In this series of blogs, I explore the detailed musical depths of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. For a comprehensive look at my score for the series, explore my previous blog entries here, and check out the soundtrack albums (a compilation for each season and a comprehensive album for each episode) available on all platforms.
SCORING EPISODE 207
“DOOMED TO DIE“
In October of 2004, the words “Music by Bear McCreary” appeared on television screens around the world for the first time, at the end of “33,” the shocking first episode of Battlestar Galactica. In the twenty years since, I have scored many episodes of television (901 for anyone keeping score!) and I can say without any hyperbole that “Doomed to Die,” the penultimate episode of The Rings of Power season two is the most massive by every metric. The episode is the continuation of the siege of Eregion by Adar’s forces, a battle that will continue on into the season finale. As with the first season’s battle episode, “Udûn,” I simply dove headfirst into writing, trusting in my creative instincts to get me through.
ALL THINGS MUST END
“Doomed to Die” opens as Lord Celebrimbor stands on the balcony of his forge tower, taking in the view of his beloved city basking in the golden rays of sunrise. He returns to his work. The propulsive swirling strings of the Forging theme inspire him as he carefully removes a spoonful of the mithril given to him by Annatar and melts it down. An angelic female choir sings “Where the Shadows Lie,” the Rings theme, in a new arrangement bristling with kinetic excitement. The choir reflects on his work with a lyric in Tolkien’s Elven language of Quenya.
Quenya:
Lúme nore oiale póna.
Tame vanie, kate ilvanie.
Nertellume antoryaina,
Sanassenen pá naite maire.
English:
Time gallops ever forward.
Forge beauty, form perfection.
Nine times tempered,
Through true art’s reflection.
While the symphony orchestra and choir swell with a majestic chord, a white flash fills the screen as he bends the ore into a circle: he has at last completed the ninth Ring of Power. Minutes later, catching a fleeting glimpse of his reflection in which he appears filthy and haggard, he begins to momentarily lose trust in his senses. Just as Celebrimbor might be on the verge of discovering his senses have been magically altered, Annatar enters the workshop. I found inspiration in the performances of Charles Edwards and Charlie Vickers throughout the season, and their work in this episode represents their greatest work together yet.
Celebrimbor’s mood softens and he concedes that he has felt focus and clarity beyond anything he’s experienced in years, while Annatar offers a knowing smile. The pastoral tone of this scene, in which the two characters recognize their work together is nearly finished, influenced a delicate new arrangement of the Rings theme in the score. Here, “Where the Shadows Lie” has been stripped of its musical shadows: no trace remains of any darkness. The music is light, played as a lilting lullaby by airy muted violins, doubled by a breathy flute solo. The passage represents pure serenity.
When Celebrimbor tells Annatar the Rings of Power are nearly complete, the Forging theme ignites again, underscoring the lustful desire for power barely hidden behind Annatar’s gaze. Low male singers offer a bleak commentary beneath the orchestration in Quenya, “I lúme antúla,” meaning “The time draws near.” As the final peaceful scene these two characters will ever share draws to a close, Celebrimbor opines, “All things must end,” as a duet of French horn and English horn offers the melodic line of “Where the Shadows Lie” associated with the lyric “One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne.”
Sauron emerges from the forge, stepping out of the peaceful illusion he crafted for Celebrimbor, into the searing heat of bombardment. The orchestra, like the city, explodes into chaos. Rising strings swirl upward as if clouds of black smoke, while blasting brass rattle alongside the stony foundations of Eregion. The full choir proclaims, “Aika orme naite morniesse,” a Quenya lyric meaning “Terrible violence in true darkness.”
Across the river, Adar commands his legions to rotate their siege engines towards the neighboring cliff face. Here, the musical language of the Orcs overtakes the soundtrack with screaming Aztec death whistles and blaring bone horns over Adar’s unique march rhythm in the low percussion, low strings, and bassoons and bass clarinets. The tempo begins very slowly, representing the labor involved in rotating these massive trebuchets. As the Orcs’ intention becomes clear, tension ratchets up, as does the music’s tempo. The ponderous gradual beat accelerates, bar by bar, building to a furious pace, more than double its initial tempo.
