The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Limited Edition)
Howard Shore'smusic for the massively successful first film chapterof Tolkien'sRingsaga won him the Oscar®for Best Original Score, something of a surprise given the music's ambitious scale and determinedly dark overtones, factors that handily blurred the line between typical film fantasy music and accomplished concert work. Its sequel takes the same, often Wagnerian-scaled dramatic tack, following the film's story line into even more brooding and ominous dark corners. The previous film'sHobbit-inspired pastoralism is supplanted here by rich ethnic textures that expand the musical scope of Middle-earth and the World of Men; the Hardanger, a Norwegian fiddle, represents the Rohan and the North Africanrhaitacolors the Mordor theme, while log drums,dilruba, wood xylophone, andcimbalonadd intriguing textures elsewhere. The score's looming orchestral clouds are brightened by Shore's masterful choral writing, which infuses ancient liturgical influences with various solo turns by Isabel Bayrakdarian, indie-pop starSheila Chandra, Ben Del Maestro, and Elizabeth Fraser. "Gollum's Song," the composer's concluding collaboration with lyricist Fran Walsh, is delivered withBjörkish, postmodern angst byEmiliana Torrini, and helps punctuate the story's modern sense of allegory.--Jerry McCulley