Howard Shore – The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers – The Complete Recordings (2006/2018) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]

Howard Shore’s themes for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy are often considered as some of the greatest accomplishments in the history of movie soundtracks. By virtue of its operatic length, first: just for this second volume (available here in its entirety), the listener can enjoy this music for more than three hours! But first and foremost, we have to highlight here the extremely rich and inventive artistic performance of the composer of the movies of David Cronenberg, as well as Ed Wood, After Hours and Mrs. Doubtfire. For this second episode released in 2002 (called The Two Towers), the Canadian composer reuses here and there the epic and moving themes from the first volume, by injecting into them more darkness and ambiguity, as proven by the opening track (Glamdring, with Maori choruses), as well as tracks associated to Gollum that skillfully blend shadow and light (My Precious). This soundtrack is also filled with new themes like the one, epic and majestic, devoted to the Rohirrim, the riders of Middle-earth (The Plains of Rohan). But Shore’s score wouldn’t be complete without this Celtic flavor that the composer scatters with subtlety throughout this titanic partition—thus reminding that one of the influences of Tolkien, the author of the novels, was Irish mythology. Dermot Crehan (violin) and the great flutist James Galway (tin and low whistle) are usually responsible for bringing to this score this particular color (Edoras ; Ent-draught). In this regard, it is worth noting the impressive number of soloists inside Shore’s partition, something quite rare for a so-called “symphonic” partition. Naturally, throughout his work, the composer endeavors to respect to the letter the narrative and visual world of Tolkien and Jackson, thus intending it for the fans of the saga. But this rich and subtle original soundtrack proves in a blatant way that Howard Shore also wanted to speak to the heart of every music lover, whether they knew Tolkien’s fantastical world or not. – Nicolas Magenham

Tracklist:
1. Glamdring 03:49
2. Elven Rope 02:18
3. Lost In Emyn Muil 04:14
4. My Precious 02:56
5. Uglúk’s Warriors 01:41
6. The Three Hunters 06:12
7. The Banishment of Éomer 03:54
8. Night Camp 02:50
9. The Plains Of Rohan 04:14
10. Fangorn 05:13
11. The Dead Marshes 05:08
12. “Wraiths On Wings” 02:07
13. Gandalf the White 06:47
14. The Dreams of Trees 01:54
15. The Heir of Númenor 06:50
16. Ent-draught 02:55
17. Edoras 04:33
18. The Court of Meduseld 03:10
19. Théoden King / “The Funeral of Théodred” (feat. Miranda Otto) 06:11
20. The King’s Decision 02:07
21. Exodus From Edoras 05:42
22. The Forests Of Ithilien 06:37
23. One of the Dúnedain / “Evenstar” (feat. Isabel Bayrakdarian) 07:13
24. The Wolves of Isengard 04:22
25. Refuge At Helm’s Deep 04:00
26. The Voice Of Saruman 01:10
27. Arwen’s Fate / “The Grace of the Valar” (feat. Sheila Chandra) 03:58
28. The Story Foretold 03:38
29. Sons Of The Steward 06:03
30. Rock And Pool 02:54
31. Faramir’s Good Council 02:26
32. Aragorn’s Return 02:10
33. War Is Upon Us 03:35
34. “Where Is The Horse And The Rider?” 06:15
35. The Host Of The Eldar 02:50
36. The Battle Of The Hornburg 02:52
37. The Breach Of The Deeping Wall 03:03
38. The Entmoot Decides 02:06
39. Retreat / “Haldir’s Lament” (feat. Elizabeth Fraser) 04:40
40. Master Peregrin’s Plan 02:31
41. The Last March of the Ents (feat. Ben Del Maestro) 02:31
42. The Nazgûl Attack 02:45
43. Théoden Rides Forth (feat. Ben Del Maestro) 05:48
44. The Tales That Really Matter 12:01
45. “Long Ways to Go Yet” / “Gollum’s Song” (feat. Emiliana Torrini) 08:04