The Tolkien Ensemble (founded in 1995) is a Danish ensemble which created "the world's first complete musical interpretation of the poems and songs from ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
''". They published four CDs from 1997 to 2005, in which all the
poems and songs of ''The Lord of the Rings'' are set to music. The project was approved by the
Tolkien Estate
The Tolkien Estate is the legal body which manages the property of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, including the copyright for most of his works. The individual copyrights have for the most part been assigned by the estate to subsidiary enti ...
. Queen
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
gave permission to use her illustrations on the CD covers.
Permanent members are Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall (composition, singing and guitar),
Signe Asmussen
Signe Asmussen Manuitt (born 1970) is a Danish mezzosoprano singer who has performed widely, not only in classical concerts, chamber music and opera but also in Latin jazz and as a member of The Tolkien Ensemble. Since 2001, she has made a mark as ...
(singing), Øyvind Ougaard (accordion), Katja Nielsen (double-bass), and Morten Ryelund Sørensen (conductor and violin). The ensemble have been described as
elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
, Tolkien's refined Middle-earth race, in contrast to the more rustic
hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
-like groups such as Brocéliande and the Hobbitons. Scholars have praised their settings as among the most atmospheric recordings of Tolkien's poems.
History
Composer Caspar Reiff founded the Tolkien Ensemble in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
in autumn 1995. At that time, Reiff (1971) was studying guitar at the
Royal Danish Academy of Music
The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approxima ...
in Copenhagen. He formed an ensemble consisting of fellow students from the Academy and his former guitar teacher, the composer and musician Peter Hall (1946), LLCM (TD)
London College of Music
London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London.
History
LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Gr ...
.
The goal set by the two composers, Reiff and Hall, was to create the world's first complete musical interpretation of
the poems from
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
's "masterpiece" ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
''. The ensemble, which was to form the base of this vision, was named 'The Tolkien Ensemble' — entirely devoted to the works of Tolkien. The ensemble first took shape with a group of invited musicians in January 1996 at the
Royal Danish Academy of Music
The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approxima ...
. The founder members (other than Reiff and Hall) were Mads Thiemann, Mette Tjærby, Ole Norup &
Signe Asmussen
Signe Asmussen Manuitt (born 1970) is a Danish mezzosoprano singer who has performed widely, not only in classical concerts, chamber music and opera but also in Latin jazz and as a member of The Tolkien Ensemble. Since 2001, she has made a mark as ...
.
![Gjorslev Slot from the air (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Gjorslev_Slot_from_the_air_%28cropped%29.JPG)
The Tolkien Ensemble's first concert took place at
Gjorslev Castle on 21 January 1996; this was followed by concerts in Denmark.
In January 1997, Reiff and Peter Hall were granted permission by the Tolkien Estate to record the first 12 songs from ''The Lord of the Rings''.
The two composers chose the young Danish conductor Morten Ryelund as producer and this was to have a major influence on the interpretation of the music and the project as a whole.
Ryelund later became a full member of the Tolkien Ensemble and the ensemble was granted permission by Queen
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
to use her illustrations on the CD cover. These unique illustrations, created when she was Crown Princess of Denmark, became a recurrent feature on all the ensemble's later CDs.
The first album, ''
An Evening in Rivendell'', was released in autumn 1997 to widespread critical acclaim.
A number of concerts followed. Notably, in a 1998 concert in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, the audience included members of the Tolkien family, to the ensemble's delight.
''An Evening in Rivendell'' was followed by the 2000 release ''
A Night in Rivendell''. The album contained more sombre songs from the Lord of The Rings; the ensemble worked with, among others, the singers
Povl Dissing, who sang the part of
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional Tolkien's monsters, character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 Fantasy (genre), fantasy novel ''The Hobbit'', and became important in its sequel, ''The Lord of the Rings''. Gol ...
, Kurt Ravn (
Legolas
Legolas (pronounced ) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a Sindar Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of the nine members of the Fellowship who set out to destroy the One Ring. He and the Dwarf Gimli ...