Rocks hurled from the trebuchets impact the cliff wall, triggering an avalanche. A massive symphonic flourish emulates the violently collapsing rocks and white water walls with swirling string lines, grinding low brass, and tragic calls from the horns and trumpets. The choir proclaims, “Únuhtime falmar rákar lenna,” a Quenya lyric that translates to “Unstoppable waves break down upon you!”
Meanwhile, Arondir runs to the outskirts of the city, heralded by a proud fanfare of his theme in the French horns and trumpets. With anxiety crossing his face, he beholds Eregion’s precious river defenses washing away. The audience sees the vulnerable city through Arondir’s eyes as female singers call him to action with a lyric in Tolkien’s Elven language of Sindarin, the language native to Arondir’s branch of Silvan Elves. “Maetho ane chalen, callon” translates to “Fight for the light, hero.”
BARUK KHAZÂD!
For the first time this season, Elrond returns to Khazad-dûm and reunites with Prince Durin before the tree in Durin’s home, which has come to represent their long and storied friendship. I basked in this opportunity to return to the pastoral tones of my first-season score. The Elrond theme emerges in a wistful solo clarinet performance as Durin approaches him. Dark celli offer a moody rebuttal statement of Elrond’s melody when he turns away from his friend, preparing for the ask. Elrond informs Durin of Eregion’s plight and asks for aid from the Dwarves. His bold request is empowered by a solo French horn that picks up his theme with heroic nobility.
Elrond’s plea is effective. Later in the episode, Prince Durin rallies his people with a rousing speech, intercut with a cinematic montage of other characters, Galadriel, Celebrimbor, and Elrond, toiling to change their fates. Here, a simple yet urgently ominous minor-third string ostinato informs the audience that stakes are high, and important events are about to unfold.
Above this string pattern, the Durin theme emerges. Normally presented in reedy folk strings, such as solo cello, fiddle, or viola da gamba, the Durin theme generally evokes heartfelt whimsy or emotional vulnerability. Here, trombones offer a stoic rendition of his theme, similar to the emotional and orchestral presentation of the Khazad-dûm theme associated with his father. By giving Durin the musical color and gravitas of his father, the score implies he is stepping into a leadership role in his community. The overthrowing of his father begins with his music!
As his speech gains momentum, the steady march of the Khazad-dûm ostinato responds, adding momentum. With that motor in place, the Khazad-dûm theme finally kicks in, first in ethereal high strings, then eventually in the full ensemble. For the first time in several episodes, this theme is presented without the sickly diminished notes or unexpected minor chords that represented the Ring’s influence on King Durin. Instead, the mighty Khazad-dûm theme is presented once again in its true form, imbuing Prince Durin with a majestic gravitas. The crowded halls echo with the chants of a famous Dwarven battle cry in Khuzdul, Tolkien’s language for the Dwarves: “Baruk Khazâd!” A proud choir pervades Durin’s speech with a patriotic Khuzdul lyric.
Khuzdul:
Athrânshard.
Nimri nugûl.
Gabil ankhar, akthâs.
Athrânshard, a’unkhutgu hyôpi?
Athrân, afzug, athrân, afzug.
Athrân khôzudu, zaban ur
alba nugûl, khatâgu kada ankhar nagtu.
English:
Pledge of Loyalty.
Elven magic.
Great power, corruption.
Pledge of loyalty, will you fight?
Loyalty, trust, loyalty, trust.
Loyalty of the Dwarves, stronger than any sorcery,
army, or force of the earth.
