Tolkien Ensemble
Encyclopedia
The Tolkien Ensemble is a Danish
ensemble which aims to create "the world's first complete musical interpretation of the poems and songs from The Lord of the Rings
". They published four CDs from 1997 to 2005, in which all the poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings are set to music. The project was approved by both the Tolkien family
and HarperCollins
Publishers. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
gave permission to use her illustrations in the CD layout.
Permanent members are Caspar Reiff
and Peter Hall (composition, singing and guitar), Signe Asmussen (singing), Öyvind Ougaard (accordion), Katja Nielsen (double-bass), and Morten Ryelund Sørensen
(conductor and violin).
The Ensemble has toured Europe in 2007, combining their own works with soundtrack pieces from Howard Shore
's soundtrack to the film trilogy as well as live narration by Christopher Lee
.
The goal set by the two composers, Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall, was to create the world's first complete musical interpretation of the poems from J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece 'the Lord of the Rings', And the ensemble, which was to form the base of this vision, was named 'The Tolkien Ensemble' - an ensemble entirely devoted to the works of Tolkien.
The Tolkien Ensemble's first concert took place at Gjorslev Castle on 21 January 1996 and was followed by a number of successful concerts in Denmark. Towards the end of 1996 Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall were granted permission by the Tolkien Estate to record the first 12 songs from 'Lord of the Rings', and the very heart of the project, the recording of the music, was about to begin.
The two composers chose the young Danish conductor, Morten Ryelund as producer and this was to have a major influence on the interpretation of the music and the project as a whole. Morten Ryelund later became a full member of the Tolkien Ensemble and the ensemble was granted permission by HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark to use her illustrations on the CD cover. These unique illustrations, created when she was Crown Princess of Denmark, were to become a recurrent feature on all the Tolkien Ensemble's later CD's.
The first album, An Evening in Rivendell
, was released in autumn 1997 and was given outstanding reviews by the press. Then followed a number of concerts, one was in Oxford, England (1998), where - to the delight of The Tolkien Ensemble - members of the Tolkien family were among the audience.
An Evening in Rivendell
was followed by the album A Night in Rivendell
(released in 2000), an album which contained the more sombre songs from the Lord of The Rings. On this CD The Tolkien Ensemble worked with, among others, the singers Povl Dissing, who sang the part of Gollum, Kurt Ravn (Legolas) and Ulrik Cold (Gandalf).
At this point, in the summer of 2000, The Tolkien Ensemble had reached 'cult status' among Tolkien enthusiasts all over the world, but the ensemble were still waiting for their big break-through ...
This came alongside the growing interest for The Lord of the Rings, when director Peter Jackson made a film version of Tolkien's books. At the end of 2001 the interest for Tolkien's works grew significantly throughout the world and fate willed that the Tolkien Ensemble was invited to take part in the Danish premiere of the first film in the Trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Among the celebrities representing the film in Copenhagen was the legendary actor Christopher Lee, who played Saruman in the film. The Tolkien Ensemble contacted him and he agreed to take part in the ensemble's third Album At Dawn in Rivendell
, partly as narrator, partly as singer of Treebeard
's songs.
The cooperation with Christopher Lee combined with the growing interest for the work of Tolkien, resulted in a huge success for the ensemble's Third album. The album was released in 22 countries throughout the world, played on the radio in a great number of countries, and was given excellent reviews. The International Herald Tribune called the ensemble's music: 'Total Lord of the Rings magic!' At Dawn in Rivendell
subsequently achieved great sales worldwide.
The cooperation with Christopher Lee developed to include concerts. In the autumn of 2002 Christopher Lee took part in a release concert at Tivoli Concert Hall. Then followed a major tour of, among other countries, England and Sweden, culminating in the summer of 2003 when the ensemble gave a concert in Danmark for an audience including HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and HRH Prince Henrik.
