If you’re a regular reader here at TORn, you know by now about composer and sound engineer Jordan Rannells’ immersive audio soundscape of music and ambient sounds, bringing to life Middle-earth. His soundscape is designed to be listened to whilst reading The Lord of the Rings – and in fact, is timed perfectly to fit with Andy Serkis’ recording of the books.
The Hobbit and The Silmarillion
Following the success of his Long-Expected Soundscape, Rannells is at it again! This time he’s tackling two more of Tolkien’s works, in epic scale. Read on below to find out what Rannells told us about his latest projects.
A new kind of Middle-earth experience for Hobbit Day
Jordan Rannells composed an original score, designed sound FX and recorded nature ambience to match all 60+ hours of Andy Serkis’ The Lord of the Rings audiobooks. Each moment is timed exactly so that when you hear Serkis describe Grond tearing through the gates of Minas Tirith, you hear it happening; when the eucatastrophe happens, we hear its theme; when the water of Wellinghall rains down around us, we hear it come and go. It is so simple to put the Soundscape together with the audiobooks, but you can also listen without them and just escape to Middle-earth any time you need to. Listen to the wind in the grass on your way to Edoras; hear the turmoil in the score as Boromir confronts Frodo; duck as the wings of the fell beast fly over you.
Rannells uses Dolby Atmos to achieve the highest level of 3D immersion possible, using the latest technology and sound design tools used in big franchises like Marvel, Game of Thrones and more.
Now, after spending a year and a half designing his first soundscape experience, An Unexpected Soundscape and A Soundscape of Eä are on the way. The Hobbit and The Silmarillion are next on Rannells’ journey, as he seeks to complete the Legendarium in this new immersive adaptation.
Listeners will be able to hear the dwarves as their barrels crash by; catch whispers of Gollum and the spiders of Mirkwood; witness the Coming of Tuor to Ulmo, and even the creation of Arda itself. New challenges present themselves in bringing the up-close-and-personal world of The Hobbit to your ears, such as recording movement and footsteps for each of the dwarves. Then, in the opposite direction, large scale and epic abstract sound design are required for moments in The Silmarillion.
Jordan Rannells
Find out more about Rannells’ epic undertaking on his website. You can also experience the first chapter of the Long-Expected Soundscape on his YouTube channel. Celebrate those Baggins’ birthdays surrounded by the sounds of Middle-earth!
Back in 2022 we told you about composer and sound engineer Jordan Rannells’ amazing project – to create ‘an immersive audio soundscape‘ of music and ambient sounds, to be listened to whilst reading The Lord of the Rings.
For Tolkien Reading Day (March 25th) this year, Rannells teamed with the folks from ArdaCraft to create a live stream event, where parts of The Fellowship of the Ring were read over the corresponding chapters of Rannell’s A Long-Expected Soundscape.
The Towers Collection
Now, The Towers Collection (for The Two Towers) is available – and we have some promo codes for TORn’s followers! Read on below to find out more…
The Long-expected Soundscape is designed to be listened to whilst reading Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (and is timed specifically to sync up with the Andy Serkis audiobook recording). It is created with Dolby Atmos for full 3D immersion in headphones, and includes an original score, ambient nature and environment sounds, and designed and recorded sound effects. The soundtrack is downloadable at https://jordanrannells.com/ – and can also be accessed very easily through all usual podcast apps.
Ways to listen
Rannells suggests various ways to enjoy his creation:
1. Simply experience the atmosphere alone, without the books
2. While reading Tolkien’s works (yes you might read a bit faster, but all you have to do is wait and enjoy the music and sound effects for a bit until you hear the next significant sound or cue, and then keep reading)
3. Synced up (perfectly!) with Andy Serkis’ audiobook so you can enjoy them together (step by step process on how to do that on Discord)
4. Just as background for DnD, Lotro and so on…
Exclusive promo codes
If you’d like to get your hands on this wonderful soundscape, you can use the code TORN25 (for a discount on the whole collection), or TORN10 (for a discount on an individual book). These promo codes are good only until June 10th, so don’t delay!
Once you’ve experienced this beautiful aural world, you’re definitely going to want more! So you’ll be glad to know that Rannells has plans for The Hobbit and The Silmarillion soundscapes! He’ll be launching a Kickstarter for these, this coming December; if you’re interested in getting involved, and perhaps even having a small voice or performance role on one of those projects, join the Long-expected Discord. Happy listening!
Begun by The Tolkien Society in 2003, March 25th – the date of the downfall of Barad-dûr – is Tolkien Reading Day, a day to celebrate the works and worlds of the Professor. This year, something special is in the works, for your listening pleasure!
In May of last year, we let you know about an exciting project by composer and sound engineer Jordan Rannells. He is creating ‘an immersive audio soundscape‘ – music and ambient sounds to create a world around you, as you read The Lord of the Rings.
