The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Return_of_the_King_(soundtrack)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (soundtrack)
2003 soundtrack album by Howard Shore
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the soundtrack for the 2003 epic fantasy adventure film of the same name. The score was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Howard Shore, and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices, and the London Oratory School Schola.[1] The soundtrack was released on 25 November 2003. The limited edition contains a bonus DVD with the track "Use Well the Days" by Annie Lennox, song texts, photo gallery, and a Lord of the Rings trilogy supertrailer.
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 25 November 2003 (2003-11-25) | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 72:05 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | Howard Shore | |||
| Middle-earth film series soundtrack chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | ||||
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The score to Return of the King is the most expansive of the three soundtracks to Peter Jackson's film trilogy. It contains over four hours of finalized music, scoring virtually the entire film length. It also musters the biggest staged forces, with sections calling for eight trumpets and a similar increase in the rest of the brass section, two timpanists, a mixed choir of 85 with additional singers for all-male and all-female parts, over fifty in the boy choir, various vocal soloists including the American soprano Renee Fleming and the boy soprano Ben Del Maestro, and the full bands of celtic and eastern instruments returning from the first score. The score even uses a double fiddle, an instrument invented and crafted specifically for one scene in the film. Shore also scored the trailer for the film, which would eventually be released with various alternate takes in the Rarities archive.[citation needed]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Filmtracks | [3] |
| Movie Music UK | [4] |
| Soundtrack.Net | [5] |
| Tracksounds |  [6] |
The Return of the King won the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Into the West" by Annie Lennox), the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Storm Is Coming" | 2:52 |
| 2. | "Hope and Memory" | 1:45 |
| 3. | "Minas Tirith" (featuring Ben del Maestro) | 3:37 |
| 4. | "The White Tree" | 3:25 |
| 5. | "The Steward of Gondor" (featuring Billy Boyd) | 3:53 |
| 6. | "Minas Morgul" | 1:58 |
| 7. | "The Ride of the Rohirrim" | 2:08 |
| 8. | "Twilight and Shadow" (featuring Renée Fleming) | 3:30 |
| 9. | "Cirith Ungol" | 1:44 |
| 10. | "Andúril" | 2:35 |
| 11. | "Shelob's Lair" | 4:07 |
| 12. | "Ash and Smoke" | 3:25 |
| 13. | "The Fields of the Pelennor" | 3:26 |
| 14. | "Hope Fails" | 2:20 |
| 15. | "The Black Gate Opens" (featuring Sir James Galway) | 4:01 |
| 16. | "The End of All Things" (featuring Renée Fleming) | 5:12 |
| 17. | "The Return of the King" (featuring Sir James Galway, Viggo Mortensen, and Renée Fleming) | 10:14 |
| 18. | "The Grey Havens" (featuring Sir James Galway) | 5:59 |
| 19. | "Into the West" (words and music by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox; performed by Annie Lennox) | 5:47 |
| Total length: | 72:05 | |
All music is composed by Howard Shore
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Use Well the Days" (performed by Annie Lennox) | 3:10 |
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In 2007, Reprise Records released a multi-disc set for the film, titled The Complete Recordings. These contain the entire score for the extended versions of the film on CD, along with an additional DVD-Audio disc that offers 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround mixes of the soundtrack. The album also featured extensive liner notes by music journalist Doug Adams which reviews all of the tracks and provides information about the process of composing and recording the score, as well as a detailed list of all musical instruments, people and organizations involved. The cover artwork uses the film series' logo and an inscription in Tolkien's tengwar letters, over a background that depicts a map of Gondor in dark green.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Roots and Beginnings" | 6:31 |
| 2. | "Journey to the Cross-roads" | 2:17 |
| 3. | "The Road to Isengard" | 2:18 |
| 4. | "The Foot of Orthanc" | 4:45 |
| 5. | "Return to Edoras" | 1:51 |
| 6. | "The Chalice Passed" | 1:51 |
| 7. | "The Green Dragon" (feat. Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan) | 0:35 |
| 8. | "Gollum's Villainy" | 2:10 |
| 9. | "Éowyn's Dream" | 1:24 |
| 10. | "The Palantír" | 3:10 |
| 11. | "Flight from Edoras" | 2:19 |
| 12. | "The Grace of Undómiel" (feat. Renée Fleming) | 6:21 |
| 13. | "The Eyes of the White Tower" | 4:33 |
| 14. | "A Coronal of Silver and Gold" | 8:27 |
