3.50 The Journey to the Grey Havens | LotR Score Analysis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 เม.ย. 2022
- An analysis of the themes and letitmotifs of the Lord of the Rings - The Complete Recordings; composed, orchestrated and conducted by Howard Shore. The videos stay true to how the tunes are presented in The Complete Recordings, so all scenes with no or altered music are omitted.
IMPORTANT: The featured sample notations are not necessarily identical (in key, form or time signature) to the relevant music in the tracks. They exist to give a visual cue for the themes, not to be taken literally for every iteration of the theme.
Quotes mostly taken from The Annotated Score and The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films by Doug Adams
A big thank you to A Magpie’s Nest, and the mysterious transcriber M.W., without either these videos might never have been made.
I am not affiliated with Middle-earth Enterprises, the Tolkien Estate, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, WingNut Films, Doug Adams or Howard Shore.
All copyrights and trademarks for the books, films, and soundtrack music and lyrics are held by their respective owners.
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ADDENDUM
Two videos next weekend, after that we've only got 1 more!
Weekly reminder to post your questions below that you want answered for the Q+A I'm doing after the final track video.
Thanks for watching!
Thank YOU for making these videos.
For q+a
What was the thing that surprised you the most while you unravelled the score?
Which soundtracks from other composers do you really admire?
Did you attend one or more Live to Projection concerts? How was the experience?
Thank you so much for making these videos they are a joy to watch!
For Q&A
1. Which underrated musical moment affected you the most, or stood out to you the most?
2. What is your favorite leitmotif from each of the three movies?
3. What is you favorite piece of poetry from the score?
4. Do you have any more thoughts on Pippin's Song?
‘Why, you have nearly finished it, Mr. Frodo!’ Sam exclaimed. ‘Well, you have kept at it, I must say.’
‘I have quite finished, Sam,’ said Frodo. ‘The last pages are for you.’
On September the twenty-first they set out together, Frodo on the pony that had borne him all the way from Minas Tirith, and was now called Strider; and Sam on his beloved Bill. It was a fair golden morning, and Sam did not ask where they were going: he thought he could guess.
They took the Stock Road over the hills and went towards the Woody End, and they let their ponies walk at their leisure. They camped in the Green Hills, and on September the twenty-second they rode gently down into the beginning of the trees as afternoon was wearing away.
‘If that isn’t the very tree you hid behind when the Black Rider first showed up, Mr. Frodo!’ said Sam pointing to the left. ‘It seems like a dream now.’
It was evening, and the stars were glimmering in the eastern sky as they passed the ruined oak and turned and went on down the hill between the hazel-thickets. Sam was silent, deep in his memories. Presently he became aware that Frodo was singing softly to himself, singing the old walking-song, but the words were not quite the same.
Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.
And as if in answer, from down below, coming up the road out of the valley, voices sang:
A! Elbereth Gilthoniel!
silivren penna míriel
o menel aglar elenath,
Gilthoniel, A! Elbereth!
We still remember, we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees
The starlight on the Western Seas.
Frodo and Sam halted and sat silent in the soft shadows, until they saw a shimmer as the travellers came towards them.
There was Gildor and many fair Elven folk; and there to Sam’s wonder rode Elrond and Galadriel. Elrond wore a mantle of grey and had a star upon his forehead, and a silver harp was in his hand, and upon his finger was a ring of gold with a great blue stone, Vilya, mightiest of the Three. But Galadriel sat upon a white palfrey and was robed all in glimmering white, like clouds about the Moon; for she herself seemed to shine with a soft light. On her finger was Nenya, the ring wrought of mithril, that bore a single white stone flickering like a frosty star. Riding slowly behind on a small grey pony, and seeming to nod in his sleep, was Bilbo himself.
Elrond greeted them gravely and graciously, and Galadriel smiled upon them. ‘Well, Master Samwise,’ she said. ‘I hear and see that you have used my gift well. The Shire shall now be more than ever blessed and beloved.’ Sam bowed, but found nothing to say. He had forgotten how beautiful the Lady was.
Then Bilbo woke up and opened his eyes. ‘Hullo, Frodo!’ he said. ‘Well, I have passed the Old Took today! So that’s settled. And now I think I am quite ready to go on another journey. Are you coming?’
‘Yes, I am coming,’ said Frodo. ‘The Ring-bearers should go together.’
‘Where are you going, Master?’ cried Sam, though at last he understood what was happening.
‘To the Havens, Sam,’ said Frodo.
‘And I can’t come.’
