January 31, 2006 marks the American release of Voiceprint Records (UK) “In Elven Lands,” music inspired by the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Some of your readers may have heard the rhumors over the past few years of a project that features musicological reconstructions of what the music of Middle-Earth might sound like, including several songs with Quenya and Sindarin lyrics. A few of you probably even have the pirated demos that leaked out in spring of 2001 (thanks to the Audio department of Weta) that feature Jon Anderson (of Yes fame), if you do, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.
First, I should make clear that this is not a Yes album. All respect to Jon and the Band, but from the beginning, we all decided to set aside our egos and professional personae to serve the vision of professor Tolkien. If anything, you can think of it as an album of ancient music. It also includes performances by Adam Pike (of The Syrups), legendary punk-rock producer Ethan James (on hurdy-gurdy), the world-music experts from Icarus Studios, Oakland-based early-musician Caitlin Elizabeth, Las Vegas-based world-music vocalist Kate St.Pierre and myself, Carvin Knowles, a world-music artist and film composer of some small note, just to name-drop a few.
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My involvement with “In Elven Lands” began in 1998, when my contacts at New Line approached me about creating a demo of ancient music based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. They knew of my studies with the great early musicologist Eugene Enrico and asked me to do a simple reconstruction based on such clues found in poetry, myths, languages and actual descriptions of performances in Tolkien’s many writings. I turned in the first demo a week before their films began shooting in 1999. Jon Anderson joined us at around that time. He too had been approached by New Line.
While we were recording, New Line Cinema’s music department had three complete changes of personnel. All of my old contacts were long gone before the first demo shipped. None of us knew that Howard Shore had already been chosen to score the films and there would be no “songs” licensed from outside sources.
So without knowing that little fact, we mounted a major production. We unsuccessfully negotiated with the Tokien Estate for use of lyrics. Jon decided that I should write replacement lyrics and, after studying both Elvish tongues and Tolkien’s theories about how languages change over time, I set to work creating some sacred poetry that illustrated linguistic evolution and …well… the versatility and character of these languages.
When we found out that Howard had the score and we were completely out of the film, Jon asked me to finish the reconstruction as an album. But shortly after that, his success with Yes took him away from the project. He only finished four of the songs. Those of us who remained worked like madmen (and women) to create something worth having.
Jon only actually sang on four of the songs and wrote music and lyrics for two of them. He had intended many more but his renewed success with YES took him away from the project. But his guidance on the project was pretty phenomenal. He was a real sport about singing in Elvish, too. Hearing Sindarin with his Yorkshire accent is enough to make any fan smile.
The song that brought Jon onboard was a setting of the “Hymn to Elbereth,” which had to eventually be re-written because of copyright issues with the Tolkien Estate. The result was “Verses to Elbereth Gilthoniel, ” which were my own addition to the praises of the Vala who set the stars into the dome of heaven. It was, of course, modelled upon the existing verses scattered throughout the LOTR. My concept was simple: Like the mediaeval Catalonian “Cantigas de Santa Maria” which were a series of songs composed to the Virgin by various authors and musicians over the course of about a hundred years, I would add my praises of the Vala Varda: Elbereth Gilthoniel, to those of the great Author, using the same metre and language. Our performance goal was to to create a feeling of spirituality that mirrored the sacred-ness that Tolkien gave to the original hymn.
Jon’s lyrics for “The Sacred Stones” mentions “The Songs of Evermore” and we were obliged to follow it with the classic Led Zeppelin song. That was sung by Adam Pike (of The Syrups). We knew that it would be pointless to try to out-zeppelin the Zeppelin, not to mention completely out of character for the album. So intead, we used our early-music techniques on their song and took it as far as we could, completely re-harmonizing it using ancient pythagorean systems. Adam’s voice can be as dark as Jon’s is light, so we went for the contrast. I can say with complete confidence that this is the most unique cover of this song ever.
To give each civilisation it’s own character we have assumed some simple analogs: The English Folk tradition is used to represent the Hobbits. The Elves music is based on the mediaeval sacred and art-music styles and the Troubador/Trouvere tradition. The music of Numenor is an evolved version of the Elven music with added Greek and Macedonian influences. The Dwarves music follows the same rules as the Elves music, but instead of flowing musical lines there is a solid and angular architecture. The music of Rohan has harmonies in common with the Hobbits’ music. A look at latter-age music comes when we apply Shape-Note traditions to Organum-style harmonies to give an impression of a religious hymn to Illuvatar, as performed in the countrysides of Gondor.
Our influences included the works of Troubadors (Alan de la Halle), the Minnesingers (von Eschenback) the Notre Dame School (Leonin and Perotin), Ars Nova (Hildegard von Bingen, Machaut and Landini), early English composers (John Taverner) as well as anonymous works such as “Sumer Is Icumen In” and all those 13th century dance pieces and John Playford’s “The English Dancing Master 1652.”
I’m sure that’s enough information to get you started. I have, if you are interested, the complete text of the album notes, which includes brief concise statements about our approach and execution and some notes about language and mythology.
If you need more information, feel free to contact me. I will be attending ORC in a couple of weeks and I should have some promo copies available before that.
Thanks for your kind attention
Carvin Knowles
co-producer
In Elven Lands
Pre-Order ‘In Elven Lands: The Fellowship’ on Amazon.com today!
