Jump to content

Bear McCreary's The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)


Chen G.

Recommended Posts

8 hours ago, Bilbo said:

it has been reported that Amazon have no rights to any material from the PJ films.


I’m not so sure it’s that clear-cut.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like Bear McCreary. He's slightly above the RCP people. He writes decently well for orchestra and I enjoyed his scores for Godzilla: KOTM and God of War. I'm confident this score will not follow in the disastrous footsteps of Obi-Wan. That said, it doesn't mean this will be a Howard Shore level score or anywhere near it. It just means it'll probably be better than the average RCP treatment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would say after listening to Bear's scores for other TV series, like Outlander and The Walking Dead, he's particularly good at textural work - which is promising for Rings. Clearly, there's been some attempt to evoke Shore's approach in the two tracks that were released, but I'm still reeling that Shore didn't get to write for the series or provide more themes. I don't think we've heard a TV score as richly thematic as what he could've provided.

 

I wonder if Shore wanted to do more, but out of the tremendous costs to the rest of the show, they relegated him to the single theme. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, DarthDementous said:

 

I am admittedly not very well-versed in Howard Shore’s music

 


Well. You’re telling the truth anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To clarify I’ve heard his Hobbit and LOTR scores, but haven’t listened to them a lot outside their original context. I don’t have a honed sense of what LOTR’s soundscape is apart from a blend of traditional orchestral , heavy choir-use with unique languages, and folk influence on some of the orchestration

 

So I can’t really pin-point what makes the music in the sample clip not fit as a LOTR soundtrack, can someone clarify in a way that isn’t just ‘it sounds generic’ because that’s a completely meaningless statement

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, DarthDementous said:

I can’t really pin-point what makes the music in the sample clip not fit as a LOTR soundtrack, can someone clarify in a way that isn’t just ‘it sounds generic’ because that’s a completely meaningless statement

I think McCreary's tracks are great on their own, but have no idea how well they'll work in the show to come. But the reason a lot of people don't associate his tracks with the soundscape of LotR can be mostly chalked up to orchestration. Shore was very deliberate when he crafted the culturally distinct sounds of LotR, while McCreary's tracks are more conventional.

"Galadriel" begins with female voices, harp, strings and flutes (which does fit very well with Shore's "Elf sound"), but the melody itself is presented with horns, evoking a melancholic, graceful character with an inner strength. Problem is, Shore associates horns with the world of Men, and none of the instruments he specifically associates with Galadriel, such as the monochord or sarangi are used.

"Sauron"... sounds evil. It has some fittingly harsh instrumentations and dynamics (the 7/8 rhythm is a nice touch), but Shore has only used deep male voices for Dwarves. And once again, the rhaita that Shore would have used for Sauron is nowhere to be heard.

This might be a bit nit-picky. I wouldn't even say it's impossible for McCreary to start from his sound and gradually approach Shore's over the series. But it explains why a lot of people don't feel like these themes fit Shore's Middle-earth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It also just - correct me if I'm wrong - doesn't seem to use the kind of intervallic and chordal progressions that we associate, respectivelly, with the Elves or with Sauron. Beyond just the orchestration, the music in "Galadriel" reminds me of the kind of music Shore writes for the worlds of mankind rather than his Elven harmonic language.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know about you, but my mind immediately goes to Star Wars when I hear a seventh interval X D Edit: scratch that, was thinking about a sixth.

Give "Sauron" some credit for it's chomaticism though, it nudges at the contour of the Descending Thirds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also don't think they're necessarily the most malleable of melodic ideas: they're kind of complete melodies - not necessarily something you can mutate very freely across the expanse of the show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

German influencers about the music for the series:

Translation: "If it's not Hans Zimmer, then I'm really pissed, [...] Lord of the Rings [...] is the most awesome soundtrack a movie has ever had." - Speech-disturbed influencer on the music of Howard Shore

 

GOD

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That theme is nice, although I think the richer orchestration of the 'A' part towards the end serves it better. It overall comes across slightly as a standard video game theme towards the start.

 

Slightly surprising that it sounds so 'standard', as his themes for Outlander, and a couple of Walking Dead melodies are very complex and memorable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 22/07/2022 at 2:26 AM, TheUlyssesian said:

 

 

 

I am guessing they felt if they had a "pretty, choral" theme for Galadriel, it might be thought of as feminizing her and not allowing her to be a badass or whatever.

 

to me, pretty choral music combined with badass Galadriel in armor sounds too awesome a posibility to ignore

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m sure I saw Bear McCreary (or possibly someone else) announce that the full album would be out next month i.e. August. Am I going barmy or did anyone else see that too?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Bofur01 said:

I’m sure I saw Bear McCreary (or possibly someone else) announce that the full album would be out next month i.e. August. Am I going barmy or did anyone else see that too?

I saw the reply of Mr. McCreary too but I don't find the tweet anymore. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When is this getting released? I'm excited for the show (Which, unlike many, I remain optimistic about)... but I'm probably more curious about this music. On first listen I haaaaated the two tracks but I think that was my initial rejection to it not being Shore. Upon re-listening it I've decided to keep an open mind and see how Bear weaves together the greater tapestry of the soundtrack. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 29/07/2022 at 8:12 PM, Edmilson said:

Why is there an ad for Bear McCreary's music for the show on the Times Square?

 

Because if you're gonna be the poster child of streaming era profligacy, you might as well go all in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

 

I believe this has McCreary's music in it

0:00-0:14 SDCC Panel choral intro

0:18-0:37 McCreary's Galadriel theme

0:37-0:51 McCreary's Sauron theme

0:55-1:49 music from Main Teaser from July 14th

1:49-2:00 "Away I must wander this wandering day" from Main Teaser from July 14th

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Short clip here. (I feel like it might be edited some? Seems a bit rushed?) The music isn’t super noticeable. But it reminds me of the music when the White Council Discusses the Witch King.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're really pushing the Galadriel and Sauron themes huh?

Someone pointed out that the SDCC choral intro could be from Shore's song. I had to make a transcription, and it does have an undeniable resemblance (the whole-step/half-step supremacy), though, as with all music we've heard so far, a more Bearish style.

 

choral intro.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I see a lot of rumours (and McCreary said it himself) that a score album iwill be released in August, before the series will premiere in September.

 

Anyone know more about this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The real disappointing aspect for me is that Bear seemingly composed his entire score before hearing Shore's theme and there's little chance it will be incorporated into any part of the underscore. Hoping it proves popular enough that Bear feels compelled to incorporate it into the score come Season Two.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.