‘No, Sam. Not yet anyway, not further than the Havens. Though you too were a Ring-bearer, if only for a little while. Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.’
‘But,’ said Sam, and tears started in his eyes, ‘I thought you were going to enjoy the Shire, too. for years and years, after all you have done.’
‘So I thought too, once. But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them. But you are my heir: all that I had and might have had I leave to you. And also you have Rose, and Elanor; and Frodo-lad will come, and Rosie-lass, and Merry, and Goldilocks, and Pippin; and perhaps more that I cannot see. Your hands and your wits will be needed everywhere. You will be the Mayor, of course, as long as you want to be, and the most famous gardener in history; and you will read things out of the Red Book, and keep alive the memory of the age that is gone. so that people will remember the Great Danger and so love their beloved land all the more. And that will keep you as busy and as happy as anyone can be, as long as your part of the Story goes on.
‘Come now, ride with me!’
Then Elrond and Galadriel rode on; for the Third Age was over, and the Days of the Rings were passed, and an end was come of the story and song of those times. With them went many Elves of the High Kindred who would no longer stay in Middle-earth; and among them, filled with a sadness that was yet blessed and without bitterness, rode Sam, and Frodo, and Bilbo, and the Elves delighted to honour them.
Though they rode through the midst of the Shire all the evening and all the night, none saw them pass, save the wild creatures; or here and there some wanderer in the dark who saw a swift shimmer under the trees, or a light and shadow flowing through the grass as the Moon went westward. And when they had passed from the Shire, going about the south skirts of the White Downs, they came to the Far Downs, and to the Towers, and looked on the distant Sea; and so they rode down at last to Mithlond, to the Grey Havens in the long firth of Lune.
As they came to the gates Círdan the Shipwright came forth to greet them. Very tall he was, and his beard was long, and he was grey and old, save that his eyes were keen as stars; and he looked at them and bowed, and said: ‘All is now ready.’
Then Círdan led them to the Havens, and there was a white ship lying, and upon the quay beside a great grey horse stood a figure robed all in white awaiting them. As he turned and came towards them Frodo saw that Gandalf now wore openly upon his hand the Third Ring, Narya the Great, and the stone upon it was red as fire. Then those who were to go were glad, for they knew that Gandalf also would take ship with them.
But Sam was now sorrowful at heart, and it seemed to him that if the parting would be bitter, more grievous still would be the long road home alone. But even as they stood there, and the Elves were going aboard, and all was being made ready to depart, up rode Merry and Pippin in great haste. And amid his tears Pippin laughed.
‘You tried to give us the slip once before and failed, Frodo.’ he said. ‘This time you have nearly succeeded, but you have failed again. It was not Sam, though, that gave you away this time, but Gandalf himself!’
‘Yes,’ said Gandalf; ‘for it will be better to ride back three together ‘than one alone. Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.’
Then Frodo kissed Merry and Pippin, and last of all Sam, and went aboard; and the sails were drawn up, and the wind blew, and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth; and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore glimmered and was lost. And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.
But to Sam the evening deepened to darkness as he stood at the Haven; and as he looked at the grey sea he saw only a shadow on the waters that was soon lost in the West. There still he stood far into the night, hearing only the sigh and murmur of the waves on the shores of Middle-earth, and the sound of them sank deep into his heart. Beside him stood Merry and Pippin, and they were silent.
At last the three companions turned away, and never again looking back they rode slowly homewards; and they spoke no word to one another until they came back to the Shire. but each had great comfort in his friends on the long grey road.
At last they rode over the downs and took the East Road, and then Merry and Pippin rode on to Buckland; and already they were singing again as they went. But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap.
He drew a deep breath. ‘Well, I’m back,’ he said.
"I will not say, 'Do not weep', for not all tears are an evil."
Good! Because I am weeping my eyes out!😭 Thanks so much for these, they have been wonderful.
Both my grandparents have journeyed into the gray heavens. One was taken by the pandemic, the other by the unwillingness to live longer. Every time I listen to this, I can see them leaving us behind, so they can go to the heavens and be at peace at last. Someday I shall join them too, in the last travel I make after my years come to pass, but until then I shall remember their lives with great joy and happiness. Thank you my grandparents.
What I love about this scene is... how sickly, frail, hollow Bilbo seems. He's old. Age has well caught up with him.
Yet, when he sees the ship, and one last adventure before him, his old energy returns. He embarks without help. A pure energy, untainted by the Ring. The energy that carried him on his first adventure before he found the Ring.
