By: Margaret Gordon

HOWARD LESLIE SHOREBorn: October 18, 1946 in Toronto, Canada

ABOUT HOWARD SHORE • Doctorates from Berklee College of Music and York University.

• Shore is an Officier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la France

• He is the recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in Canada

• He is the uncle of composer Ryan Shore

• Since 1979 Shore has composed all but one of David Cronenberg’s movies

• “preeminent film composer and one of the most hotly sought-after technicians in the industry.”

• 1969-1972:

• Shore was a member of the Toronto-based rock group Lighthouse

• He wrote music and lyrics

• Played the flute, saxophone, and trumpet

• Did some singing

• Late 1970’s:

• Shore became the musical director for “Saturday Night Live”

• Sirnim• 1979:

• Shore was hired to write the score for the small-budget movie called The Brood

• Hired by David Cronenberg

• Worked a lot together

• 1989:

• Won a Genie (the Canadian Oscar) for great score to Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers

• 1993:

• Shore composed the music for Mrs. Doubtfire

• Dinner Is Served

• 2000:

• Chosen to be composer for The Lord of the Rings trilogy

• The Fellowship of the Ring

• The Two Towers

• The Return of the King

CAREER

• 2003:

• Shore Conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings Symphony

• There has been over 140 performances by worlds most prestigious orchestras

• 2005:

• Shore did the music for the movie A History of Violence

• 2008:

• The Fly opera premiere at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and at Los Angeles Opera

• 2010:

• Shore’s piano concerto Ruin and Memory for Lang Lang was premiered with China Philharmonic Orchestra

• 2011:

• Shore was the music conductor and orchestrator for the movie Hugo

• 2012:

• Shore’s cello concerto Mythic Gardens for Sophie Shao was premiered with the American Symphony Orchestra.

• Shore’s Fanfare for the Wanamaker organ also premiered in Philadelphia

• Current:

• Shore is working on his second opera

• Also the music for The Hobbit

CAREER CONT…..

1:24-o The flute comes back in with the main

melody. There is more strings playing in the background adding to the dynamics.

1:31-o Now a clarinet solo comes in with a more

elongated version of the beginning of the melody, then finishing just like the flute did.

1:39-o Now the piano comes in repeating what the

flute played closer to the beginning of the song.

1:47-o Then the harp comes in and the orchestra

starts to build in intensity 1:55-

o The strings and the piano have the melody now for a short while until the music fades away.

“DINNER IS SERVED” –FROM MRS. DOUBTFIRE 0:00-

o It starts out with just wind chimes and some bells setting the mood

0:04-o In comes the flute with the melody of the song with

the strings in the background on just one note. 0:12-

o Now the strings start to play the same rhythm and melody with the solo flute building with more and more instruments as they go using a crescendo into a cadence.

0:36-o The Flute solo comes back in and the piano imitates

the melody for a while and then starts playing with the melody. The strings in the background are just changing between chords. The harp is keeping the tempo by playing on all beats. There is a lot of dynamic contrast.

1:08-o Now the whole string section comes in with the

melody and repeats it once before the flute comes back in. It starts to build it up in dynamic.

0:00- o It starts out with very little instrumentation. Very

simple one note per beat. Then some strings come in with some eighth notes moving the piece forward. More and more keep adding on creating dissonance and raising the dynamic level.

0:30-o The strings have a moving part keeping the feel of

the music going. The piano and string bass come in with a few notes here and there with what seems like a melody that is switched back and forth.

0:51-o The high strings come in with a high note then the

piano and accordion come in with the melody that crescendos and is creating dissonance with the strings that are in the background. The dissonance chords that are being played are now conjunct by the end of this phrase. The strings start playing what feels like a heartbeat that is leading into the next phrase.

1:12-o This is where the main theme is first introduced. It

is very simple and full of polyphony. It is in duple compound meter. It feels in two with many parts that keep it moving forward. Half way through the high strings join in with the melody.

1:58-o Now there is a change in meter and it

changes to more of a minor key. The meter is changed to a triple simple feel.

2:38-o It goes back to the beginning with just the

piano and a few strings. Then the accordion comes in with the melody.

3:19-o Now it is just lots of dynamic changes as

the music moves along. There are pan pipes playing the melody.

3:36-o Now the intensity is really going with the

strings playing on every beat while the tempo gets faster and faster and the rest of the orchestra builds in numbers and in dynamics. This whole part is very dissonant. Even up until the very end.

"THE THIEF“ –FROM HUGO

0:00-o Starts with everyone humming very low

and deep. This song is homophonic; it has a minor feel to it. There really isn’t a meter. It is

0:23-o The next part of this song starts with

just one person singing the melody and everyone else still humming.

0:50-o One more person comes in and sings

the melody. 1:00-

o This is the second part of the song. More start to come in and sing the melody. Half are singing the other half are humming.

Words

Far over the misty mountains cold,

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away, ere break of day

To find our long forgotten gold

The pines were roaring on the heights,

The wind was moaning in the night,

The fire was red, it flaming spread,

The trees like torches blazed with light.

"MISTY MOUNTAINS“ –FROM THE HOBBIT

0:00-o Starts out softly with the low woodwinds and strings

playing the on beats. It is very homophonic at this point. Everyone playing the same notes in the same octave.

