POLL: Favorite McCreary RoP Theme

[WampaRat 1,105]

17 themes. What’s your favorite? I used Jay’s spreadsheet for reference. 
 

Im going with Valinor. So ethereal. Although the B section of Nori’s theme has been running through my head a lot the last few days. Real close second there. Numenor and Khazad-Dum are bloody terrific. And I really enjoy the ambiguity of The Stranger theme. 
 

[Jay 37,323]

Damn, that's a tough one.

 

It's easy to think of the handful I like most, but hard to pick one specific favorite out of that handful.  I may have to listen through the concert arrangements again to decide.  Right now I pick The Stranger

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

I picked Elendil.

 

 The most masculine theme in many years that is also beautifully melodic and lyrical. It really has a glorious manly grandeur - like it’s the theme for Rambo or some other badass - a lonely man but with a beautiful theme.

 

EDIT: I’ll again just add, this very very very very very much an above average set of themes. Most of these are really good and memorable themes - I can hum most of them without any aid - that to me is strength.

[WampaRat 1,105]

7 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said:

I picked Elendil.

 

 The most masculine theme in many years that is also beautifully melodic and lyrical. It really has a glorious manly grandeur - like it’s the theme for Rambo or some other badass - a lonely man but with a beautiful theme.

 

EDIT: I’ll again just add, this very very very very very much an above average set of themes. Most of these are really good and memorable themes - I can hum most of them without any aid - that to be is strength.

Cool comparison to Rambo’s theme. I like that. 
 

And yeah, the amount of time he spent crafting each one of these themes so they’d be distinct yet still related to their culture etc is unheard of in most modern scores today.
 

As the show goes on I’m sure some of these will fade away. I’m curious how many new themes he’ll work up for the second season. Depending on the events and new characters, perhaps at least 5 more? Just the thought of balancing them all kinda makes me nauseous lol. 

[Stark 312]

They are genuinely all great, but the Galadriel theme simply soars over all others. 

[MedigoScan 324]

Immediately gravitated towards the Strangers theme when I first heard the album. Still like it the most now, but a lot of them are great.

[artguy360 1,843]

I really like Elrond's theme. All the Harfoot stuff is really good too.

[A. A. Ron 1,741]

Very tough call. Elrond’s theme is nice, but it’s basically copy-pasted from Caprica. I love Galadriel’s theme. It’s so beautiful and vulnerable and it gets so much of a workout in the big movie moments of the season. I also really love the themes for Valinor, Durin and The Stranger. I ended up picking Khazad-Dum though as I’ve played it the most and feel it would make the best concert suite.

[crocodile 7,990]

For me, it is somewhere between Where the Shadows Lie and The Stranger. Will go with the latter, however, do to its ambiguity.

 

I also really like Galadriel's theme.

 

Karol

[Knight of Ren 787]

It's hard to pick just one since all of them stand on their own and are quite memorable in their own ways, perfectly complementing the characters or places they underscore. I've very much enjoyed all the Khazad-dûm material and it's funny to think now that at first I didn't really like Elrond's theme because I thought was weak, since now it's one of my favorite ones. Galadriel's theme serves as a great melody that sort of ties almost all of the storylines together, and I love many of the different renditions it has gone through. 

 

But I think if I have to choose onlye one, I would pick The Stranger Theme. I love all the Harfoot material, and Nori's theme is great because it reminds me a lot of Bear's Outlander scores, but with the Stranger's theme he was able to give it a magical, ethereal quality, while remaining ambiguous until the end when the theme finally soars heroically and triumphant. Probably one of my favorite thematic developments this season together with Halbrand's/Sauron's themes.

[Richard Penna 3,676]

Oh man that's a poll as evil as Sauron.

 

I love Numenor, The Stranger, Galadriel, Nori and Khazad-dum theme most of all but most of the rest take extremely honourable second place, with only a few being a tad on the 'meh' side - I'm still not sure I've placed what the Mystics theme actually is. (although I'm also unclear what they're for narratively apart from trying to be an antagonist towards The Stranger)

 

At gunpoint I'd go for Numenor given its timeless, ancient vibe with a fantastic B-section.