| 15. | "The Lighting of the Beacons" | 9:03 |
| Total length: | 57:32 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Osgiliath Invaded" (feat. Ben Del Maestro) | 8:48 |
| 2. | "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol" | 2:41 |
| 3. | "Allegiance to Denethor" | 3:20 |
| 4. | "The Sacrifice of Faramir" (feat. "The Edge of Night", performed by Billy Boyd) | 4:09 |
| 5. | "The Parting of Sam and Frodo" | 4:04 |
| 6. | "Marshalling at Dunharrow" | 4:57 |
| 7. | "Andúril - Flame of the West" | 3:28 |
| 8. | "The Passing of the Grey Company" | 4:12 |
| 9. | "Dwimorberg - The Haunted Mountain" | 2:26 |
| 10. | "Master Meriadoc, Swordthain" | 1:40 |
| 11. | "The Paths of the Dead" | 6:22 |
| 12. | "The Siege of Gondor" | 9:01 |
| 13. | "Shelob's Lair" | 8:53 |
| 14. | "Merry's Simple Courage" | 2:09 |
| Total length: | 66:03 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Grond - The Hammer of the Underworld" | 1:33 |
| 2. | "Shelob the Great" | 5:13 |
| 3. | "The Tomb of the Stewards" | 3:58 |
| 4. | "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" | 4:10 |
| 5. | "The Pyre of Denethor" | 2:59 |
| 6. | "The Mûmakil" | 0:57 |
| 7. | "Dernhelm in Battle" | 2:06 |
| 8. | "A Far Green Country" | 1:28 |
| 9. | "Shieldmaiden of Rohan" | 5:07 |
| 10. | "The Passing of Théoden" | 2:16 |
| 11. | "The Houses of Healing" (feat. Liv Tyler) | 2:58 |
| 12. | "The Tower of Cirith Ungol" | 4:41 |
| 13. | "The Last Debate" (feat. "Asëa Aranion", performed by Sissel) | 4:21 |
| 14. | "The Land of Shadow" | 6:29 |
| 15. | "The Mouth of Sauron" (feat. Sir James Galway) | 8:16 |
| 16. | ""For Frodo"" (feat. Ben Del Maestro) | 3:17 |
| Total length: | 59:44 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mount Doom" (feat. Renée Fleming) | 4:09 |
| 2. | "The Crack of Doom" | 4:02 |
| 3. | "The Eagles" (feat. Renée Fleming) | 2:24 |
| 4. | "The Fellowship Reunited" (feat. Sir James Galway, Viggo Mortensen, and Renée Fleming) | 12:18 |
| 5. | "The Journey to the Grey Havens" (feat. Sir James Galway) | 7:35 |
| 6. | "Elanor" (feat. Sir James Galway) | 1:28 |
| 7. | "Days of the Ring" (feat. "Into the West", performed by Annie Lennox) | 11:10 |
| 8. | "Bilbo's Song" | 2:58 |
| Total length: | 45:58 | |
Additional music
Additional music for the film was featured in The Rarities Archive release, attached to Doug Adams' book on the three film scores:
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ""The Return of the King Trailer"" | 2:34 |
| 2. | ""The Gondor Theme (Mock-up)"" | 2:18 |
| 3. | ""The Muster of Rohan (Alternate)"" | 6:43 |
| 4. | ""The Siege of Gondor (Alternate)"" | 3:13 |
| 5. | ""Shieldmaiden of Rohan (Theatrical Version)"" | 2:00 |
| 6. | ""Sammath Naur (Alternate)"" | 8:51 |
| 7. | ""Frodo's Song ("Into the West" Alternate/Mock-up)"" | 2:23 |
| 8. | ""Elanor (Alternate)"" | 1:30 |
| 9. | ""In Conversation (Audio Interview Part 1)" featuring Frodo's Song (Alternate)" | 1:40 |
| Total length: | 31:12 | |
Along with about 17 minutes of alternate material from the original release,[33] about a minute of material in the fan credits, and some additional alternates, there are over four and a half hours of finalized music for Return of the King, including the music for the trailer.[34]
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD liner notes). Howard Shore. Reprise Records. 2003.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Monger, James Christopher. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Original Soundtrack) at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- Clemmensen, Christian (23 November 2003). "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: (Howard Shore)". Filmtracks. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- Broxton, Jonathan (19 December 2003). "THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING – Howard Shore". Movie Music UK. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- Barry, Matt (21 June 2004). "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Limited Edition". Soundtrack.Net. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- Townsley, Steve. "Score of the Rings: Part III". Tracksounds. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King" (in German). Hung Medien.
- "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King" (in French). Hung Medien.
- "Top 100 Albums". Jam!. Archived from the original on 15 February 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- "Archívum " Kereső - előadó/cím szerint" (in Hungarian). Association of Hungarian Record Companies. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Howard Shore – The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- "Jahreshitparade Alben 2004". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- "2004 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 52. 25 December 2004. p. YE-72. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Fan Credit Music". Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2017.