The Tolkien Ensemble (founded in 1995) is a Danish ensemble which created "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 the Tolkien Estate. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark gave permission to use her illustrations on the CD covers.
Permanent members are Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall (composition, singing and guitar), Signe Asmussen (singing), Øyvind Ougaard (accordion), Katja Nielsen (double-bass), and Morten Ryelund Sørensen (conductor and violin). The ensemble have been described as elves, Tolkien's refined Middle-earth race, in contrast to the more rustic hobbit-like groups such as Brocéliande and the Hobbitons. Scholars have praised their settings as among the most atmospheric recordings of Tolkien's poems.
History
Ensemble members first met in January 1996 at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. The founder members were (left to right) Mads Thiemann, Caspar Reiff, Mette Tjærby, Ole Norup & Signe Asmussen.
Composer Caspar Reiff founded the Tolkien Ensemble in Copenhagen in autumn 1995. At that time, Reiff (1971) was studying guitar at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. He formed an ensemble consisting of fellow students from the Academy and his former guitar teacher, the composer and musician Peter Hall (1946), LLCM (TD) London College of Music.[T 1]
The goal set by the two composers, Reiff and Hall, was to create the world's first complete musical interpretation of the poems from J. R. R. Tolkien's "masterpiece" The Lord of the Rings. The ensemble, which was to form the base of this vision, was named 'The Tolkien Ensemble' — entirely devoted to the works of Tolkien. The ensemble first took shape with a group of invited musicians in January 1996 at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. The founder members (other than Reiff and Hall) were Mads Thiemann, Mette Tjærby, Ole Norup & Signe Asmussen.[T 1]
Gjorslev Castle, site of the ensemble's first concert, and described by Caspar Reiff as "a wonderful 'Lord of the Ring-ish' castle dating back to 1396"
The Tolkien Ensemble's first concert took place at Gjorslev Castle on 21 January 1996; this was followed by concerts in Denmark.[T 1] In January 1997, Reiff and Peter Hall were granted permission by the Tolkien Estate to record the first 12 songs from The Lord of the Rings.[T 1]
The two composers chose the young Danish conductor Morten Ryelund as producer and this was to have a major influence on the interpretation of the music and the project as a whole.[T 1] Ryelund later became a full member of the Tolkien Ensemble and the ensemble was granted permission by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark to use her illustrations on the CD cover. These unique illustrations, created when she was Crown Princess of Denmark, became a recurrent feature on all the ensemble's later CDs.[T 1]
The first album, An Evening in Rivendell, was released in autumn 1997 to widespread critical acclaim.[1] A number of concerts followed. Notably, in a 1998 concert in Oxford, the audience included members of the Tolkien family, to the ensemble's delight.[T 1]
An Evening in Rivendell was followed by the 2000 release A Night in Rivendell. The album contained more sombre songs from the Lord of The Rings; the ensemble worked with, among others, the singers Povl Dissing, who sang the part of Gollum, Kurt Ravn (Legolas) and Ulrik Cold (Gandalf).[2][3]
Interest in The Lord of the Rings grew dramatically in 2001 when Peter Jackson started to release his films of Tolkien's books. The Tolkien Ensemble was invited to take part in the Danish premiere of the first film in the Jackson's trilogy: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Among the celebrities representing the film in Copenhagen was the actor Christopher Lee, who played the traitorous wizard Saruman. The Tolkien Ensemble invited him to take part in their third album, At Dawn in Rivendell, partly as narrator and partly as singer of Treebeard's songs.[4] Lee's cooperation, combined with the growing interest for the work of Tolkien, resulted in a huge success for the album. It was released in 22 countries, was widely played by radio stations, and received excellent reviews. The International Herald Tribune called it "Total Lord of the Rings magic!" At Dawn in Rivendell later sold well worldwide.[5][6][7] The cooperation with Lee developed to include concerts. In the autumn of 2002, Lee took part in a release concert at Tivoli Concert Hall. Then followed a major tour of, among other countries, England and Sweden, culminating in the summer of 2003 when the ensemble gave a concert in Denmark for an audience including HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Prince Henrik of Denmark.[T 1]
In 2004 the two composers, Reiff and Hall, together with Lee, took part in a major sell-out concert in Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.[T 1] In 2005 The Tolkien Ensemble played at two major Lord of the Rings concerts at Ledreborg Castle, Denmark to an audience of over 22,000 people. Among the performers was the ensemble's new member, Nick Keir of the Scottish folk-trio The McCalmans. These concerts, with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra, the Danish National Chamber Choir, and soloists, marked the release of the fourth and last album of the series, Leaving Rivendell. Besides Lee, Keir, the Danish National Chamber Orchestra/DR and the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR performed with The Tolkien Ensemble on the fourth album.[T 1][8][9] The ensemble toured Europe in 2007, combining their own works with soundtrack pieces from Howard Shore's soundtrack to the film trilogy as well as live narration by Lee.[T 1] In 2008 the ensemble gave their longest concert tour of German cities including Berlin's Friedrichstadt-Palast, Hamburg, Hannover, Dresden, Bremen, and Leipzig's Gewandhaus.[T 1] The ensemble continued to give concert tours each year until 2013.[T 2]
The release of the four-CD-box in 2006 marked the completion of more than ten years' work and the attainment of the ensemble's goal: the release of their Complete Songs & Poems from The Lord of the Rings. More than 150 professional musicians participated in the effort. The four-CD-box is dedicated to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien, to The Tolkien Society in Oxford, and to the millions of people for whom The Lord of the Rings has a special place in their hearts.[10]
Reception
