Doug Adams (music journalist)

Last updated
Doug Adams
Doug Adams.jpg
Adams at a book-signing in 2010
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Musicologist, author

Doug Adams is a musician, author, lecturer, and educator. He is the author of The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films , a book about the music in The Lord of the Rings films. [1]

Contents

Career

Adams previously worked for Film Score Monthly [2] where, among other articles, he wrote extensive analyses of the themes used in John Williams' Star Wars film scores.

After graduate school in 2001, [3] Adams was selected by Howard Shore to observe and document his work on The Lord of the Rings films. [4] Adams spent just under ten years writing the book, The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films. [5] He also wrote the booklets and liner notes packaged with the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings scores. Adams also works at Hickory Creek Middle School in Frankfort, Illinois as a band director.

Adams' association with Howard Shore continued in 2011, during which time he acted as an advisor to Shore's The Lord of the Rings in Concert series [6] and produced a recording of an orchestrion for the film Hugo . [7]

In late 2013, he was seen in two documentaries: The Songs of the Hobbit (which was included with the extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ) and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Production Video 14. In 2014, he appeared in The Music of the Hobbit, an hour-long documentary that was included on the extended edition of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. In the video, Adams discussed Howard Shore's music and demonstrated themes at the keyboard. He also authored the liner notes that accompanied the three albums of the Hobbit film scores.

It was announced on The Modern Musician podcast [8] that Adams has written book titled Impossible Silence, which covers silent films and the history of film music.

Adams is listed as a participant in the Star Wars documentary The Prequels Strike Back: A Fan's Journey , in which he "sits down with his piano to highlight some of the masterful ways John Williams makes parallels between the original and prequel trilogy." [9]

On November 25, 2016, Howard Shore confirmed that Adams was working on a book that will cover the music of The Hobbit films. [10] It was set to be released in 2017, [11] but it has not been published as of 2024.

Personal life

Adams and his wife live in Chicago. [5] He is a percussionist. [12]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Sibley</span> English writer

Brian David Sibley is an English writer. He is author of over 100 hours of radio drama and has written and presented hundreds of radio documentaries, features and weekly programmes. Among his adaptations is the 1981 version of The Lord of the Rings for radio. A columnist and author, he is widely known as the author of many film "making of" books, including those for the Harry Potter series, and The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Shore</span> Canadian film score composer (born 1946)

Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, conductor and orchestrator noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. He won three Academy Awards for his work on The Lord of the Rings, with one being for the song "Into the West", an award he shared with Eurythmics lead vocalist Annie Lennox and writer/producer Fran Walsh, who wrote the lyrics. He is a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg, having scored all but one of his films since 1979, and collaborated with Martin Scorsese on six of his films.

The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by British author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, the films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, and Sean Bean.

A Hobbit is a fictional creature created by the author J. R. R. Tolkien.

"Concerning Hobbits" is a piece by composer Howard Shore derived from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. It is a concert suite of the music of the Hobbits, arranged from the music heard in the film during the early Shire scenes, and features the various themes and leitmotifs composed for the Shire and Hobbits; it is intended to evoke feelings of peace. It is also the title of one of the sections of the prologue to The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Excerpts of the piece can be heard during an extended scene in the 2012 film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, where it was tracked intentionally. The piece has become synonymous with the Shire and Hobbiton themes.

The music of The Lord of the Rings film series was composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Howard Shore between 2000 and 2004 to support Peter Jackson's film trilogy based on J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel of the same name. It is notable in terms of length of the score, the size of the staged forces, the unusual instrumentation, the featured soloists, the multitude of musical styles and the number of recurring musical themes used.

"A Walking Song" is a poem in The Lord of the Rings. It appears in the third chapter, entitled "Three is Company". It is given its title in the work's index to songs and poems. There is a companion poem near the end of the novel.

<i>The Hobbit</i> (film series) 2012–2014 fantasy film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson

The Hobbit is a series of three fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). The films are based on J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit, but much of the trilogy was inspired by the appendices to his 1954–55 The Lord of the Rings, which expand on the story told in The Hobbit. Additional material and new characters were created specially for the films. The series is a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

"In Dreams" is a song by Howard Shore, with lyrics by Fran Walsh, originally written for Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. In the film, it was sung by the boy soprano Edward Ross of the London Oratory School Schola.

J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), set in his fictional world of Middle-earth, have been the subject of numerous motion picture adaptations across film and television.