In the episode’s final scene set in Khazad-dûm, the theme’s march empowers Durin as he prepares to lead his warriors to Elrond’s aid. Above the percussive foundation, orchestral brass combines with Durin’s signature solo cello to offer an anthemic version of the Durin theme. Throughout the majority of both seasons, the Durin theme, representing the son, has been presented as fundamentally at odds with the Khazad-dûm theme, underscoring the father. Over the course of “Doomed to Die,” the Prince’s theme has become gradually more intertwined with his father’s theme in color and presentation, indicating a tipping point in the balance of power for Khazad-dûm.
The kingdom’s true Delve-master, Narvi, runs up to Durin, battered and bloodied. A high clarinet solo pierces the soundtrack like a knife blade slicing a curtain as he emerges, gasping for breath, from the shadows. From Narvi, Durin learns his father has attacked their own people, under influence from the Ring of Power on his hand. A solo cello soars to its upper register on an anxious statement of the Durin theme as he must decide whether to save Eregion or save Khazad-dûm.
THE RAVAGER
Back at the siege of Eregion, with the water washed away, a lone Orc drummer summons the full might of Adar’s legions to cross the muddy riverbed for a ground assault upon the city. I had fun providing the Orc his signature drum sound, recording a unique hide drum to cut through the chaos of my percussive arsenal. The Orc actor starts off with a steady rhythm I used as the basis for a powerful march, but after a while he speeds up dramatically. Inspired by the delightful smile on the Orc’s face, I interpreted him as taking his own little drum solo, just for the sheer joy of musical expression! As a result, the drummer starts off in sync with the percussion, but after the camera pulls wide, he breaks out into an upbeat, syncopated rhythm. Every band has a drummer that takes a solo when they’re not supposed to. Hey, Orc Drummer—this is your time to shine!
As Orcs trudge through the mud towards the city, the Adar theme bursts forth in a mighty march. Adar’s signature rhythm is pounded by drums, low strings, and low woodwinds, while trombones, tubas, and cimbassos blast the melody with crackling overdrive (a tone achieved by putting the word “Cuivré” above the notes). Masculine, guttural chants cry forth from Mieskuoro Huutajat, our male choir specializing in screams: “Nampat-sha ghâsh! Nampat, bagronkat!” means “Death with fire! Death, suffering!”
Elven guards let loose arrows from the parapets in a desperate attempt to stem the approaching Orc army. I switched musical perspective from Orcs to Elves, supporting their volleys with heroic, symphonic flourishes: rich chords embolden urgent strings and brass fanfares, while piercing clangs of orchestral anvils evoke my favorite James Horner scores of the 1980s and 1990s. The score here feels dangerous but valiant, underscoring the Elves’ confidence that they might yet hold out. After all, they have thick walls of stone between them and their assailants.
Their confidence erodes when they witness Orcs painstakingly dragging a mechanism called a Ravager across the mud, a device intended to destroy their sturdy walls. Here, the musical perspective switches back to the Orcs, with a slow, half-time rendition of the Adar march, plodding along with heavy beats representing the Orcs’ trudging steps. Violins and violas ripple like a hurricane while brass instruments scream the Adar theme into a furious climax. The Ravager begins its horrifying work.
SHATTERED ILLUSION
While the battle rages outside, Celebrimbor still works in his forge tower in a peaceful, sunlit illusion. However, his suspicions arise as he notices discrepancies in the world around him. Annatar enters and offers his usual, calming support. Refusing to be mollified, Celebrimbor hurls the hammer of his famed grandfather Fëanor through a window. Sounds of war flood in, forever shattering Sauron’s illusory, peaceful ambience. Celebrimbor suddenly sees his city, even his beloved workspace, for what it is: a charred ruin.
I scored Charles Edwards’s gut-wrenching performance here by representing the bleak visuals with a miasma of dissonant atonal orchestral swells and relentless synth drones. A dramatic upward glissando in the strings mirrors the camera’s movement as it slowly pulls back to reveal the devastation of his forge. Despite the musical horror, a gentle children’s choir offers a haunting statement of the Eregion theme. The innocent purity of their wordless, angelic voices contrasts in brutal counterpoint with the destruction everywhere in the visuals, a reminder of what has been lost.
