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These instruments were used
for Shire music, especially the
Hobbit/Rural Setting of the
Shire Theme.
They are mostly folk instruments, many associated with
Celtic music. The fiddle and whistle were the only
instruments to carry a melody of any sort. Guitar was
featured in Into the West but, even its solo moments it
doesn't carry much of a melody. The rest all become part
of a highly layered texture of background music. So
layered it can be difficult to hear them even when given
specific time stamps (in the
annotated
scores). In the audio samples below, I usually
provide an example of the instrument from outside the
score followed by one from the score.
JUMP TO:
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Bodhrán
The bodhrán (pronounced bow-rahn) is a traditional Irish drum made from a round wooden frame, with an animal skin stretched over it. It is played with a double-headed stick and the way that the stick is employed is one of the things that separates the bodhrán from other frame drums, which are more often played with the hands. Its sound is distinctly different than that of a tympani or snare drum.
USE IN SOUNDTRACK
The bodhrán taps out
background rhythms in the
Rural Setting of the
Shire Theme,
at times, almost creating a 'heartbeat' for Hobbit scenes
ARTISTS
Alan Kelly played bodhrán in
FOTR.
My early research indicated that he and fellow
Barleyshakes
band member
Alan Doherty (pennywhistle) played three pieces of music in FOTR, most certainly Shire music, but I couldn't say which pieces for sure.
Robert White played bodhrán for FOTR,
TTT & ROTK (and is credited for drones? for FOTR).
1. Unknown bodhrán sample
2. Sample from
The Cacus Reel, Fourmilehouse, by Alan and John Kelly (Alan is not
playing bodhrán on this track)
3. Sample from CR-FOTR, Disc
1, Track 3, Bag End, 3:53-4:01
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Celesta
This keyboard instrument looks like a piano, but instead of striking strings, the felted pads strike steel plates suspended over wooden resonators.
It gets its name for its "celestial," tinkling sound.
USE IN SOUNDTRACK
The celesta provided a
sparkling shimmer of sound as Bilbo takes off the Ring
upon returning to Bag End after leaving the Long
Expected Party. It also contributes to the background
texture of music when the Hobbits are madly fleeing
Farmer Maggot in the cornfield.
ARTISTS
No artist information has
been provided for the celesta. It was probably a member
of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
I thought it would be fun to
listen to the non-score celesta audio samples before knowing what they
are.
I've provided the sources below for the first three in
hidden text. Highlight to read.
1.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker, perf:
London Symphony Orchestra
2.
Won't You Be My Neighbor, TV theme song from Mr. Rogers'
Neighborhood
3.
Hedwig's Theme, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone, comp: John Williams
4. Sample from CR-FOTR, Disc
1, Track 7, Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe, 0:48-0:58
There's a fascinating discussion of the celesta at NPR.
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Celtic Harp
The Celtic harp--also called a
Gaelic, Irish, lever, or folk harp or clàrsach
(Scottish) or cláirseach (Irish)--differs from an orchestral harp in two main aspects. The orchestral harp is larger and uses foot pedals to change keys. The Celtic harp uses levers attached to the frame to change keys and are smaller, sometimes small enough to hold on the lap, making them easier to transport.
The traditional Gaelic harp had brass wire strings and
was played with the fingernails. Neo-Irish harps have
gut or nylon strings and are played with the fingerpads.[1]
I have no idea what type of strings the Celtic harp used
in the soundtrack had.
USE IN SOUNDTRACK
The harp contributes to the
background texture of the
Rural Setting of the
Shire Theme
ARTISTS
Jean Kelly and Gillian
Tingay each played in both FOTR and ROTK.
1. Sample from
Casey's Hornpipe,
Willow Brae Collected, Willow Brae
(Willow Brae is Twin Cities
duo, Andrea Stern on harp and Laura MacKenzie on various
wind instruments)
2. Sample from CR-FOTR, Disc
1, Track 4, Very Old Friends, 1:55-2:07
If I have it right, the
mandolin (which starts a little earlier) is plucking
three bright, high notes. At 1:55, the harp begins some
notes that are a little deeper and mellower. The sample
for the mandolin is from the same passage but beginning
a little earlier. In the
AS-FOTR, Doug Adams says,
"Mandolin does not appear regularly in the Shire music,
but a few gently strummed chords back the Bag End
scenes." The notes I'm hearing are plucked, not
strummed. But I don't really hear any strummed notes.
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Dulcimer
Hammered dulcimers are closely related in construction to the
cimbalom. Both have strings over a sound board that are hit with small mallets. The difference lies in their tuning and their range of octaves.
USES IN SOUNDTRACK
The hammered dulcimer was
used for the
Rural Setting of the
Shire Theme.
It provides a rhythmic background in the music but never
carries the tune.