Tomorrow you can experience some of this incredible audio adventure. Rannells is joining with the folks from ArdaCraft to create a live stream event, where parts of The Fellowship of the Ring will be read over the corresponding chapters of Rannell’s A Long-Expected Soundscape. This 10-hour (or so!) stream will include guest readers from the Prancing Pony Podcast, James Tauber of the Digital Tolkien Project, and more – including TORn’s own staffer greendragon, who’ll pop in briefly early on in the proceedings! ArdaCraft will be providing the visuals.
The whole thing kicks off at 1pm EDT tomorrow, Saturday 25th March, and you can join the live stream here. The event will only be available live – you won’t be able to catch it later – but of course you can drop in and out as your day permits. Spend a little – or a lot! – of Reading Day immersed in Middle-earth, courtesy of these amazing, creative folks.
Watch the video below for a little more information about the event; then join the fun from 1pm EDT tomorrow.
Today (depending on where in the world you are) fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien join together in a worldwide celebration of the late author’s works for Tolkien Reading Day.
The theme for this year’s event is Love and Friendship in Tolkien’s works.
Tolkien Reading Day takes place every year on March 25, and commemorates the date on which Frodo and the Fellowship were successful in destroying the One Ring and defeating Sauron. It’s a communal and international act of fellowship in recognition of the achievements of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Anybody with a copy of his works can take part (it’s also a great opportunity to introduce for children to Tolkien’s works).
And if you happen to be in need of a copy of a particular Tolkien book, we understand that Amazon’s digital “Deal of the Day” (in conjunction with publisher HarperCollins) will be will offer up to 80% off select Tolkien books. So now might be a good time to go hunting.
Reading events are occurring today all round the globe.
For example, Tolkien Guide will be hosting a number of excellent guests for discussions of Tolkien’s life and works throughout the day (including TORn staffer Cliff “Quickbeam” Broadway). You can also always pop by our new Discord server at discord.gg/theonering if you feel like participate in some fine talk with fellow Tolkien fans.
What are you up for Tolkien Reading Day? (Or if, like me, you live in “Futureland” in the Eastern hemisphere, what did you do for TRD?)
Just in time for Tolkien Reading Day: our friends at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt have sent us exciting news! Later this year, a new edition of The Lord of the Rings will be published, featuring – for the first time since the original 1954 publication – artwork by the Professor himself.
Here’s their full press release:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media will publish a brand-new edition of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien that, for the the first time since its publication in 1954, will feature paintings, drawings and sketches by the author, in the U.S. on October 19, 2021.
Deb Brody, HMH’s VP and Publisher, says: ‘Professor Tolkien is known the world over for his literary and academic achievements, most especially as author of The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and the critically acclaimed and worldwide bestselling The Lord of the Rings.
‘His charming and evocative illustrations that accompanied The Hobbit, particularly the now-iconic image that appears on its cover, have become as beloved as the story they accompany.”
‘Yet the author himself was characteristically modest, dismissive of the obvious and rare artistic talent he possessed despite having had no formal training. This modesty meant that relatively little else of his artwork was known of or seen during his lifetime, and generally only in scholarly books afterwards.
‘This all changed in 2018, with the first of three record-breaking Tolkien exhibitions in Oxford, New York and Paris, at which hundreds of thousands of people were able to appreciate at first hand the extraordinary artistic achievement of a man known primarily for the written word. Among the exhibits was a selection of the paintings, drawings and sketches that Tolkien produced when writing The Lord of the Rings. Originally intended by him purely for his personal pleasure and reference, after such an overwhelmingly positive response by people to Tolkien the Artist it seemed fitting to finally reunite this art with the words it enhances, and we are delighted that in so doing it will allow people to enjoy this masterpiece anew.’
The Hobbit was first published in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954–5. Each has since gone on to become a beloved classic of literature and an international bestseller translated into more than 70 languages, collectively selling more than 150,000,000 copies worldwide.
The Lord of the Rings, illustrated by the author, will be published subsequently in translation around the world.
In 2003, The Tolkien Society established an annual tradition, designating one day of the year for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien worldwide to celebrate their love of Tolkien’s writings by, well, reading them! March 25 was chosen for the celebration as it is the date in The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, when the ring of power was destroyed and the dark lord Sauron was defeated.
Each year the Society selects a theme for the day, with this year’s theme being Home and Hearth: the many ways of being a Hobbit. This opens up a wide array of things that could be read to explore the ‘inner Hobbit’ in all of us. You might join Bilbo in The Hobbit, as he opens his home to Gandalf and the dwarves, feeding them most of the goodies in his pantry! Another option would be to settle around the dinner table with Frodo, Merry, Sam and Pippin, as they eat the delicious mushrooms offered to them by Farmer Maggot during their journey through The Shire. What favorite Hobbity thing will you pull off of your bookshelves to read today?