At last, Celebrimbor understands that his Lord of Gifts is, indeed, Sauron. As Sauron assures him he has “many names,” low male choral singers reinforce his menace with a brooding Quenya commentary: “Naumë ortaina” means “Disguise lifted.”
Awakened to his city’s peril and his own, Celebrimbor flees to the parapet to find Mirdania and his loyal guards. As he stammers, seemingly incoherently, a solo flute and clarinet offer a whimpering, descending line that represents Mirdania’s growing disbelief. Adar’s forces make further attempts at breaking through the wall’s foundation below them while Adar’s march amplifies orchestral urgency. The score builds to a suspenseful hold as Sauron appears. Celebrimbor desperately orders his guards to seize Annatar, but thanks to Sauron’s duplicity, they have all lost faith in the master smith’s authority, even his sanity. Annatar stands silent, but, over foreboding chords, the choir speaks for him, whispering disorienting Quenya lyrics into Celebrimbor’s mind: “I Tar Annaron, sinwa söa” translates to “The Lord of Gifts, inevitable corruption.”
With vile ease, Annatar influences Celebrimbor to knock a helpless Mirdania from the wall; falling, she is cruelly impaled by an Orc blade. As Celebrimbor shudders in shock, Annatar speaks closely to him in hushed tones, offering to spare the city in exchange for the completed nine rings. The soundtrack reeks of Sauron’s signature synth tones, a bed of digitally altered voices and singing bowls that I use frequently to represent his hypnotic effect over others. The choral men reinforce his words with a Quenya lyric on the Sauron theme, “Finta i nerte,” meaning “Finish the nine.”
NOLWA MAHTAR
A familiar musical fanfare from the first season, “Nolwa Mahtar,” returns to the score! An Elven cavalry is heralded by distant trumpets, led by High King Gil-galad and Elrond. As thunderous hooves charge across the field towards the Orcs, a choir fanfare exclaims a mighty Quenya lyric in a familiar melody.
Quenya:
Kesta túre, kala turu more,
aumenta ulko mina more.
English:
Seek victory, light conquers darkness,
banish evil into darkness.
This theme originates from a season-one cue I called “Nolwa Mahtar,” from the sixth episode, “Udûn.” The Quenya words roughly translate to “Brave Warrior,” fitting for Galadriel valiantly pursuing Adar on horseback. At the time, I felt like neither Galadriel’s nor Adar’s themes would be appropriate for this exciting horse chase, so I simply wrote something new that sounded cool, but I did not consider it thematically significant: it was a one-off.
Despite being written as a singular gesture, “Nolwa Mahtar” stuck with me. I composed a live orchestral fanfare to debut The Rings of Power at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, and “Nolwa Mahtar” proved to be a fantastic opening and closing passage for what was the first public performance of my score. I used it again that summer when I wrote a new fanfare for the show’s London premiere, featuring choir, percussion, solo violin, and celli. (Both of these fanfares can be found as bonus tracks on the episode-specific soundtrack albums for “Elven Kings Under the Sky” and “The Eagle and the Sceptre,” respectively.)
In late 2023, when I was scoring “Elven Kings Under the Sky,” showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay asked me to write a bold musical statement over the main title card. Once again, I felt this theme was the only one that made narrative sense. I simply could not shake “Nolwa Mahtar” and felt in my bones that it had a more prominent role to play in the score to The Rings of Power.
That role finally became clear when I witnessed Elrond’s cavalry make their charge in “Doomed to Die.” Beyond the surface similarity of an Elven protagonist charging on horseback towards forces of Mordor, these two scenes shared a deeper theme: bravery in defiance of villainy. Then it struck me that I should think of “Nolwa Mahtar” as a theme for Elven Valor.
The newly coined Elven Valor theme surges with energy as the cavalry stampedes across the field. Tenors and basses introduce the theme as warriors fill the frame, joined by the sopranos and altos on the cut to the wide shot, offering an inspiring lyric as the Elves form ranks.