) and
Ulrik Cold
Ulrik Thestrup Cold (15 May 1939, Copenhagen — 13 October 2010, Copenhagen) was a Danish operatic bass. In 1963 he made his professional opera debut at the Royal Danish Theatre (RDT) as Seneca in Claudio Monteverdi's ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ...
(
Gandalf
Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a Wizards (Middle-earth), wizard, one of the ''Istari'' order, and the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring (characters), Fellowship of t ...
).
![Christopher Lee 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Christopher_Lee_2009.jpg)
Interest in ''The Lord of the Rings'' grew dramatically in 2001 when
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
started to release his films of Tolkien's books. The Tolkien Ensemble was invited to take part in the Danish premiere of the first film in the
Jackson's trilogy: ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. Among the celebrities representing the film in Copenhagen was the actor
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
, who played the traitorous wizard
Saruman
Saruman, also called Saruman the White, is a fictional character of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, t ...
. The Tolkien Ensemble invited him to take part in their third album, ''
At Dawn in Rivendell
''At Dawn in Rivendell'' is the third album by the Danish group the Tolkien Ensemble. It featured a guest appearance by the actor and singer Christopher Lee, who voiced the spoken word tracks and sang the part of the Ent Treebeard.
The album was ...
'', partly as narrator and partly as singer of
Treebeard
Treebeard, or ''Fangorn'' in Sindarin, is a tree-giant character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is an Ent and is said by Gandalf to be "the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth.", boo ...
's songs.
Lee's cooperation, combined with the growing interest for the work of Tolkien, resulted in a huge success for the album. It was released in 22 countries, was widely played by radio stations, and received excellent reviews. ''
The International Herald Tribune
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' called it "Total ''Lord of the Rings'' magic!" ''At Dawn in Rivendell'' later sold well worldwide. The cooperation with Lee developed to include concerts. In the autumn of 2002, Lee took part in a release concert at
Tivoli Concert Hall
Tivoli Concert Hall ( da, Tivolis Koncertsal) is a 1,660-capacity concert hall at Tivoli (Copenhagen), Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. The building, which was designed by Frits Schlegel and Hans Hansen (architect), Hans Hansen, was built be ...
. Then followed a major tour of, among other countries, England and Sweden, culminating in the summer of 2003 when the ensemble gave a concert in Denmark for an audience including HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and
Prince Henrik of Denmark.
In 2004 the two composers, Reiff and Hall, together with Lee, took part in a major sell-out concert in
Concertgebouw
The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...
, Amsterdam.
In 2005 The Tolkien Ensemble played at two major ''Lord of the Rings'' concerts at
Ledreborg Castle
Ledreborg is a palatial mansion near Lejre, to the southwest of Roskilde on the Danish island of Zealand. Today's Baroque building was completed in 1746 by Minister of State Johan Ludvig Holstein (1694–1763) who commissioned J.C. Krieger to ca ...
, Denmark to an audience of over 22,000 people. Among the performers was the ensemble's new member,
Nick Keir
Nick Keir (14 March 1953 – 2 June 2013) was a Scottish musician from Edinburgh, Scotland, who is best known for his work with The McCalmans. More recently Keir emerged as a singer-songwriter, producing three solo albums and performing as ...
of the Scottish folk-trio
The McCalmans
The McCalmans (originally ''The Ian MacCalman Folk Group'') were a Scottish folk trio. Formed on 6 October 1964, they recorded and toured without interruption until they disbanded in December 2010. Their performance was based on three part har ...
. These concerts, with the
Danish National Chamber Orchestra The Danish Chamber Orchestra ( da, Danmarks Underholdningsorkester) is a chamber orchestra in Denmark.
It was the Danish National Chamber Orchestra from 1939 to 2014, when it was under the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). Since 2015, it has bee ...
, the Danish National Chamber Choir, and soloists, marked the release of the fourth and last album of the series, ''
Leaving Rivendell
''Leaving Rivendell'' is the fourth album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble, with Christopher Lee as additional vocalist. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in ''The Lord of the Rings'' by J. R. R. Tolkien and forms the end par ...
