Well – it wouldn’t be Christmas without Del Boy Trotter, Harry Potter or Lord of The Bloody Rings now would it? And though it’s arguable which is likely to be the more remarkable resurrection in 2005 – the bringing back to life of J.R.R Tolkien or the elusive comic faculties of ‘Fools’ creator, John Sullivan – it’s likely to keep on going for years to come – whether we like it or not.
Howard Shore’s music for the hugely successful first tome of Tolkien’s epic Ring saga won him the Oscar for Best Original Score – and this time it’s more of the same, only darker.
Similarly ambitious in scale and similarly gut wrenchingly dramatic, the sequel takes up the same quasi-Wagnerian model that inspired the first, but in keeping with the nature of The Two Towers, this time it’s more serious, more brooding and more ominous. All but gone are the whimsical, pastoral themes of ‘the veil’, as too is the delicate continuity and fluid scaling. But whilst this may have irked a few of the sensitive hobbit like souls of the few, you have to admit, it’s in keeping with the narrative. Blame Tolkien if you must, but the irregular and alternating fabric of the soundtrack pretty much supports that of the film: it’s a gloomy war hungry battle-cry interspersed with moments of brief levity, and haunting ethereality (solo turns by Isabel Bayrakdarian, Sheila Chandra, Ben Del Maestro, Elizabeth Fraser and Emiliana Torrini (‘Gollums Song’).
Thick ethnic textures, log drums, and wood xylophones provide a good strong cast to a score punctuated with if not scaled by greatness.