Since then the Tolkien Ensemble has continued to give concerts. In 2004 the two composers, Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall, together with Christopher Lee, took part in a major sell-out concert in Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, and in 2005 The Tolkien Ensemble played at two major 'Lord of the Rings' concerts at Ledreborg Castle, Denmark where more than 22,000 people attended the concerts. Among the performers was the ensemble's new member, Nick Keir
of the Scottish folk-trio The McCalmans
. These concerts, performed together with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra
/DR and the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR and a number of soloists, also marked the release of the fourth and last album of the series, Leaving Rivendell
. Besides Christopher Lee, Nick Keir, the Danish National Chamber Orchestra/DR and the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR performed with The Tolkien Ensemble on Leaving Rivendell
.
The release of the 4-CD-box marks the end of more than ten years work and, with the participation of more than 150 professional musicians, The Tolkien Ensemble finally reached their goal: the release of the Complete Songs & Poems
from The Lord of the Rings with The Tolkien Ensemble & Christopher Lee.
The 4-CD-box is dedicated to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien, to The Tolkien Society in Oxford and to the millions of people for whom The Lord of the Rings has a special place in their hearts...
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
ensemble which aims to create "the world's first complete musical interpretation of the poems and songs from The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
". They published four CDs from 1997 to 2005, in which all the poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings are set to music. The project was approved by both the Tolkien family
Tolkien Estate
The Tolkien Estate is the legal body which manages the property of the late J. R. R. Tolkien, including the copyright in his works. The individual copyrights have for the most part been assigned by the Estate to subsidiary entities such as the J.R.R. Tolkien Discretionary Settlement and the...
and HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
Publishers. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
gave permission to use her illustrations in the CD layout.
Permanent members are Caspar Reiff
Caspar Reiff
Casper Reiff is a classical guitarist and the founder of The Tolkien Ensemble. His role in the ensemble is being one of the two songwriters along with singing the part of Merry and playing guitar.- References :...
and Peter Hall (composition, singing and guitar), Signe Asmussen (singing), Öyvind Ougaard (accordion), Katja Nielsen (double-bass), and Morten Ryelund Sørensen
Morten Ryelund Sørensen
Morten Ryelund is a Danish violinist and conductor.He made his debut as a conductor in 1994 with the Copenhagen Youth Symphony Orchestra and has since been the conductor of many orchestras - both amateur and professional....
(conductor and violin).
The Ensemble has toured Europe in 2007, combining their own works with soundtrack pieces from Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
's soundtrack to the film trilogy as well as live narration by Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
.
History
Composer Caspar Reiff founded the Tolkien Ensemble in Copenhagen in autumn 1995. At that time, Caspar Reiff (1971) was studying guitar at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. He formed an ensemble consisting of fellow students from the Academy and his former guitar teacher, composer and multi-musician Peter Hall (1946), LLCM (TD) London College of Music.The goal set by the two composers, Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall, was to create the world's first complete musical interpretation of the poems from J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece 'the Lord of the Rings', And the ensemble, which was to form the base of this vision, was named 'The Tolkien Ensemble' - an ensemble entirely devoted to the works of Tolkien.
The Tolkien Ensemble's first concert took place at Gjorslev Castle on 21 January 1996 and was followed by a number of successful concerts in Denmark. Towards the end of 1996 Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall were granted permission by the Tolkien Estate to record the first 12 songs from 'Lord of the Rings', and the very heart of the project, the recording of the music, was about to begin.
The two composers chose the young Danish conductor, Morten Ryelund as producer and this was to have a major influence on the interpretation of the music and the project as a whole. Morten Ryelund later became a full member of the Tolkien Ensemble and the ensemble was granted permission by HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark to use her illustrations on the CD cover. These unique illustrations, created when she was Crown Princess of Denmark, were to become a recurrent feature on all the Tolkien Ensemble's later CD's.
The first album, An Evening in Rivendell
An Evening in Rivendell
An Evening In Rivendell is the first album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R...
, was released in autumn 1997 and was given outstanding reviews by the press. Then followed a number of concerts, one was in Oxford, England (1998), where - to the delight of The Tolkien Ensemble - members of the Tolkien family were among the audience.
An Evening in Rivendell
An Evening in Rivendell
An Evening In Rivendell is the first album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R...
was followed by the album A Night in Rivendell
A Night in Rivendell
A Night In Rivendell is the second album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R...
(released in 2000), an album which contained the more sombre songs from the Lord of The Rings. On this CD The Tolkien Ensemble worked with, among others, the singers Povl Dissing, who sang the part of Gollum, Kurt Ravn (Legolas) and Ulrik Cold (Gandalf).