The Tolkien scholar David Bratman calls the ensemble "[refined] elves",[11] unlike groups like Brocéliande and the Hobbitons, who he calls "[rustic] hobbits in ethos".[11] He calls their music "some of the most atmospheric Tolkien settings on disc".[11] He mentions Lee's recitation of some of Tolkien's poems, where "[he] impersonates Treebeard half rhythmically talking and half singing, à laRex Harrison as Professor Higgins."[11] Bratman describes the ensemble's approach as an "effective combination" of folk and classical, and the ensemble itself as consisting of conservatory students and folk musicians. In his view there is an "ethereal air of wistfulness" throughout the Tolkien Ensemble's music, which contributes powerfully to their Elvish songs; he at once adds that their hobbit songs work out well too, with a light guitar setting and simple sturdy tune that handles Tom Bombadil's songs effectively. He especially admires the third album's last track, "Sam's invocation of Elven Hymn to Elbereth Gilthoniel" by Hall, where "Frodo's walking song meets an Elvish hymn to Elbereth".[11]
The scholar of English literature Leslie A. Donovan calls the Ensemble's four albums the most notable of the attempts "to capture the airs of Middle-earth by creating their own music for Tolkien's lyrics".[12] The Green Man Review writes that the Tolkien Ensemble "has made excellent use" of the songs in The Road Goes Ever On.[13] Af Søren Aabyen, reviewing the Ensemble's first album, An Evening in Rivendell, for the Danish Tolkien Society, found that rarely had any music appealed to him as much. He was delighted by the mezzo-soprano 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 Reiff's suitably melancholy guitar for "The Old Walking Song" alongside the rich baritone voice of Thiemann and the lyrical violin of Tjærby. Aabyen noted also the pleasure of finding Queen Margrethe II 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 complete with the queen's illustrations "greatly admired by Tolkien."[4]
Kurt Ravn, Morten Ernst Lassen, Peter Hall, Tom McEwan, Caspar Reiff, the Copenhagen Chamber Choir Camerata, Copenhagen Young Strings. Recitation by Christopher Lee.
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.
Bilbo's Last Song is a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien, written as a pendant to his fantasy The Lord of the Rings. It was first published in a Dutch translation in 1973, subsequently appearing in English on posters in 1974 and as a picture-book in 1990. It was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and set to music by Donald Swann and Stephen Oliver. The poem's copyright was owned by Tolkien's secretary, to whom he gave it in gratitude for her work for him.
Trolls are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, and feature in films and games adapted from his novels. They are portrayed as monstrously large humanoids of great strength and poor intellect. In The Hobbit, like the dwarf Alviss of Norse mythology, they must be below ground before dawn or turn to stone, whereas in The Lord of the Rings they are able to face daylight.
"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 following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the real-world history and notable fictional elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe. It covers materials created by Tolkien; the works on his unpublished manuscripts, by his son Christopher Tolkien; and films, games and other media created by other people.
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" is a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien written in one of his constructed languages, Quenya, 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, too, in a book of musical settings by Donald Swann of songs from Middle-earth, The Road Goes Ever On; the Gregorian plainsong-like melody was hummed to Swann by Tolkien. The poem is the longest Quenya text in The Lord of the Rings and also one of the longest continuous texts in Quenya that Tolkien ever wrote. An English translation is provided in the book.
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.
"The Road Goes Ever On" is a title that encompasses several walking songs that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote for his Middle-earth legendarium. Within the stories, the original song was composed by Bilbo Baggins and recorded in The Hobbit. Different versions of it also appear in The Lord of the Rings, along with some similar walking songs.
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.
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.
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.
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 in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is the longest piece of Sindarin in The Lord of the Rings. It is not translated in the main text where it is first presented.
"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.
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.
Poems and Songs of Middle Earth is a studio album of spoken-word poetry by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien and art songs composed by the English musician Donald Swann. On the first half of the album, Tolkien recites seven poems from or related to his fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). The second half is a performance of Swann's song cycle The Road Goes Ever On, which sets selections from Tolkien's verse to music. The vocalist William Elvin sings The Road Goes Ever On to Swann's piano accompaniment. Caedmon Records issued the album on 18 October 1967 in the United States, and then on 28 March 1968 in the United Kingdom. Its release coincided with the publication of The Road Goes Ever On as a book of sheet music with commentary and illustration by Tolkien.
The poetry in The Lord of the Rings consists of the poems and songs written by J. R. R. Tolkien, interspersed with the prose of his high fantasy novel of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings. The book contains over 60 pieces of verse of many kinds; some poems related to the book were published separately. Seven of Tolkien's songs, all but one from The Lord of the Rings, were made into a song-cycle, The Road Goes Ever On, set to music by Donald Swann. All the poems in The Lord of the Rings were set to music and published on CDs by The Tolkien Ensemble.
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. It tells how the mariner Eärendil tries to sail to a place of paradise, and acquires a Silmaril, a prized sun-jewel. Eventually he and his ship are set in the heavens to sail forever as the light of the Morning Star.
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.
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