This track should be the official farewell theme for everybody.
This will be mine for sure
It is quite amazing how "The Grey Havens" leitmotiv can be so eerie, quiet and contemplative here, when it was so resolute and energetic when heard during Sam's ascent of Orodruin. It was the Third Age almot litteraly burning and exploding in its last struggles, and now a pensive requiem for what it was, and the peace of the Fourth Age...! ^^
Also, yeah, I cry. Everybody cries. Everytime.
6:23 And it makes me cry every time I see it... even to this day...
No it makes you cry every time you hear it
@@playermartin286 well, I think this description is more accurate haha
Hearing the theme and seeing Frodo turn around to look the last time, that got me.
20 years later
Hard to shake this music off
Gives off such emotion knowing this is the final sendoff for these characters
It breaks my heart a lot more knowing Ian Holm is no longer with us, he truly did go into the Grey Havens
God bless him, Howard Shore’s music, and for Peter Jackson making this trilogy work
One of the most beautiful, bittersweet and heartrenching tracks ever produced.
What struck me the first time I heard this part of the score, and still does is it appears to breathe. Soft, deep breaths. Maybe the reason I like to listen to it, especially at night just before bed. Nice job!
Me, thinking I would make it through without crying:
Howard Shore about to wreck me all over again: RELEASE THE RIVERRRRRRR
I won't cry, I won't cry
How wonderful it is to read your analysis in tandem with the music, and have the words help to color in the soundscape. Thank you for this treasure.
The whole score is incredible and fits the movie perfectly but this was my favorite piece. Those sus 4/add 11 sounds over the basic 1-4-5 is really nice. But over the farewell scene it was so emotional. In the hero's journey when they return home they find they cannot go back to the same life because they have transformed. Or they complete the quest but are killed. This was an amazing combination of both and brilliant symbolism for Frodo's death without a tragic death scene. This mythology is so deep.
It was too much to take in the first time but I bought the score and the second I heard this theme it stood out. Rewatching the movie later it hit much harder.
I cry every time. But, not all tears are an evil.
Thank you for your work! These magical compositions will remain in my heart forever. Looking at your analysis, every time I relive these emotions.
“Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.”
I really like how some of the lyrics in the soundtrack are based on Tolkien’s poems. This one is a variation on a walking song that Frodo sings to Sam on the way to the Havens
Perfect for palm Sunday
Great videos. And you sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.
My favorite part of this is the final part, when Frodo smiles genuinely for the first time since getting stabbed at weathertop… the “far green country” theme from Gandalf’s speech about death returns. To me this symbolizes the fact Frodo gets to teach the far green country. He may have died to middle earth in spirit because of what he endured, but his final days will now be white shores and a swift sunrise.
He captured sight with sound.
Esperei por muito tempo esse vídeo! Parabéns pelo seu trabalho! :']
Muito obrigado!
Lovely
Beautiful music ! Love it !
Hi. Thanks for the video. I wondered if you could please help me understand something. I was looking at some of the elvish lyrics for some of the music in the trilogy soundtrack, namely The End of All Things, and I saw some lyrics for The Grey Havens. I didn't recall hearing any words in this song so here I am. The lyrics are below but this song doesn't have any, excpet that last choral line you point out... so what's going on here? Beautiful music and beautiful words but there aren't any are there? [Edit: Watching the symphony back there are male voices is this what they're singing?]
Dartha o nas a thar emyn
Men 'wain egor annon thurin
Ah ae anann erphennin hain
Na vedui cenithon aur wain
I badathon raid yriel
Amrun n'Anor, Annun n'Ithil.
Still round a corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.
There's not much to clear up, I'm afraid. All vocal/choral lines throughout the trilogy come from larger collections of lyrics, this being no exception. Even in such cases as "Namárië", which Tolkien wrote himself, only a small part was used for the movies (I don't think there's more than 10 poems that are used in their entirety). Though the English lyrics of "Grey Havens" were used for the rejected end credits song Use Well The Days th-cam.com/video/x7MWsNGsA5o/w-d-xo.html, the only part of the Sindarin lyrics that were ever used are the final line, as seen in this track and the symphony.
@@monoverantus Thank you. How did I not know about 'Use Well the Days'... or had it just slipped from memory. 🤷♂Either way it's beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Even after 20+ years LOTR is the gift that keeps on giving!
Alguém pode me dizer qual instrumentos são usados nessa trilha?
There are 3 notes (D-E-D) at 5:39 that always have moved me. Have you got any meaning for them?