The Return of the King: The Complete Recordings Announced
A press release published on Howard Shore's official website on September 12th announced that the final part of the epic score for Peter Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings trilogy will be released on November 6th 2007. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King - The Complete Recordings will include the entire score from the theatrical and extended editions of The Return Of The King (2003) on 4 CD's and one DVD-Audio disc.
The good news is that the release will have a running time of three hours and 50 minutes, bringing the total running time for the series to just under ten hours. will again contribute extensive liner notes and annotated score material detailing how the score relates to the on-screen action and how thematic material is developed and integrated into the score.
The original soundtrack release for The Return Of The King (2003) was certainly packed with many highlights but the composer has since stated that the track selection and editing were designed to follow the main narrative of the film rather than simply cover the best parts of the score. His intention was to provide an enjoyable listening experience within the limited time allowed on a standard CD.
The new release promises to deliver all the material from the film, with more time given to references and re-interpretations of the more established themes from the previous scores. These include the themes for the Hobbits, Gollum, The One Ring, and Mordor, as well as the various themes for Gondor which made muted appearances in the earlier scores.
Some other sequences to look out for in the new release include the music for Gandalf's arrival at Minas Tirith; the Lighting of the Beacons sequence; the Ride of the Rohirrim; and Frodo's encounter with Shelob. The latter was one of standout tracks on the original score and Shore has promised a much expanded version on the new release. It was also the most reminiscent of his earlier work for darker and more brooding films.
The score was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, The London Voices, and a number of renowned instrumentalists and vocalists including flautist Sir James Galway, Renée Fleming, Sissel, and Annie Lennox.
For more information keep watching Howard Shore's official website and the official soundrack website. also gives regular updates on his blog. He has also published podcasts for the previous two releases with other writers from Film Score Monthly and podcasts for this new release should be published here closer to the release date.