Howard Shore: Concerning Hobbits
Context
Concerning Hobbits is a short concert suite of music taken from The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. Shore uses a range of leitmotifs and themes heard in earlier scenes to put together this light and peaceful suite. This piece has become at one with the Shire and Hobbiton themes also.
The Music
Shore uses not only a large orchestra, but also a number of Celtic instruments, including whistles, drums and a Celtic harp. The suite covers at least five different Hobbit themes including:
- Hobbit Outline Figure
- Hobbit Two Step Figure
- Hobbit Skip Beat
- Hobbit End Cap
- The Heartbeat of the Shire
The suite opens with the Hobbit outline theme which is played on a solo tin whistle. The warm orchestral accompaniment keeps the music moving along as the melody is treated with the utmost care. The theme of the outline is heard for a second time, this time on an Irish fiddle. The skip-beat theme is transitioned into as the accompaniment begins to change and leads into the quirky theme. Pizzicato strings, guitars and a dulcimer can now be heard in the mix of the orchestra. Shore then moves the theme along with a lyrical statement from the strings.
The solo fiddle soon returns and a slow version of the skip-beat theme plays out. A low whistle joins the mix as the next theme is introduced. The ‘Rural Hobbit Theme’ is then played, which includes the end-cap leitmotif. The Shire theme ends the suite, with the tin whistle returning for the final theme.
Ⓒ Alex Burns
Happy Reading!
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