Quenya:
Kesta túre, kala turu more,
aumenta ulko mina more.
English:
Seek victory, light conquers darkness,
banish evil into darkness.
Adar’s forces rally, closing the gap, moving to the relentlessly pounding percussion of Adar’s march, while his melody cries out in bombastic brass. The air around fills with drones of Aztec death whistles and bone horns. Undeterred, Elrond gives the order, and the cavalry charges at full speed. The choir supports them with a triumphant fanfare of the Elven Valor theme.
Quenya:
I yello mahtalenna.
Kesta alaþossie, kesta alkar,
Á kesta túre oia.
Kala kale almetta.
I yello mahtalenna, qualie hyen.
English:
The call to battle.
Seek bravery, seek glory,
Seek victory eternal.
Light shines endless.
The call to battle, sacrifice.
Moments before the clash of armies, before Elrond’s horrified eyes, Adar unveils Galadriel in a cage, with a blade against her neck. Elrond’s world snaps into slow motion as he is forced to make a decision. Raya Yarbrough’s ethereal vocal solo emerges, singing a Quenya lyric, “Qualie hyan-alin, i tiríte kallo,” meaning “Sacrifice, the vigilant hero.” (This solo reminds me of Raya’s first vocal solo in The Rings of Power: singing this same melody at the climax of the first season’s “The Great Wave.”) Elrond pulls back on the reigns, braking just short of the phalanx of Orcs.
IN THE ORC CAMP
In a fleeting armistice, Elrond meets with Adar in his tent, while Galadriel, in shackles, witnesses their negotiation. After refusing to turn over his ring in exchange for Galadriel’s life, Elrond asks only for a chance to say farewell. The score swells with a soaring rendition of the Galadriel theme as he kisses her goodbye. Despite the moment’s dramatic theatricality, eagle-eyed viewers might notice what the Orcs do not: Elrond uses the opportunity to remove a pin from his cloak and slip it into her hand! Despite the clever hand-off, each character firmly believes it unlikely they’ll ever see the other alive again. The swelling of the Galadriel theme here reinforces the depth of their friendship, reinforced by a Quenya lyric in the choir, “Melda meldë, namárie,” meaning “Beloved friend, farewell.”
After darkness falls, Galadriel uses Elrond’s pin to break free from bondage, and concealed under a filthy cloak, she sneaks through the Orc encampment. This tense sequence is scored with a fog of wailing Aztec death whistles and bone horns, accompanied by classic symphonic tricks including urgent tremolo string gestures, muted trombone stabs, and violent percussion outbursts.
On her way, Galadriel witnesses Adar taking part in a funeral ceremony for fallen Orcs. She—and I hope the audience—is struck by his compassion for the Orcs he calls his children, even as his obsession with destroying Sauron causes so many of their deaths. His theme’s raspy woodwind instrument, the Middle Eastern ney, sings a pastoral statement of the Adar theme, an octave above the choral men singing a prayer in Black Speech, Tolkien’s language of Mordor. “Nampat, ushtha-ish hul-agda u burzum” translates to “Death, in flames they return to darkness.”
Galadriel narrowly escapes capture thanks to an unexpected assist from Arondir. As she leaps to the safety of the embankment above camp, French horns herald Arondir’s arrival with a triumphant statement of his theme. Sensing that Arondir’s lust for vengeance will get him killed, Galadriel calms his fury as a solo French horn offers a noble rendition of her theme. I savored scoring this short scene, as it presented a wonderful moment of connection between two of my favorite characters from the first season.
WAR AT THE WALL
Elrond and his forces clash with Orcs on the muddy riverbed outside the city, instigating the true spectacle at the heart of “Doomed to Die.” For these various battle scenes, I deliberately paced my tempos and rhythmic subdivisions so that the sense of speed in the music always increased from scene to scene.
