Compare The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Girls Soundtrack Score composer Howard Shore has informed this first instalment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy with his distinctly modern sensibilities. Revolving loosely around a brief, heroic brass theme, the composer has infused this epic with a powerful rhythmic thrust and a musical range that encompasses centuries (from the Renaissance pastoralism of ""Concerning Hobbits"" to the fiery, Prokofiev-influenced drama of ""A Knife in the Dark""). Key to his score's sense of mystery and magic are the rich choral passages that are interspersed throughout, some so ominously gothic they make The Phantom Menace's ""Duel of the Fates"" sound almost sunny by comparison. Enya's contributions (""The Council of Elrond"" and the song ""May It Be"") add a sense of organic tranquillity, but it's Shore's Wagnerian-scaled orchestral score that will long be cherished by admirers of film music and Hobbits alike. --Jerry McCulley