<i>The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</i> 2013 fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a 2013 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. The sequel to 2012's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, it is the second instalment in The Hobbit trilogy, acting as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

<i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i> 2012 film by Peter Jackson

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a 2012 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro. It is based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. The Hobbit trilogy is the first instalment in acting as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The music of The Hobbit film series is composed, orchestrated, and produced by Howard Shore, who scored all three The Lord of the Rings films, to which The Hobbit film trilogy is a prequel series. It continues the style of The Lord of the Rings score, using a vast ensemble, multiple musical forms and styles, many leitmotifs, and unusual instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I See Fire</span> 2013 single by Ed Sheeran

"I See Fire" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was commissioned for the soundtrack of the 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, where it was played over the closing credits. The Hobbit director, Peter Jackson, asked Sheeran to write a song for the movie after Jackson's daughter, Katie, suggested Sheeran. Sheeran saw the film, wrote the song, and recorded most of the track elements on the same day.

<i>The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers</i> (soundtrack) 2002 soundtrack album by Howard Shore

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on 10 December 2002. The score was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore, and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices, and the London Oratory School Schola. The Two Towers comes in a regular and a limited edition, which was an exclusive to Target in the US. This latter relates contains the additional track "Farewell to Lórien" from the extended edition to The Fellowship of the Ring.

<i>The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King</i> (soundtrack) 2003 soundtrack album by Howard Shore

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the soundtrack for the 2003 epic fantasy adventure film of the same name. The score was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore, and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices, and the London Oratory School Schola. The soundtrack was released on 25 November 2003. The limited edition contains a bonus DVD with the track "Use Well the Days" by Annie Lennox, song texts, photo gallery, and a Lord of the Rings trilogy supertrailer.

<i>The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies</i> 2014 film by Peter Jackson

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is a 2014 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro. It is based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. The sequel to 2013's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the final instalment in The Hobbit trilogy, acting as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Lego The Lord of the Rings is a Lego theme based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson and the novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. It is licensed from Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The theme was first introduced in 2012. The first sets appeared in 2012, to coincide with a release of the video game Lego The Lord of the Rings. Subsequent sets based on The Hobbit film trilogy would also be released and the video game Lego The Hobbit was released in 2014. The product line was discontinued by the end of 2015. Later, the theme was relaunched in January 2023 with three new sets released as the part of the Lego BrickHeadz theme. In February 2023, The Lego Group unveiled a new Rivendell set that released on 8 March 2023 as the part of the Lego Icons theme. Further, a Barad-Dûr set released on 1 June 2024, also as part of the Icons theme.

The music of The Lord of the Rings film series, composed by Howard Shore to accompany Peter Jackson's films, exists in multiple recordings. It was heard by cinema audiences in the "theatrical" version, also released on DVD. Three single-disc albums were then released, forming briefer concert-pieces that broadly aligned with the narrative content of each film. Limited Deluxe CD versions contained additional bonus tracks. Extended versions of the films were released on DVD, with additional scenes and their accompanying music. A multi-disc set, The Complete Recordings, covered the entire score of the extended versions of the films on CD. A CD, The Rarities Archives, accompanied a 2010 book by Doug Adams. Finally, Shore edited The Lord of the Rings Symphony in six movements from the score, for concert performance.

References

  1. Burlingame, Jon (October 7, 2010). "New book explores 'Lord of the Rings' music". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  2. Halfyard, Janet K. (2004). Danny Elfman's Batman: a film score guide. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   0-8108-5126-1.
  3. "Interview Doug Adams". Filmmusicsite.com. September 24, 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  4. Margini, Matt (September 21, 2010). "Middle-earth's musicologist". Washington Square News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 Morgan, David (October 6, 2010). "Middle Earth Returns to Radio City". CBS News. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  6. Adams, Doug. "AM Northwest Flashback" . Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  7. Adams, Doug. "Hugo and the Orchestrion" . Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  8. "Account Suspended". www.modernmusician.co. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  9. Adams, Doug. "Spotlight: Doug Adams" . Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  10. "Howard Shore: "Llevo en mi corazón toda la obra de Tolkien"". El Anillo Único (in Spanish). 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  11. Adams, Doug. "Doug Adams on Twitter: "So yes, we are officially working on The Music of the Hobbit Films! Hope to have more to say soon unless someone else says it first! ;)"". Twitter . Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  12. Signore, John (September 22, 2009). "Doug Adams, Lord of the Rings Musicologist". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2010.