The Elven Valor theme, once called “Nowla Mahtar,” makes significant appearances throughout these scenes. When the first wave of cavalry collapses into deep mud patches, the choir spurs them onward with the Quenya words “Kesta alaþossie, tielma vanima na,” meaning “Seek bravery, our path is righteous.” Later, as the beleaguered archers of Eregion are nearly overwhelmed by Orcs on siege ladders, the Elven Valor theme takes on a more tragic tone, singing over an unmoving pedal tone in the low strings while soaring French horns cry out dramatically between phrases. The dire circumstances are reflected in the passage’s lyrics.
Quenya:
Túra tamin fintaina,
I mori lumboli hostar or ninqui mindolli.
English:
Great forge deceived,
The black clouds gather over white towers.
These battle scenes also offer many variations of the Elrond Theme. Inspired by Robert Aramayo’s steadfast, heartfelt performance of the misunderstood and oft-underestimated diplomat, the Elrond theme throughout the first season was generally performed on a solo clarinet. (His clarinet does make a significant appearance in this episode, as he mourns the death of his valiant steed.) Clearly, however, the clarinet would not allow his theme to cut through the chaos. Instead, I reorchestrated his melody for brassy French horns and trumpets to support the character’s transformation from cautious diplomat into a resourceful and respected military leader willing to make tough calls. Piercing brass colors allow his theme to slice through the intense orchestral mayhem and cacophonous sound design.
The war at the wall continues into the night: Elves close in while the Orcs further erode the wall with their mechanical Ravager. In the starless evening, the Elven Valor theme struggles to maintain a heroic tone, being sung at a slower half-speed tempo against the increasingly muscular strides of Adar’s march. Lyrics have given way to despair.
Quenya:
Sinwa qualme, úhautima naxa,
Nwalme, qualme morenna.
Mori lumboli hostar or ninqui mindolli.
English:
Inevitable death, unstoppable evil,
suffering, death into darkness.
Black clouds gather over white towers.
As Elrond valiantly leads his troops, searing French horns and trumpets hammer away at the notes of his theme with the same ferocity as his blade slashing against Orc flesh. After rescuing Galadriel from the Orc camp, Arondir joins the fray at the parapet wall. As he lets loose arrows, heroic statements of the Arondir theme soar in the brass.
CELEBRIMBOR ESCAPES
As the battle rages on outside the walls, Sauron, in the forging tower, speaks with Celebrimbor, now chained to his workbench. In one of my favorite dialogue interactions of the season, Sauron recounts his time being tortured at the hands of Morgoth. I often score Sauron’s scenes from his own perspective, writing music that reveals to the audience how he sees himself. Here, a high, angelic choir offers a heartfelt, wordless rendition of the Sauron theme that aspires for true beauty. The scene takes a darker turn when Sauron, moving closer to his victim, tells Celebrimbor that he is the author of his own torment. Again, the score indicates Sauron’s point of view: his words are cruelly intended to further entrap Celebrimbor in a web of deception. The score rumbles now with ominous low synths and orchestral strings, while high strings whisper the Rings theme chords.
After Sauron leaves, and though still chained to the workbench, Celebrimbor attempts to destroy the rings. The swirling strings of the Forging theme ignite, used ironically as Celebrimbor tries to unmake that which he had forged so successfully. The shot of Celebrimbor tossing the nine Rings of Power into the fire, masterfully staged by director Charlotte Brändström, seared into my imagination. (When the time came to pick a singular image for the season two album cover, I knew instantly this was the one.)
As Celebrimbor sets the unaffected rings back on his workbench, the whirlpooling phrases of the Forging theme space out further and further, losing momentum, underscoring Celebrimbor’s growing disappointment, his realization of his impotence in the face of evil. Escape is now his only option. In order to wrest free from his chains, he makes the shocking decision to cut off his own thumb. Staged in a single, excruciatingly slow shot, the amputation is underscored with horrific atonal orchestral textures that mimic the camera’s every movement, every pull of focus. I wanted to augment every gruesome detail in Alex Disenhof’s masterful cinematography.
