Tolkien in General

[Philipa]

Here's a lovely Hobbit Walking Song you may recognize. There are other songs too such as the Lay of Nimrodel and something called The Tolkien Ensemble-Hymn To Elbereth Gilthoniel III.

[Merry]

I enjoyed that, Philipa--thanks! One could certainly spend a lot of time watching Tolkien-related youtube videos!

[Philipa]

I enjoyed that, Philipa--thanks! One could certainly spend a lot of time watching Tolkien-related youtube videos!

I was amazed at how many music related videos there were.

[Estel]

Here's a lovely Hobbit Walking Song you may recognize. There are other songs too such as the Lay of Nimrodel and something called The Tolkien Ensemble-Hymn To Elbereth Gilthoniel III.

Wonderful alternatives to my otherwise preferred Tolkien Ensemble. I'm surprised Philipa, that you don't seem to be familiar with TE, considering how many times I have advertised them on this site and of course at V-W.
Lookie, lookie here, all the poems in LOTR to music. You can buy the 4 CDs individually, there are different themes in An Evening in Rivendell, A Night in R, At Dawn in R, Leaving R or, a better alternative, you can buy the collection with all the poems in book order, nice 212 pages booklet with illustrations by HM the Queen of Denmark provided, very luxurious box that feels like a real treat, but not that expensive, currently £30 on Amazon UK and $29 on Amazon US. For some reason there is a more expensive version on Amazon US as well, could be that one is import from Europe, one is US edition, but it's the same contents with text in English and German, as far as I know. Read the long informative review provided by an Amazon customer called Arturo Magidin on this page
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Rings-Casp ... n+ensemble
or here
http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-J-R-R- ... n+ensemble
End of advertisement. I am not in any way affiliated with the Tolkien Ensemble, have only listened to them live once on Aug 6th 2002, unforgettable. Sunset over Öresund with Elsinore (Hamlet, you know) in the background, it was in a small concert hall in Helsingborg.

[Philipa]

Thanks Estel for more information. Honestly, my old brain can hold only so much information. lol I probably have read your posts on the subject and I just categorized them as extra information. I have just added the set to my Wish List.

[Lindariel]

Philipa, I purchased the full Tolkien Ensemble set a while back myself, and it is well worth the money! Wonderful music for an atmospheric evening, or to relax while driving. I always take it in the car on long trips!

[Philipa]

It is in my wish list and I hope to be purchasing it soon.

[MICHKA]

lindariel, peux-tu donner les références pour pouvoir acheter cette musique dont tu dis qu'elle est merveilleuses en voiture? Merci

[Lindariel]

Michka, Estel posted links a few entries back, but here's the link I found on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-J-R-R- ... n+ensemble

[Estel]

lindariel, peux-tu donner les références pour pouvoir acheter cette musique dont tu dis qu'elle est merveilleuses en voiture? Merci

If you prefer Amazon France it's here http://www.amazon.fr/Tolkien-Caspar-Rei ... dpp_ttl_in
there's an import version as well, same price http://www.amazon.fr/Lord-Rings-Complet ... n+ensemble
I think the two versions are the same, just issued in different countries. I discovered the Tolkien Ensemble sometime during filming of LOTR or before, perhaps 1999. Their first CD An Evening in Rivendell came in 1997, I think and that and the next, A Night in Rivendell (2000) became huge hits among LOTR fans in Scandinavia and Germany even before the movies came out. I made my ex-boyfriend write down the notes of Lament for Boromir and then program my mobile phone so it played it as ringtune, a hit among nerds, I can tell you. Then came No. 3 At Dawn in Rivendell feat. Christopher Lee, in 2003 and got an even wider audience because his image was on the cover. Then finally Leaving Rivendell in 2005, when I got to hear my happy song The Eagle's Song (news about Sauron's fall reaches Minas Tirith). In 2006 all songs were collected, now in order from the book, in this luxurious set that I'm recommending. The size is strange, looks like a narrow book, but a 212 pages booklet is included, so I really think this CD collection is a must have, unless you're allergic to classical music. Some people just don't like the Tolkien Ensemble, some think their music is inappropriate for Tolkien, that it should be just folk music and that must of course be respected. There are samples to listen to at Amazon, but you can hear entire songs on youtube, just search for Tolkien Ensemble.
What's interesting with TE compared to most other artists and composers interpreting Tolkien's poems or making music inspired by Tolkien's books, is that they have chosen so many different genres to fit the variety of poems and songs in LOTR, there are songs inspired by English and Irish folk music but with a Nordic sadness in the melodies, there's dramatic polyphonic choral music, there are "lieder" sung by tenors and baritones, accompanied by piano (in Middle-Earth ), Elizabethan lute music and "hymns" for perhaps Advent or Easter, there's just about anything but an entire symphony. Hope you like it.

[MICHKA]

j'ai écouté les principaux extraits de cet album'' Tolkien Ensemble'' et c'est réellement très beau, j'ai mis une option pour le commander sitôt que je peux, sur Amazon, le port est gratuit, une aubaine, je ne vais pas tarder, merci beaucoup de m'avoir répondu aussi vite

[Estel]

I forgot to say a couple of things about the Tolkien Ensemble: They were invited to play at the royal gala premiere of Fellowship in Copenhagen in 2001 and that's where they met Christopher Lee and asked him to participate on their next CD. I have read the story in short on TE:s homepage long ago, now I looked for it again, but can only find the German version of the official homepage, it is updated though, because on the front page it says Nick Keir has passed away, 2013. Anyway here's the entire story of the Tolkien Ensemble in detail. http://www.tolkien-ensemble.net/ensemble/ensemble.html
I can read German, if you can't, use Google Translate or whatever online translator you prefer. Reading, I was amazed to find that Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall wrote some of the songs already in 1992-1993, then got an engagement at a medieval Danish castle so that's when they put together more people and wrote even more songs in 1995, the start of the ensemble. They got permission from HM the Queen to use her drawings for the first CD in 1997, a permission renewed for the other CDs, which is unique, they're otherwise only available in an exclusive Danish LOTR edition. Since the booklet in the 2006 CD collection has a lot of her drawings, including some never published before, but now photographed from the originals at Amalienborg Palace (the Queen's home in central Copenhagen),that is a great opportunity to study them, especially if you don't have access to the original books. I've only ever looked at them myself in a bookshop in Copenhagen. Tolkien saw Queen Margrethe's drawings before he died and loved them, I've heard. I read somewhere that he had a drawing of hers in his pocket at his death, don't know if it's true. Talking about Tolkien, TE was invited by Priscilla Tolkien to perform in her home, after that they also played for the Tolkien Society at Exeter College in Oxford several times. And they've met Rayner Unwin. So I'd say the Tolkien Ensemble is approved and appreciated by a great number of authorities on Tolkien.

[MICHKA]

Commandé aujourd'hui, j'écouterai et vous donnerai mes impressions/ sur You-tube et Amazon, il y a des images qui bougent, c'est super!

[Merry]

Remember that March 25 is always Tolkien Reading Day. What will you read to celebrate today?

[MICHKA]

A cause du jeu je relis beaucoup Bilbo,le hobbit ,et tous les poèmes et chants traduits en français de LOTR pour suivre les cd de l'ensemble Tolkien écoutés depuis hier et entre temps je jette un oeil sur ''Le Silmarllion'' pour compléter mon information après lecture des messages du forum. Le Seigneur des Anneaux demeure mon favori