Tommy Seebach and also the song "Let's Go". Characteristic for the group has been Ole Bredahl as organiser, whereas the rest of the ensemble of Sir Henry and his Butlers have been changed many times since the creation of the group.

<i>Lord of the Rings</i> (musical)

The Lord of the Rings is the most prominent of several theatre adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic high fantasy novel of the same name, with music by A. R. Rahman, Christopher Nightingale and the band Värttinä, and book and lyrics by Matthew Warchus and Shaun McKenna.

Galadriel Elf lady in J.R.R. Tolkiens legendarium

Galadriel is a character created by J. R. R. Tolkien in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales.

Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen is a Copenhagen-based, Danish chamber ensemble specializing in the performance of modern compositions. It was founded in 1990 and is highly esteemed for the high quality of its work. Artistic Director of the ensemble since 2014 is Jesper Lützhøft while Pierre-André Valade is Principal Guest Conductor.

<i>The Blackest Box</i> 2011 greatest hits album by Sort Sol

The Blackest Box is a compilation boxset by Danish punk/rock band Sort Sol/Sods. The boxset comprises 11 CDs – eight CDs with remastered editions of all of the band's studio albums, as well as three bonus CD. The boxset includes a new version of the album Unspoiled Monsters. In the boxset the album is named: Unspoiled Monsters / Artist's Cut. The difference from the original release and the version in the boxset is both the order of the tracks on the album and the lack of the song called: "The Painter" from the original release.

The Robert Award for Best Screenplay is one of the merit awards presented by the Danish Film Academy at the annual Robert Awards ceremony. The award has been handed out since 1984, but except in 1991 and 1993. On two occasions, in 2005 and in 2015, the Academy handed out two awards in the category, one for best original screenplay, and one for best adapted screenplay.

Signe Asmussen Danish mezzosoprano singer

Signe Asmussen Manuitt is a Danish mezzosoprano singer who has performed widely, not only in classical concerts, chamber music and opera but also in Latin jazz and as a member of the Tolkien Ensemble. Since 2001, she has made a mark as one of Denmark's most impressive female singers. In addition to appearances in Denmark, she has given recitals in London's Wigmore Hall and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. Asmussen recently starred as Hanna Glawari in Operette Kompagniet's production of The Merry Widow. She is married to the Cuban Salsa singer Ernesto Manuitt.

The Song of Eärendil is the longest poem in The Lord of the Rings. In the fiction, it is sung and composed by the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the Elvish sanctuary of Rivendell. The work is described by the Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey as exemplifying "an elvish streak ... signalled ... by barely-precedented intricacies" of poetry.

Music of Middle-earth Music in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth fiction

The music of Middle-earth consists of the music mentioned by J. R. R. Tolkien in his Middle-earth books, the music written by other artists to accompany performances of his work, whether individual songs or adaptations of his books for theatre, film, radio, and games, and music more generally inspired by his books.

References

  1. Aabyen, Af Søren (18 May 1998). "Anmeldelser | Musik: An evening in Rivendell" (in Danish). Imladris - Danmarks Tolkien Forening.
  2. Burdge, Anthony; Burke, Jessica (2013) [2006]. "Popular Music". In Drout, Michael D.C. (ed.). J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia . Routledge. p. 539. ISBN   978-0-415-86511-1.
  3. Reiff, Caspar. "The Story of the Tolkien Ensemble". The Tolkien Ensemble . Retrieved 13 January 2020.