Clutching his mangled hand, Celebrimbor hobbles outside the forge tower to witness his beloved Eregion in ruins as fireballs cascade from the smoky sky. An ethereal children’s choir, supported by adult female singers, laments a final, heartbreaking rendition of the Eregion theme. An ironic Quenya lyric employs Círdan’s laudatory description of Celebrimbor’s craft from the season premiere to mock his fault, his part, his guilt in this tragedy.
Quenya:
Ilu nalve sí litsi na,
Ilvanië sinome.
English:
Everything we are is ashes now,
Perfection is here.
Celebrimbor is apprehended by his own soldiers but saved by Galadriel, who snuck into the city through a secret tunnel. Her entrance is heralded by a regal statement of the Galadriel theme on solo French horn.
In this episode’s most moving scene, Galadriel and Celebrimbor bond over their shared failure to withstand Sauron’s manipulations. Their sad exchange is accompanied by a ghostly flute and oboe that, together in octaves, whisper the first phrase of “Where the Shadows Lie.” Celebrimbor leaves her with words of wisdom: “It is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light.” Here, I introduce to the score the last new theme of season two. If “Nowla Mahtar” became a theme for Elven Valor, then I consider this theme to represent Elven Hope.
The Elven Hope theme begins with a gentle chord progression from the choir, offering a plaintive Quenya lyric. The lyrics are set at a deliberately slow pace so as not to interfere with the emotional dialogue between the characters. The choir gently offers the Quenya text “Naite karie mauya ausenie. Kala tauva.” They are quoting, in part, Celebrimbor’s words from the season one finale, as these lines translate to “True creation requires sacrifice. Light endures.”
The choir lays the foundation for the melody of the Elven Hope theme, which is then introduced by child soprano Juno Goode. Her pure, airy tone reinforces Celebrimbor’s hopeful message, saying in Quenya, “Lá melehte i ture lóme, apa kále. Kala tauva.” Her words echo his, translating to “It is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. Light endures.”
Fragments of the Elven Hope theme have occurred in splinters throughout the score to the second season. In hindsight, some of these have even been unintentional! Something about this melodic shape inspires me to place it over moments where I want to infuse a glimmer of hope into dire circumstances.
Juno’s beautiful performance injects optimism into the slow-motion imagery of bloodthirsty carnage playing out across the muddy battlefield beyond. Celebrimbor entrusts Galadriel with the pouch holding the nine rings and limps away—she will never again see him in this life. Expressive celli and French horns pick up a majestic statement of Galadriel’s theme, calling her to action.
NEVER MAKE WAR IN ANGER
Adar sees that Elven victory may be at hand, so he unleashes upon the battlefield his secret weapon, Damrod, “Eater of Dragon Bones.” Witnessing Damrod wreak havoc on friend and foe alike inspired me to compose a cue incorporating extreme heavy metal. As detailed in a previous blog entry, I was fortunate to collaborate with legendary metal vocalist Jens Kidman, renowned for his work in the Grammy-nominated band Meshuggah.
Damrod storms across the mud supported by all the symphonic, choral, and percussive might one would expect from this score, but given even more menace by pounding drum-kit rhythms from Gene “The Atomic Clock” Hoglan, drop-tuned guitars from Omer Ben-Zvi, and electric bass from Pete Griffin. Black Speech lyrics bombard the soundtrack from Jens Kidman and the male screaming choir Mieskuoro Huutajat.
Black Speech:
Frápat gulzûk! (Frâp! Frâp!)
Kronthap glikîsh! (Kronth! Kronth!)
Olog klaikat snaish, (Klaik! Klaik!)
Hogh-afthud-ump! (Kronth! Kronth!)
English:
Snap go the bones! (Snap! Snap!)
Crunch go the teeth! (Crunch! Crunch!)
Troll cracking spines, (Crack! Crack!)
Beneath his feet! (Crunch! Crunch!)
Damrod proves too mighty a foe for most Elven warriors. High King Gil-galad himself charges in on horseback to aid Elrond. The choir surges with a tense rendition of the Elven Hope theme.
