Lord of the Rings: At Dawn in Rivendell
Given the massive, worldwide success of director Peter Jackson's adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien'sLord of the Ringsstories, it's hardly surprising that a Ring-inspired marketing boom has taken hold. But this powerful collection has deeper roots, the third volume by composers Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall and their Tolkien Ensemble, an ambitious effort to bring Tolkien's Ring Poems to musical life. This third volume of their work covers a range of Elven hymns, love songs, and Hobbit drinking chanteys, with Reiff and Hall conjuring up a musical world that's as wondrous and foreboding as its literary inspirations. The marvelously sepulcher voice of British horror film legend Christopher Lee (the films' Saruman) add an ominous edge to the poetry excerpts. Set against the composers' brooding orchestral backdrops, Lee's performances are riveting and often chilling. Fellow Tolkien enthusiast Queen Margrethe II of Denmark informs the rich musical collection with some equally evocative illustrations for the album's cover and lyric pages.--Jerry McCulley