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Now is as good a time as any to start a Celtic rock band. In an age when Cocteau Twin Elizabeth Fraser’s siren-like linguistics-mangling voice livens the scores of ultra-mainstream The Two Towers, or alternately, sets the mood for Gregg Araki’s angst-laden Mysterious Skin alongside bandmate Robin Guthrie’s chiming guitar, “world music” no longer carries the same cheesy connotations outside of gothic rock’s inner circle. Emerald Rose already has the attention of 4AD record collectors and quiet librarians-turned-new age mysticists, but the band’s sights are set just a little higher as they attempt to reach a broader audience. An exuberant, exciting and passionate four-piece blending traditional Celtic music with their own compositions, Emerald Rose delivers a power-packed collection of songs on Archives of Ages to Come. They have been a hit success at many festivals, parties and holidays in recent years, and have received the honor of performing as the headline act at the Oscar parties for the movies The Two Towers and Return of the King, which they consider a delightful and appropriate opportunity. [More]
Order Emerald Rose’s new ‘Archives of Ages to Come’ on Amazon.com now!
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An epic film score receives epic treatment with The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring/Complete Recordings. Released for the first time on CD, the complete score for the first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy contains more than 180 minutes of music on three CDs plus a DVD-Audio disc of the entire score in Surround Sound. Breathtaking and majestic, the 2001 Oscar and Grammy winning score compsted by Howard Shore also includes Enya’s Oscar nominated “May It Be.” For fans of any of The Lord of the Rings films, the Fellowship of the Ring/Complete Recordings is an essential experience. [More]
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Dan writes: SoundtrackNet takes a look at the new expansive box set containing the complete recording of Howard Shore’s award-winning score to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. “Howard Shore’s Oscar-winning, Golden Globe-winning, and Grammy Award-winning score to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was just the beginning of an epic 12-hour long Lord of the Rings saga that would catapult him to the forefront of the film music world. Now, for the first time, the complete soundtrack to the extended DVD cut of the first film has been released in one very pretty package. Each film in the trilogy has a different tone, but in hindsight, The Fellowship of the Ring stands out more than its successors: it is the one that introduces and develops the majority of the key themes that would come to play massive roles in the world of middle-Earth and our understanding of it.” [More]
Pre-Order ‘The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring – The Complete Recordings [BOX SET]’ on Amazon.com now!
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New CD to be released at Evening at Bree party!
Emerald Rose has announced the completion of their newest cd, “Archives of Ages to Come”, and they plan to release the cd at TORn’s Evening at Bree party at Dragon*Con. The band will be premiering selections of the new material this weekend for audiences at the ELF gathering in Orlando.
Emerald Rose has performed for TORn fans at many LOTR events, including post-Oscar parties in Hollywood. This is the band’s fifth cd, and their most musically diverse, ranging from traditional Celtic ballads and instrumentals to driving rock songs inspired by world mythology. [more]
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Vivendi-Universal Games Registers Historic Milestone in Game Music
They have come relentlessly. Like an army of Uruk Hai. Month after month, the fans have come to www.LOTR.com to hear the music. More than a million have come, downloading MP3 after MP3 of Chance Thomas’ original music from Vivendi-Universal Games’ Lord of the Rings series.
“The response to Chance’s music at LOTR.com has been fantastic,” says Guy Welch, web marketing manager for VU Games. “Chance’s delivery of web-ready files, online liner notes, and behind-the-scenes photography helped us quickly create a unique way for fans to experience this brand.”
By the end of August 2004 the total had reached 1,080,213 downloads. And the phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down. According to VU Games’ tracking, fans downloaded more music in the last month than they had in any previous month. This in spite of the fact that the most recent games (War of the Ring, The Hobbit) were released about 10 months ago.
“We’re not just talking about hits, measured in tens of millions. We’re talking about actual mp3 downloads, ” Chance said. “I never imagined the music would find such resonance with the fans. This isn’t Green Day or Britney Spears or the Black Eyed Peas. It’s a bunch of middle-aged guys playing violins. Orchestral, choral, and acoustic underscore written and produced exclusively for games. I’m not sure if anything like this has ever happened with game music before.”
But music agent Bob Rice, who represents many top game composers including Thomas, has a different view. “Actually, it doesn’t surprise me at all. Chance’s music for Lord of the Rings has richness, it has melody, it’s inspiring. And that’s why over a million people have taken the time and made the effort to download it. They want to hear it again and again. It’s just great music.”
Gael Schults, a life-long student and performer of ancient music ascribes the lure of Chance’s themes to their interplay of authenticity, accessibility and emotion. “Chance Thomas was able to get in touch with some deep emotion on that music. I still wake up hearing these pieces playing through my head, in those half-sleeping moments just before morning consciousness. It is a rare composer who can bring both the heart of ancient folk tradition and modern accessibility to the same table with this degree of palatable success.”
When asked what this means for music makers in gaming, Chance said, “Taken alone, this might be no more than a spectacular aberration. But in the context of everything else that’s going on these days – the sold-out live game music concerts, the recognition from BAFTA and the Grammys, and the relentlessly rising bar of game music quality – I think it portends amazing opportunities for us, and points to a significant trend sweeping through the entire world of entertainment.”
G.A.N.G. founder and President Tommy Tallarico, a renowned advocate for game music adds, “The winds of change seem to be upon us. This is just more proof of how important video game music has become in our culture. Not only is the game experience itself benefiting from talented and experienced composers like Chance, but this proves that the fans are interested in the music outside the game as well.”
Fans seem to support Tallarico’s view. Game music enthusiast Jesse Wang, representative of so many, said in a recent email to HUGEsound, “[These] soundtracks are absolutely amazing. I have never heard such passion and musical depth in a game soundtrack.” Adds Shults, “Chance’s innate ability to feel the ancient music so strongly…exceeds normal musical boundaries in it’s ability to be true to the writings of Tolkien as well as to Ancient Peoples everywhere, whether real or imagined!”
Chance Thomas’ themes for Vivendi-Universal’s Lord of the Rings game series can be downloaded at www.LOTR.com.
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