(July, 28, 2010—New York, NY) Carpentier and Alfred Music Publishing are pleased to announce the release of The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films, a comprehensive account of Howard Shore’s score for the trilogy, by Doug Adams. The book will be available in the European Union on September 28 and in the U.S. and worldwide on October 5, 2010.

The culmination of almost a decade of writing and research, The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films is an unprecedented look at Howard Shore’s Academy Award®-winning score, with extensive music examples, original manuscript scores, a rarities CD, and glimpses into the creative process from the composer, himself.

The 416-page full-color volume features a Foreword by Howard Shore, an Introduction by The Lord of the Rings screenwriter/producer Fran Walsh, original sketches by John Howe and Alan Lee, and numerous images from the films. Also included in the book, courtesy of Howe Records, is “The Lord of the Rings: The Rarities Archive” a CD presenting 21 tracks of previously unreleased music created for the films, and an audio interview with Howard Shore.

The score for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy has been hailed as some of the greatest film music ever written. Sweeping in scope, it is a musical interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth—an operatic tapestry of cultures, histories, languages, and people.

“Howard Shore’s [LOTR] music has touched millions of people the world over,” said Adams. “It’s been my great pleasure to assemble a piece that chronicles the creation of this music, and examines exactly how it tells this classic story.”

“Doug was a detective uncovering clues, tracing how one theme or character related to another,” said Shore. “He not only shows the themes and motifs for characters, cultures, objects, and their connection to Tolkien’s work, but also the ideas that were sometimes buried deep inside the writing.”

“Researching Shore’s music has been a true adventure,” described Adams. “His work is every bit as intricate and passionate as Tolkien’s Middle-earth.”

Doug Adams, a Chicago-based author and musicologist, was invited in 2001 by Howard Shore to observe and document his work on Peter Jackson’s motion picture trilogy. Adams attended recording sessions, examined the original scores, and was given complete access to the composer’s archives. As an acknowledged authority on Howard Shore’s music, Adams has become a regular fixture at concerts and events across the globe. He runs the popular blog, www.musicoflotr.com, which documents his work on this project and brings fans together in ongoing discussions.

UPCOMING EVENTS (TIMES TBA)
September 27 Book signing and Q&A with Howard Shore and Doug Adams (Chappell of Bond Street, 152-160 Wardour St., London, UK)
September 28-29 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King, concert (Royal Albert Hall, London, UK)
October 7 Book signing and Q&A with Howard Shore and Doug Adams (Barnes and Noble, 1972 Broadway, New York, NY)
October 8-9 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, concert (Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY)

ABOUT ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING
Alfred Music Publishing is one of the world’s largest music publishers. Alfred is based in Los Angeles with domestic offices in Miami & New York as well as around the world including Australia, Germany, Singapore & the United Kingdom.





As part of my research for The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films I was granted access to Howard Shore’s full archive of recorded materials. This included every single take from months of recording sessions on Fellowship, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, as well as electronic mock-ups of themes, DVD recording sessions, unused songs and lyrics, etc. All in all, it was enough raw audio to keep me in a listening room for a few hundred hours or so. Fortunately, I was able to space out these review sessions over the course of a year-and-a-half, during which time I catalogued everything I found on CD-Rs, DVDs, and abandoned hard drives, then proceeded to litter Shore’s offices with a self-devised system of post-it notes and red markers … a trail of breadcrumbs I could later use to retrace my steps.

But more pressing than the logistical concerns were the creative ones. How on Earth could this material be properly presented? We toyed with a number of ideas, but ultimately decided to let Tolkien be our guide. The Rarities told two stories, one Tolkien’s, one Shore’s. If we could retain that drama, then shape something beautiful – not simply catalogue it – we’d have a piece worthy of the lineage.

Tracks were chosen to present all our major discoveries – and believe me, it was an incredible task to ensure we squeezed everything in. They were then set into story order so as to both illustrate Shore’s creative process and echo Tolkien’s narrative voice. Finally, the music was cleaned up and remastered by Jonathan Schultz, who worked on the film scores, the original soundtrack CDs, and The Complete Recordings. As a special bonus, we included a short discussion between Howard Shore and myself at the end of the album.

The result is something that can be either studied as a fascinating collection of rare materials, or listened to as a well-rounded album experience. I think this disc is every bit as unique as the book it accompanies, and a beautiful finale to the music of The Lord of the Rings. I’m incredibly thankful to Howard Shore and Howe Records for allowing me to be a part of it.

-Doug Adams





If you'd rather not order through Amazon or other online retailers, you can also ask your local bookstore to carry The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films. Domestic and International contact for Alfred is included below. Simply put your favorite dealer in contact with the nearest Alfred distribution center.