0:05-o This is where the main theme for this song comes in

with a recorder. This melody is very conjunct and has many grace notes to add a little more to it. It feels smooth and doesn’t have any really big jumps. This is also where there is some counterpoint. There are a few melodic lines playing behind the main theme. After the theme is done playing the first time the low woodwinds and strings play the same rhythm and notes they play at the beginning to help move to the next part.

0:28-o The first violin comes in with a faster, shorter version of

the melody. It is more lively and upbeat. At this point it is polyphonic.

0:43-o The whole orchestra comes in with an elongated version

of the theme. 0:54-

o The violin comes back in bringing the phrase to a cadence.

1:04-o The orchestra plays a slow melody to help finish

with the cadence. 1:18-

o The strings, guitar, and drums come in with a great upbeat rhythm section that is moving the song along yet lets you hear what is going on behind the violin and flute when they come in.

1:36-o The violin and flute come in with a very short

section with notes very short. 1:45-

o The whole orchestra comes back in and plays the melody very elongated to contrast with what the violin and flute just played.

1:55-o The violin comes back in and plays the melody

like before. Upbeat, mixture of short and long. 2:15-

o The recorder comes back and repeats the main theme for the song. Just as it was played before. Bringing the song to a close.

"CONCERNING HOBBITS“ -FROM THE LOTR THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

0:00- o It first starts out with just a choir

introducing the theme and melody of the song by humming it. It is very quiet. The song is in a minor key. It has lots of dissonance chords that resolve themselves. There is some dynamic contrast and it gets louder.

0:36-o Is the first time you hear the theme and

melody of the song loud and clear. It is in the orchestra. This is where it really gets pretty loud.

1:14- Verse 1o There is no harmony in the vocal part.

There is only one voice. It starts out pretty quiet. But you hear the orchestra resolving the chords and providing the harmony.

1:51- Choruso When you get to the chorus the dynamic

has gone up but it is almost constantly changing. The orchestra is still doing the same thing they do the entire song. The singer however continues to get louder and louder. The orchestra helps.

2:28- Verse 2o This verse starts out just like the first one,

quiet, with the orchestra providing the harmony.

3:05- Choruso Same as the last one.

3:53-o The end of the song. There is a lot of

repeating the same melody throughout the entire song. The meter is the same throughout the entire song, quadruple. It is very polyphonic.

"GOLLUM'S SONG“ -FROM THE LOTR THE TWO TOWERS

"THE RIDE OF THE ROHIRRIM“ -FROM LOTR THE RETURN OF THE KING 0:00-

o To start the song off we have the brass and a violin trading back and forth with the main theme of the song. In the background we have the drums and the rest of the strings keeping time. The meter is quadruple. The dissonance comes with a crescendo bringing a close to that phrase.

0:45-o Then you hear the theme again in the horn section. The volume is very quiet.

0:53-o Then a new melody is introduced by a flute solo. It is monophonic the only thing playing.

1:12- o The brass and strings come in very quiet with a more homophonic texture.

1:30-o More instruments come in adding to the dynamic and making the texture more polyphonic.

1:41-o The texture stays polyphonic and the chords written in give it a dissonance sound to it.

1:52-o The dynamics are at a peak and it ends with a dissonance chord.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6IAP1hGDaI (sirnim)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uthln0mvfSA (dead ringers)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW4QzNi3IZw (dinner is served)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW4QzNi3IZw (the fellowship of the ring)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi8CUdK3HY0 (the two towers)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afY_Srf4xjk (the return of the king)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfFQuhWaA_k (LOTR symphony)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbFLjx4H_sQ (a history of violence)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KOSSLp3VLI (the fly)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaalyEBRkOg (Hugo)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDJPaSKVTXE (the hobbit)

• http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uLp1OEbLurk/T9iMIfrHHSI/AAAAAAAAGhE/wXkuYgULzEE/s1600/robin_williams_mrs_doubtfire.jpg (Mrs. Doubtfire)

• http://www.game-ost.com/static/covers_soundtracks/1/4/14210_996124.jpg (Hugo)

• http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/All-13-Dwarves-Peter-Jackson-THE-HOBBIT-AN-UNEXPECTED-JOURNEY.jpg (13 dwarves)

• http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/43300753/The+Lord+of+the+Rings+The+Fellowship+of+the+Ring+Howard+Shore+2001+The+Lord+of.png (the fellowship)

• http://www.davidjonfuller.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TwoTowers.jpg (the two towers)

• http://img.maniadb.com/images/album/110/110919_cda_f.jpg (the return of the king)

• http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZXt5H-vnrA/T1sa8xpka3I/AAAAAAAACKU/OeryMeMFG1I/s1600/hobbits+2.jpg (hobbits)

• http://students.english.ilstu.edu/rwohara/creation/Gollum.jpg (gollum)

• http://www.tk421.net/lotr/film/rotk/img/rotk1542.jpg (rohirrim)

SOURCES

Pictures Songs

SOURCES • http://www.filmmusic.dk/index.php?side=howardshore

• http://www.howardshore.com/biography/

• http://musicreincarnation.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/howard-shore-the-music-of-the-lord-of-the-rings-trilogy/

• http://www.howardshore.com/works/lotrsymphony/programnote.php

• http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/1114900/Howard_Shore

• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006290/