[Jay 37,323]

One interesting thing is the different paths some themes take.

 

Like The Stranger's theme climaxes in episode 8, while Numenor is at its height in its early introductory episodes then loses its power as the characters head to the Southlands and are defeated there

[Jay 37,323]

Just found a post I typed this weekend but never submitted; It was me putting the 16 major themes into three buckets:

 

TOP
Galadriel
Nori
Stranger
Númenor
Khazad-dûm
Durin

 

MIDDLE
Valinor
Harfoot
Sauron
Mystics
Rings

 

BOTTOM
Adar/Orcs
Arondir/Bronwyn
Elendil/Isildur
Halbrand/Southlands
Elrond

 

 

 

Since then I actually had to be in the car for a while on Sunday and listened to the first hour+ of the OST album.  It was the first time I had listened to the concert arrangements in a while, and already I could tell my ranking was changing.  And then we watched the season finale the other night, and I'm sensing more changing.

 

For sure The Mystics and Halbrand should go up, and maybe Khazad-dun should go down.  Not sure.

Point is, it's quite hard for me to exactly pick my 5-6 favorite themes, let alone my #1 favorite.  Heck, even the Rings theme is going up now too.  Damn.

 

What a treasure trove of a score this is

[Richard Penna 3,676]

I'd put the following. Any that are in the top two are basically going through my head much of the time. Thanks to episode 8, the Rings theme and Sauron are promoted.

 

The Best

Numenor

Galadriel

Nori

Stranger

Rings

 

Top

Elendil/Isildur

Arondir/Bronwyn

Khazad Dum

Halbrand/Southlands

Sauron (the performances in episode 8 made me like this theme a lot more)

 

Middle

Elrond

Orcs

Nolwa Mahtar

 

Bottom

Harfoots

Valinor

Durin

The Mystics

[WampaRat 1,105]

The opening ostinato of Galadriels theme has been running through my head a lot. And then at the end when it’s paired with the lovely choral backing. Just lovely.

 

 When I initially heard this theme I thought it was a bit too overblown. Pushing the “yearning” button a bit too hard. I don’t feel that now at all. It’s actually really delicate. I do think it was maybe used a bit too much (or perhaps just played in a similar fashion one too many times throughout the show.) But I feel like Bear really wanted this to be the theme that audiences left humming when the show ended.
 

 

[Jay 37,323]

Yea - I haven't done a count or timings or anything, but it really feels like Galadriel's theme is the theme used the most throughout the season.

 

I wonder if that was Bear's decision or the showrunners.  I wouldn't be surprised if she's the character with the most screen time by a considerable margin

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

33 minutes ago, Jay said:

Yea - I haven't done a count or timings or anything, but it really feels like Galadriel's theme is the theme used the most throughout the season.

 

I wonder if that was Bear's decision or the showrunners.  I wouldn't be surprised if she's the character with the most screen time by a considerable margin

She is. She is the de facto main character. We begin the show almost as her personal story and personal recollection.

 

 One YouTube analysis said she has so much so screen time that it is the more than the double that of the character in second place.

 

i think she appears in all 8 episodes and has scenes in every single storyline except the Harfoots. So bear is just following her on screen and that’s why her theme appears so often.

 

 You could argue since Galadriel is the main character, her theme is the main theme. At least in season 1.

[Jay 37,323]

She's the only character in all 8 episodes

 

Halbrand and Arondir are in 7 episodes

 

Elrond, Bronwyn, Theo, The Stranger, Nori, Poppy, Sadoc, Largo, Marigold, Miriel, and Elendil are in 6

 

Celebrimbor, Adar, and Isildur are in 5

 

Durin IV, Pharazôn and Eärien are in 4

 

Durin III, Disa, Kemen, Tar-Palantir, Gil-Galad, and The Mystics are in 3