''. Besides Lee, Keir, the
Danish National Chamber Orchestra The Danish Chamber Orchestra ( da, Danmarks Underholdningsorkester) is a chamber orchestra in Denmark.
It was the Danish National Chamber Orchestra from 1939 to 2014, when it was under the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). Since 2015, it has bee ...
/
DR and the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR performed with The Tolkien Ensemble on the fourth album.
The ensemble toured Europe in 2007, combining their own works with soundtrack pieces from
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...
's soundtrack to the film trilogy as well as live narration by Lee.
In 2008 the ensemble gave their longest concert tour of German cities including Berlin's
Friedrichstadt-Palast
The Friedrichstadt-Palast, also shortened to Palast Berlin, is a revue in the Berlin district of Mitte (district center). The term Friedrichstadt-Palast designates both the building itself, and the revue theater as a body with his ensemble. The p ...
, Hamburg, Hannover, Dresden, Bremen, and Leipzig's
Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics.
History
The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'')
The fi ...
.
The ensemble continued to give concert tours each year until 2013.
The release of the four-CD-box in 2006 marked the completion of more than ten years' work and the attainment of the ensemble's goal: the release of their ''Complete Songs & Poems'' from ''The Lord of the Rings''. More than 150 professional musicians participated in the effort. The four-CD-box is dedicated to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien, to
The Tolkien Society
The Tolkien Society is an educational charity and literary society devoted to the study and promotion of the life and works of the author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien.
It began informally in 1969, and held its inaugural meeting in 1970. It ho ...
in Oxford, and to the millions of people for whom ''The Lord of the Rings'' has a special place in their hearts.
Reception
The Tolkien scholar
David Bratman David Bratman is a librarian and Tolkien scholar.
Biography
David Bratman was born in Chicago to Robert Bratman, a physician, and his wife Nancy, an editor. He was one of four sons in the family. He was brought up in Cleveland, Ohio and then in ...
calls the ensemble "
efinedelves",
unlike groups like Brocéliande and the Hobbitons, who he calls "
ustic
Ustic is a class of soil moisture regime. It is one of a range of different soil moisture regimes, such as: aquic moisture regime, aridic moisture regime, udic moisture regime and xeric moisture regime. The ustic moisture regime is intermediate ...
hobbits in ethos".
He calls their music "some of the most atmospheric Tolkien settings on disc".
He mentions Lee's recitation of some of Tolkien's poems, where "
eimpersonates
Treebeard
Treebeard, or ''Fangorn'' in Sindarin, is a tree-giant character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is an Ent and is said by Gandalf to be "the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth.", boo ...
half rhythmically talking and half singing, ''à la''
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play ''French Without Tears'', in what ...
as
Professor Higgins
''Pygmalion'' is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, named after the Pygmalion (mythology), Greek mythological figure. It premiered at the Burgtheater, Hofburg Theatre in Vienna on 16 October 1913 and was first presented in German o ...
."
Bratman describes the ensemble's approach as an "effective combination" of folk and classical, and the ensemble itself as consisting of
conservatory students and
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
ians. In his view there is an "ethereal air of wistfulness" throughout the Tolkien Ensemble's music, which contributes powerfully to their
Elvish songs; he at once adds that their
hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
songs work out well too, with a light guitar setting and simple sturdy tune that handles
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium. He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", which also included ''The Lord of the Rings'' characters Goldberry (Tom's wi ...
's songs effectively. He especially admires the third album's last track, "Sam's invocation of Elven Hymn to Elbereth Gilthoniel" by Hall, where "
Frodo's walking song meets
an Elvish hymn to Elbereth".
The scholar of English literature Leslie A. Donovan calls the Ensemble's four albums the most notable of the attempts "to capture the airs of Middle-earth by creating their own music for Tolkien's lyrics".
The ''Green Man Review'' writes that the Tolkien Ensemble "has made excellent use" of the songs in ''
The Road Goes Ever On
''The Road Goes Ever On'' is a 1967 song cycle that has been published as a book of sheet music and as an audio recording. The music was written by Donald Swann, and the words are taken from poems in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, ...
