Every time I go to one of these concerts, the initial impact is always admiration for the musical talent on display. The orchestra generally rehearses for just a few days before these concerts, but that's all they need to all be playing not only in perfect coordination with each other, but in perfect sync with the film. Being a movie score fan, I know all the technical tools that exist to achieve this -- but it doesn't diminish the accomplishment to me in any way.
That initial response always gives way to admiration for the music on a new level, and this occasion was no exception. I would say The Fellowship of the Ring was a score I knew fairly well -- I could have hummed a few bars of each of the major themes that Howard Shore developed for the story. But I certainly didn't remember all the details. Watching the players take the stage one by one before the concert began was a fun build-up of anticipation. There's a dulcimer in this score? Yeah, I guess that makes sense. An accordion? Hmm... when was that? I guess we'll find out. The french horn players are sitting pretty far back this time -- what's that about? Oh, it's to accommodate the "twice as many as usual" number of oboe, bassoon, and clarinet players. (And those bassoon players in particular wound up working harder than I think I've ever seen at one of these film concerts.)
Another huge feature of this score, of course, is the 100-person chorus. Generally, when a score requires human voices in only a few moments, they'll make some substitution. (In fact, they did here for two moments -- about 10 collective seconds of music -- calling for a boys choir.) But for this film, we got the full chorus, which covered moments throughout the film from the ethereal warmth of the Elves to the terrifying threat of the Nazgûl. And two soloists were employed sparingly, but potently -- a woman and a young boy -- for specific moments that fans of the movie will likely remember well. Impressively, they just each had to sit quietly on stage for over an hour, and then -- without warmup -- just stand up and nail their moment in one shot. They deserved the enthusiastic applause they received from the audience when they did so.
Throughout the 3-hour concert, different moments gave me chills, or nearly moved me to tears -- even though I barely ever had my eyes on the screen or my mind on the story. (There were perhaps a collective 6 minutes of the entire film where the orchestra wasn't playing... and even those moments felt almost "musical" in the powerful choice for rare silence.) It all left me with a much greater appreciation for this score than I'd had before. It made me feel that as much credit as John Williams rightly gets for making the original Star Wars trilogy what it was, Howard Shore should be equally celebrated for contributing to the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Hobbiton wouldn't seem half as idyllic without the moving melody on the recorder that accompanies it. The One Ring would not be the powerful presence it is without the mournful strings signifying its influence. The wraiths would not be half as terrifying without the galloping runs of the woodwinds beneath the wailing choir. The Uruk-hai would not seem as disruptive to the natural order without the clever 5/4 melody of their theme. The deeds of the fellowship would not seem nearly as heroic without the powerful horn anthem. Whatever your favorite moment of the movie is, odds are it has a distinct musical accompaniment elevating the emotions you felt about it.
Maybe The Fellowship of the Ring in particular might not be the movie you'd choose for a concert experience like this. But I'd encourage you to look for whatever movie would be ideal for you, and seek out a performance like this. For music or movie lovers, it's an experience that can't be beat.
No comments:
Post a Comment