Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

by Howard Shore

Overview

Like the second installment of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Howard Shore's score is big, bold, dark, and majestic. This is fitting as the movie is more action-oriented than the first, The Fellowship of the Ring, which -- necessarily -- spent more time on exposition and character development. It's also a good value for the money, as it features over 70 minutes of music, both instrumentals and vocal tracks (concentrated on the second half of the disc). These include "Evenstar" with the Canadian Opera Company's Isabel Bayrakdarian (who also contributed to Mychael Danna's Ararat soundtrack), "Breath of Life" with Sheila Chandra (formerly of Monsoon), "Forth Eorlingas" with Ben Del Maestro, "Isengard Unleashed" with Del Maestro and Elizabeth Fraser (the Cocteau Twins), and "Gollum's Song" with Emiliana Torrini. The latter is a British vocalist of Icelandic and Italian extraction, who has worked with Tears for Fears' Roland Orzabal and Iceland's Gus Gus. "Gollum's Song" is a tribute, of sorts, to the half-CGI, half-actor-created character (Andy Serkis provided his distinctive voice and physical movements) who handily walks away with the film. The affecting song ("We are lost/We can never go home"), which plays during the end credits, was written by Jackson's wife, Fran Walsh, and sets things up nicely for The Return of the King, the final book in J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy. Despite the critical and commercial success of The Two Towers, the strong orchestral work, and the more inspired selection of vocalists, the soundtrack was not nominated for an Oscar, whereas Shore took home the gold statuette (his first) for his work on The Fellowship of the Ring. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Details

Release Date:	12/02/2002
Label:	Reprise
UPC:	0093624837923

Tracks

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Foundations of Stone
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The Taming of Sm¿¿agol
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The Riders Of Rohan
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The Passage Of The Marshes
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The Uruk-hai
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The King Of The Golden Hall
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The Black Gate Is Closed
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Evenstar
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The White Rider
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Treebeard
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The Leave Taking
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Helm's Deep
13. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The Forbidden Pool
14. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Breath Of Life
15. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~The Hornburg
16. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Forth Eorlingas
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Isengard Unleashed
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Samwise The Brave
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film score~Gollum's Song

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Howard Shore   Primary Artist,Conductor
Isabel Bayrakdarian   Primary Artist,Vocals,Soloist
Ben Del Maestro   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Soloist,Vocals
Elizabeth Fraser   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals,Soloist
Emiliana Torrini   Primary Artist,Vocals,Soloist
Hilary Summers   Primary Artist,Vocals
Sheila Chandra   Primary Artist,Vocals,Soloist
Greg Knowles   Cimbalom
Sylvia Hallett   Sarangui
London Voices   Choir/Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra   Orchestra
Sonia Slany   Monochord
Dermot Crehan   Fiddle,Soloist
London Oratory Schola Cantorum   Choir/Chorus
Edward Cervenka   Cimbalom
Jan Hendrickse   Soloist
Peter Jackson   Director

Technical Credits

Lori Silfen   Music Business Affairs
Peter Jackson   Liner Notes,Executive Producer
Andy Bradfield   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Steve Roche   Composer
Jake Jackson   Assistant Engineer
John Kurlander   Engineer
Alex Swift   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Howard Shore   Composer,Producer
Peter Cobbin   Mixing
Peter Mew   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Michael Price   Music Editor
Chris Clark   Assistant Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Isobel Griffiths   Music Contractor
London Voices   Performer
Toby Wood   Assistant Engineer
London Philharmonic Orchestra   Performer
Richard Lancaster   Assistant Engineer
Paul Broucek   Supervisor,Liner Notes,Vocal Producer,Executive Producer,Executive in Charge of Music
Danny Bramson   Executive Producer
Andrew Dudman   Music Editor
James Bellamy   Auricle Programming
Pete Lewis   Vocal Engineer
Mike Cox   Assistant Engineer
David Donaldson   Composer
David Gleeson   Associate Producer,Associate Music Producer
Anne Barnard   Music Preparation
Eric Jordan   Assistant Engineer
Oliver Upton   Photography
Jim Rhodes   Score Reader
Mark Willsher   Music Editor
Fran Walsh   Text,Composer,Executive Producer
Simon Kiln   Music Editor
Karen Elliot   Scoring Coordinator
John F.X. Walsh   Music Business Affairs
Matt Rocker   Producer
Mitch Rotter   Soundtrack Executive Producer
Chris Cozens   Auricle Programming
Steve Browell   Assistant Engineer
Philippa Boyens   Text,Composer
Jim Bruening   Producer
Greg Laporta   Producer
Mark Kaufman   Music Clearance
Benjamin Ealovega   Photography
Erik Jordan   Assistant Engineer
Raphael Mouterde   Music Editor
David Gill   Music Preparation
Steve Price   Music Editor
Iain Titman   Assistant Engineer
Karen Elliott   Scoring Coordinator
Charles Portney   Scoring Coordinator
Mike Hornet   Music Preparation
Steven R. Gilmore   Design,Cover Design,Art Direction
Stephen Pelluet   Assistant Engineer
Jill Streater   Music Preparation
Mirek Stiles   Assistant Engineer
Kevin Mahonchak   Music Preparation
David Long   Lyricist
John Wriggle   Music Editor
Bill Foley   Producer
J.R.R. Tolkien   Text,Composer
Jason Cienkus   Soundtrack Coordination
Jeff Grace   Technical Coordinator
Malcolm Fife   Music Editor
Tim Stritmater   Producer
Becca Gatrell   Music Editor
Jonathan Schultz   Music Editor
Janet Roddick   Composer
David Salo   Translation
Ann Barnard   Music Preparation
James Rhodes   Score Reader
Nigel Scott   Music Editor
Edmund Sanders   Music Preparation
Steve Pelluet   Assistant Engineer
Tim Starnes   Music Editor
Pierre Vinet   Photography
Ruth Cornes   Music Contractor
Vic Fraser   Music Preparation
Mark Brooks   Music Preparation
Ian Hayter   Music Preparation
Jason Poss   Producer