''.
Af Søren Aabyen, reviewing the Ensemble's first album, ''An Evening in Rivendell'', for the
Danish Tolkien Society, found that rarely had any music appealed to him as much. He was delighted by the
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
Asmussen's mellow rendering of "Galadriel's Song of Eldamar". He enjoyed the playful hobbit-song "
There is an Inn, a merry old Inn", and Reiff's suitably melancholy guitar for "
The Old Walking Song
"The Road Goes Ever On" is a title that encompasses several walking songs that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote for his Middle-earth legendarium. Within the stories, the original song was composed by Bilbo Baggins and recorded in ''The Hobbit''. Differen ...
" alongside the rich baritone voice of Thiemann and the lyrical violin of Tjærby. Aabyen noted also the pleasure of finding Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's illustrations in the accompanying booklet.
Anthony Burdge and Jessica Burke, in ''
The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia
The ''J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment'', edited by Michael D. C. Drout, was published by Routledge in 2006. A team of 127 Tolkien scholars on 720 pages cover topics of Tolkien's fiction, his academic works, his ...
'', note that the album was complete with the queen's illustrations "greatly admired by Tolkien."
Permanent members
* Peter Hall – founder, composer, vocals, guitar
* – founder, composer, guitar
*
Signe Asmussen
Signe Asmussen Manuitt (born 1970) is a Danish mezzosoprano singer who has performed widely, not only in classical concerts, chamber music and opera but also in Latin jazz and as a member of The Tolkien Ensemble. Since 2001, she has made a mark as ...
– vocals
* Morten Ernst Lassen – vocals
* Katja Nielsen – double-bass
* – accordion
* Morten Ryelund Sørensen – conductor, violin
* Mads Thiemann – vocals
Discography
* ''Complete Songs & Poems'' (2006), consisting of:
** ''
An Evening in Rivendell'' (1997)
**: ''Malene Nordtorp, Ole Jegindø Norup, Mads Thiemann, Morten Ernst Lassen, Commotio-Kvartetten choir, Polkageist.''
** ''
A Night in Rivendell'' (2000)
**: ''
Ulrik Cold
Ulrik Thestrup Cold (15 May 1939, Copenhagen — 13 October 2010, Copenhagen) was a Danish operatic bass. In 1963 he made his professional opera debut at the Royal Danish Theatre (RDT) as Seneca in Claudio Monteverdi's ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ...
, Kurt Ravn,
Povl Dissing, Mads Thiemann, Morten Ernst Lassen, The Chamber Choir Hymnia.''
** ''
At Dawn in Rivendell
''At Dawn in Rivendell'' is the third album by the Danish group the Tolkien Ensemble. It featured a guest appearance by the actor and singer Christopher Lee, who voiced the spoken word tracks and sang the part of the Ent Treebeard.
The album was ...
'' (2002)
**: ''Kurt Ravn, Morten Ernst Lassen, Peter Hall, Tom McEwan, Caspar Reiff, the Copenhagen Chamber Choir Camerata, Copenhagen Young Strings. Recitation by
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
.''
** ''
Leaving Rivendell
''Leaving Rivendell'' is the fourth album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble, with Christopher Lee as additional vocalist. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in ''The Lord of the Rings'' by J. R. R. Tolkien and forms the end par ...
'' (2005)
**: ''Jørgen Ditlevsen, Kurt Ravn, Nick Keir, the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR, the
Danish Radio
DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterp ...
Sinfonietta/DR. Recitation by Christopher Lee.''
See also
*
Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien
The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have served as the inspiration to painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that he is sometimes seen as the "father" of the entire genre of high fantasy.
Art and illustration
The earliest ...
References
Primary
Secondary
External links
Tolkien Ensemble websiteTolkien Ensemble playlist(18 videos) on YouTube
Website discussing some of the Tolkien Ensemble's works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolkien Ensemble
Danish musical groups
Music based on The Lord of the Rings
Musical groups established in 1995