Quenya:
Á etorya ar kala!
I kallo túka maikarya.
I sólar ambarto siryar. Márale ture ulko. Kesta túre!
English:
Rise forth and shine!
The hero draws his weapon.
The tides of fate are flowing.
Good is triumphant over evil. Seek victory!
Arondir leaps from the parapet to a piercing French horn fanfare of his theme. As the choir and orchestra build triumphant chords, Arondir, Gil-galad, and Elrond deliver final death blows to the monstrous troll. “The Last Ballad of Damrod,” indeed!
A bloodied Elrond collects himself. A heroic solo French horn proclaims his theme in hard-won victory, while an octave higher, his solo clarinet plays the same tune, hinting at his exhaustion. The Elves’ triumph is short-lived, as the mighty drums of the Adar theme follow distant calls of “Nampat!,” the Black Speech word for “Death!” Adar leads the full might of his forces, overwhelming in number, marching across the mud to eradicate the few remaining Elves.
A glint of warm yellow light catches Elrond’s face, and he turns to the rising sun, exclaiming, “The Dwarves are coming!” His faithful soldier Vorohil appears on a distant hill, as an expectant cello solo reaches upward with higher and higher intervals, filled with yearning and hope. Vorohil rides down to them, but he is alone, and worse, arrows protrude from his broken body. The cello grows softer, and its leaping lines finally resolve on a light, frail, quivering tone. The cello’s promise of hope tumbles into shocking disappointment.
With strained breaths, Vorohil tells Elrond the Dwarves are not coming. Elrond’s heart, even his mind, are broken. The score swells with emotional chords and mounting tension as the Elves form ranks around High King Gil-galad. He picks up his spear and leads them into one last desperate charge. The Elven Valor theme, led by a commanding choral performance, bursts forth from the soundtrack for one final time in “Doomed to Die,” urging them to summon all their bravery.
Quenya:
Kesta alaþossie, sólar ambarto siryar.
íre Mornie lanta, orta menelda.
alkarinqua induinen, i kále turu huine.
English:
Seek fearlessness, the tides of fate are flowing.
When darkness falls, ascend to the heavens.
Glorious purpose, the light conquers darkness.
The decimation of the Elven forces is complete. Arondir is felled by Adar. The walls of Eregion collapse. Adar’s legions flood the city like vermin, while the Mieskuoro Huutajat screaming choir rallies them with calls of “Nampat!” punctuating their percussive march. Devastated by both the crushing loss in battle and the betrayal of his friend, Prince Durin, Elrond witnesses the carnage in dismay, while child soprano Juno Good offers a forlorn statement of his theme. Singing over a bleak low drone of strings and synthesizers, she offers a pitiless Quenya text, “Ilu litsessen, ulko termare,” meaning “Everything in ashes, evil persists.”
Having left Arondir bleeding on the battlefield, Adar marches up to Elrond and grabs him by the throat. Gloating viciously, he quotes to him the Elven poet Rúmil that Círdan had referenced earlier in the season: “Never make war in anger.” Here, a bombastic choir phrase supports his victory with a proud Quenya lyric.
Quenya:
Ála kare ohta rúsenen.
Imlaitale, lúmenya.
English:
Never make war in anger.
Arrogant pride, my moment.
Adar throws Elrond to the ground, before realizing that Elrond had Nenya, one of the Elven Rings of Power around his neck. Nenya, the Elven Ring of Power is now in Adar’s hand! The orchestra swells in an operatic cadence, and the most explosive episode yet of The Rings of Power smash-cuts to black. After two mighty snare drum slams from Gene Hoglan, the credits burst onto the screen with Jens Kidman’s troll-worthy vocals screaming “The Last Ballad of Damrod.”
Writing and recording “Doomed to Die” left me utterly drained and exhausted, however, I did not have time to rest. I still had one more episode to go. I felt a bit like Gil-galad when he picked up his spear and charged once more into the fray as I quickened my pace and set out to compose the season’s epic finale.
—Bear
