Added on 12/05/07
Howard Shore's music for the massively successful first film chapter of Tolkien's Ring saga 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...
See more 
Howard Shore's music for the massively successful first film chapter of Tolkien's Ring saga 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's Hobbit-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 African rhaita colors the Mordor theme, while log drums, dilruba, wood xylophone, and cimbalon add 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... See less 
Highlights:
Price: $17.99 | You Save: $1.99 (10%)
.value, '<a href="http://www.kaboodle.com/kittykats002/wish-list.html"><img alt="" src="http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/98/7/AAAAAqkF14IAAAAAAJhyqw.jpg" width="100px" /></a>','http://www.kaboodle.com/kittykats002/wish-list.html','1');)