The cimbalom was used for
the Menace
of Gollum theme.
ARTIST
Gregory Knowles played dulcimer in FOTR.
The dulcimer is listed as an instrument for ROTK.
Although Gregory Knowles is not credited on dulcimer for
that movie, he is for cimbalom so we can assume he
played the dulcimer parts as well.
1. Sample from
Reel de Mattawa,
The Cottage Door, by Greenwood Tree
(Greenwood Tree is a St.
Paul, MN duo)
2. Sample from CR-FOTR, Disc
1, Track 2, Concerning Hobbits, 1:18-1:31
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Fiddle
This is essentially a violin played in a folk style. (A good explanation of the difference between violins and fiddles is
HERE.) The
Hardanger fiddle would be a particular type of fiddle.
USE IN SOUNDTRACK
Whereas the
Hardanger and
double fiddles were used to represent Rohan, the ordinary sort of fiddle was used for Shire music, especially the
Rural Setting of the
Shire Theme.
Unlike most of the instruments in this section, the
fiddle often carries
the melody.
Perhaps the most memorable
use of the fiddle is the scene in the Green Dragon at
the end of ROTK. Just thinking about it kind of makes my
throat clench a little.
ARTISTS
Mike Taylor and Dermot Crehan
are both credited for fiddle in the FOTR. But Doug Adams
says in the track discussion portion of the
AS-ROTK that
Dermot "performed all the prominent fiddle work in The
Lord of the Rings." I'm not sure what piece in FOTR, Mike played but
he's also credited for whistle in the FOTR & TTT.
1. Sample from CR-FOTR Disc
1, Track 2, The Shire, 1:18-1:30
2. Sample from CR-ROTK, Disc
4, Track 4, The Fellowship Reunited, 8:42-8:54
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Guitar
6 and 12 string guitars
are pretty familiar to most people (everyone?). 12
string guitars run two strings in pairs that correspond
to the 6 of the 6 string guitar. The two are tuned
differently. The 12 string has a rich, bright sound but
it's harder to pick so it's a little more suited to
taking a rhythmic or background role in music.
USE IN SOUNDTRACK
The guitar is part of the
complement of instrument that provide that textured
background to the
Rural Setting of the
Shire Theme.
But it comes into the forefront in "Into the West".
ARTIST
John Parricelli played 6 and 12 string guitar for FOTR and ROTK.
I'm not providing an audio
sample for guitar. When it's used in the background, it's very
difficult to hear. It's easy to hear in "Into the West"
but also easy for people to find on their own. And, we
all know what a guitar sounds like. If you want a sense
of how a 12 string sounds different from a 6 string, try
searching youtube for > 12 string acoustic guitar <
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Mandolin
The mandolin is held and plucked like a guitar. It has eight strings and is smaller than a guitar.
The mandolin is often played with rapid, fluttery action
but in the score, simple notes are used sparingly -
providing background texture but never melody.
USE IN SOUNDTRACK
A few notes on the mandolin
are heard as Bilbo talks with Gandalf about Frodo
("Frodo's still in love with the Shire...") and as Merry
and Pippin gorge on Lembas.
1. Sample from
Fugue in G Minor (The Little One),
Mando Boys Live: Holstein Lust, Peter Ostroushko &
The Mando Boys (Peter
is a fellow Minneapolitan)
2. Sample from CR-FOTR, Disc
1, Track 4, Very Old Friends, 1:48-2:03
If I have it right, the
mandolin is plucking three bright, high notes. A a few
seconds later, the Celtic harp begins some notes that
are a little deeper and mellower. The sample for the
Celtic harp is from the same passage but beginning a
little later In the
AS-FOTR, Doug Adams says, "Mandolin
does not appear regularly in the Shire music, but a few
gently strummed chords back the Bag End scenes." The
notes I'm hearing are plucked, not strummed. But I don't
really hear any strummed notes.
3. Sample from CR-FOTR, Disc
3, Track 4, The Fighting Uruk-Hai, 1:33-1:47 |
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Musette
The musette (pronounced mew-zet')
is essentially an accordion tuned to a diatonic scale
rather than the more common chromatic scale. A true
musette will have three reeds for each note produced...
one tuned at concert pitch, one a little flat, and one a
little sharp. In LOTR,
USE IN SOUNDTRACK
The musette provides
sustained background chords for
Rural Setting of the
Shire Theme.
ARTISTS
Edward Hession played musette in FOTR
and ROTK and Tracey Goldsmith played in FOTR.
1. Sample from Bateau Mouche,
Cinema, Cafe Accordion Orchestra
(a Twin Cities band)
2. Sample from CR-FOTR, Disc
1, Track 3, Bag End, 1:11-1:29
3. Sample from CR-ROTK, Disc
4, Track 4, The Fellowship Reunited, 8:42-8:54
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Whistle
and Low Whistle
A whistle is an endblown
flipple flute (flipple refers to the mouthpiece).
