Rings of Power composer says soundtrack creates "continuity" with movies
"I wanted to create a continuous experience."
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power made its long-awaited debut on 1st September, with many critics impressed with what's on offer in the opening two episodes of the series, which is set thousands of years before the events of the films.
There's much that deserves praise, from astounding visuals to a cast who are pulling their weight to the sumptuous score, which RadioTimes.com spoke exclusively about with composer Bear McCreary.
He said that while he's a "huge fan" of J R R Tolkien's books, it was "Peter Jackson's films in conjunction with Howard Shore's scores that brought Middle Earth to life" for him and subsequently "changed the trajectory" of his life.
McCreary worked with Shore on the series, adding: "He was very supportive and just a delightful guy to get to know, and I'm so thrilled with the work that he's contributed. I feel like he created this fanfare that majestically takes us back to Middle Earth, takes us back to those Peter Jackson films."
But he went on to emphasise that while there are parallels between the two scores, the music in The Rings of Power has its own identity: "I'm drawing from the colours and emotional tools that Howard Shore used in the films, but I'm using them in a different way. I think it sounds, technically, nothing like the [musical] cues Howard Shore wrote, but I think fans will hear the line that can be drawn from this, that will become the cues Howard Shore wrote for the film, so continuity is the word that I kept in my mind."
McCreary cited the Dwarves to illustrate his point: "In the Peter Jackson films, the Dwarves are a people in diaspora. There is a sense of sadness and darkness to everything pertaining to the mines of Moria, to the Lonely Mountain. Yes, Gimli was a very comedic character, but at the end of the day we understood him almost to be like an orphan. I want to use those colours that Howard Shore used, in particular the deep male vocals.
"But in contrast, in the Second Age [the films are set in the Third], we're not seeing the mines of Moria, we are seeing Khazad-dûm, we are seeing a society at its peak. They are a capital of industry, there is mining, there is agriculture, there is light. What does that sound like? Suddenly, those deep male vocals don't sound like a sad song of diaspora. It almost sounds like a nationalist Soviet work song. It's uplifting, it's energetic."
He added: "What I want as a fan is to be able to sit down and watch 50 hours or so of the Rings of Power, then... marathon the director's cut versions of the Peter Jackson films in one day, and feel a continuous experience. So I'm doing my part to make that happen."
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Read more on The Rings of Power:
- Rings of Power release schedule: When are Lord of the Rings episodes out?
- How to watch The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies in order
- Meet the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- What is Valinor in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?
- Who is Halbrand in The Rings of Power? Theories for Charlie Vickers’s character
- What are Harfoots? The Rings of Power Hobbits and history explained
- Who is Morgoth in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?
- Who is The Stranger in The Rings of Power? Daniel Weyman role theories
- Who is Galadriel’s brother? Meet Finrod actor Will Fletcher
- What is the Second Age of Middle-earth? Rings of Power timeline explained
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episodes 1 and 2 are available now on Amazon Prime Video – you can sign up for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.
If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