Different cultures and eras had their own version. In
the Celtic culture, whistles are known as pennywhistle,
fipple flute, Irish whistle, vertical flute, tin flute,
flageolet, cuisle, cuiseach, feadan, and feadóg stáin.
Low whistles are just larger
whistles (longer and wider) that produce lower tones.
HS COMMENT
HS COMMENT
(TTT Audio Commentary)
USE IN SOUNDTRACK
The whistle is one of two
folk instruments (the other being the fiddle) that carry
the melody for Shire music. For more evolved Shire
music, Shore moved from whistle to flute.
ARTISTS
Alan Doherty played
pennywhistle in
FOTR.
My early research indicated that he and fellow
Barleyshakes
band member
Alan Kelly (pennywhistle) played three pieces of music in FOTR, most certainly Shire music, but I couldn't say which pieces for sure.
On
the Chiff and
Fipple Whistle Forum,
Bloomfield quoted from an entry on Grada's webpage which
is no longer there. Alan used to be a member of Grada.
Alan, the flute player, was
asked by Howard Shaw, the music composer of 'The Lord of
the Rings', to play on the movie's soundtrack. He tells
how it came about.
"It was Gerry's Ma who put
me in touch with the producers (of LOTR). They had rung
her, as she is involved in the Irish Community in
Wellington, New Zealand, and they asked her was there
any good flute/tin whistle players around the town. I
was in Australia at the time and got the phone call
there to come to Wellington to audition for the job. I
had already been over there for a few months, was
missing the tunes at home, and wasn't going to do the
audition. I had heard of the book but had no idea of the
scale of the movie. My friend, Alan Kelly who was with
me in Australia, told me I'd be mad not to do it so I
went ahead with it. We recorded for four or five days
with a huge orchestra for about twelve hours each day."
Andrew takes up the story.
"The whole piece was to be played in the key of 'C' and
then they changed it to 'D' because Alan didn't have a C
whistle!" Alan's contribution can be heard at the start
of the movie as Gandalf the Wizard arrives in Hobbiton.
(May 2, 2003)
Mike Taylor played whistle in FOTR and TTT.
Joanie Madden apparently played whistle with the New
Zealand Symphony which means she can be heard in the
FOTR EE
Fan Club scroll music.
On Joanie's
bio page for her group, Cherish the Ladies, we find:
Joanie was "a featured soloist on the final Lord of the
Rings soundtrack."
On the The Chiff and Fipple
Whistle Forum,
DaveO quoted from an entry on the Cherish the Ladies
website which is no longer there
On the Cherish the Ladies
website I read that Joanie Madden "just recorded an
eight minute piece with the New Zealand Symphony for the
December film release 'Lord of the Rings.'" (Dec 19,
2001)
Sir James Galway played flute and tin whistle
in ROTK. ROTK recording notes put his work in "The Black Gate Opens", "The Return of the King", and "The Grey Havens".
Jan Hendrickse is credited
for low whistle in the
AS-ROTK but no mention is made as
to what scene(s) he might have played in. A word search
of the AS-ROTK's track discussion reveals only one track
in which whistle is mentioned but not attributed to
either a penny/tin whistle or to Sir James Galway. That
is the music heard when Pippin finds Merry on the fields
of the Pelennor. That whistle seems pitched a little
higher than the samples I find but low whistles are
described as having a haunting sound and being used
frequently for airs and slow melodies. That describes
this scene's music well, I think.
1. Sample of low whistle
from
Dream at Dawn by Misguided Fools
Misguided Fools is one of
many groups that Twin Cities piper, Dick Hensold, is in.
Dick is a great musician, wonderful guy and a valuable
asset to our local music and folk dance community. I
fell in love with his piping on Ruth MacKenzie's
Kalevala, Dream of the Salmon Maiden, production/CD.
He also researches historical music and occasionally
gathers a group to play for our English Country Dance
community.
Check out his website which has lots of sound
samples.
2. Sample of low whistle(?)
from CR-ROTK, Disc 3, Track 11, The Houses of Healing
2:13-2:27
1. Sample from CR-FOTR, Disc
1, Track Three, Bag End, 0:00-0:05
2. Sample from FOTR EE Fan
Club Scroll (this would be Joanie Madden)
3. Sample from CR-TTT, Disc
1, Track 16, Ent-draught, 0:00-0:05
4. Sample from CR-ROTK, Disc
4, Track 6, Elanor, 0:56-end
So. If one accepts the
prologue as being 'outside' the true narrative of the
movie, the films start... and end...
with the whistle.
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