At this point, in the summer of 2000, The Tolkien Ensemble had reached 'cult status' among Tolkien enthusiasts all over the world, but the ensemble were still waiting for their big break-through ...
This came alongside the growing interest for The Lord of the Rings, when director Peter Jackson made a film version of Tolkien's books. At the end of 2001 the interest for Tolkien's works grew significantly throughout the world and fate willed that the Tolkien Ensemble was invited to take part in the Danish premiere of the first film in the Trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Among the celebrities representing the film in Copenhagen was the legendary actor Christopher Lee, who played Saruman in the film. The Tolkien Ensemble contacted him and he agreed to take part in the ensemble's third Album At Dawn in Rivendell
At Dawn in Rivendell
At Dawn In Rivendell is the third album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and forms the third part of what was to become a complete musical interpretation of all poems and songs in the book...
, partly as narrator, partly as singer of Treebeard
Treebeard
Treebeard is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The eldest of the species of Ents, he is said to live in the ancient Forest of Fangorn and stands fourteen feet in height and is tree-like in appearance, with leafy hair and a rigid structure. Fangorn Forest...
's songs.
The cooperation with Christopher Lee combined with the growing interest for the work of Tolkien, resulted in a huge success for the ensemble's Third album. The album was released in 22 countries throughout the world, played on the radio in a great number of countries, and was given excellent reviews. The International Herald Tribune called the ensemble's music: 'Total Lord of the Rings magic!' At Dawn in Rivendell
At Dawn in Rivendell
At Dawn In Rivendell is the third album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and forms the third part of what was to become a complete musical interpretation of all poems and songs in the book...
subsequently achieved great sales worldwide.
The cooperation with Christopher Lee developed to include concerts. In the autumn of 2002 Christopher Lee took part in a release concert at Tivoli Concert Hall. Then followed a major tour of, among other countries, England and Sweden, culminating in the summer of 2003 when the ensemble gave a concert in Danmark for an audience including HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and HRH Prince Henrik.
Since then the Tolkien Ensemble has continued to give concerts. In 2004 the two composers, Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall, together with Christopher Lee, took part in a major sell-out concert in Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, and in 2005 The Tolkien Ensemble played at two major 'Lord of the Rings' concerts at Ledreborg Castle, Denmark where more than 22,000 people attended the concerts. Among the performers was the ensemble's new member, Nick Keir
Nick Keir
Nick Keir is a musician from Edinburgh, Scotland, who is best known for his work with The McCalmans. More recently he has emerged as a singer/songwriter, producing three solo albums and performing as a soloist with The Tolkien Ensemble...
of the Scottish folk-trio The McCalmans
The McCalmans
The McCalmans were a folk song trio from Scotland. Formed in 1964, they recorded and toured without interruption up until they disbanded in December 2010....
. These concerts, performed together with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra
Danish National Chamber Orchestra
The Danish National Chamber Orchestra is a small symphony orchestra consisting of 42 players...
/DR and the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR and a number of soloists, also marked the release of the fourth and last album of the series, Leaving Rivendell
Leaving Rivendell
Leaving Rivendell is the fourth album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and forms the end part of what was to become a complete musical interpretation of all lyrics in the book.-Tracks listing:#...
. Besides Christopher Lee, Nick Keir, the Danish National Chamber Orchestra/DR and the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR performed with The Tolkien Ensemble on Leaving Rivendell
Leaving Rivendell
Leaving Rivendell is the fourth album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and forms the end part of what was to become a complete musical interpretation of all lyrics in the book.-Tracks listing:#...
.
The release of the 4-CD-box marks the end of more than ten years work and, with the participation of more than 150 professional musicians, The Tolkien Ensemble finally reached their goal: the release of the Complete Songs & Poems
Complete Songs & Poems
Complete Songs & Poems is a compilation album of all the songs from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings set to music by The Tolkien Ensemble...
from The Lord of the Rings with The Tolkien Ensemble & Christopher Lee.
The 4-CD-box is dedicated to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien, to The Tolkien Society in Oxford and to the millions of people for whom The Lord of the Rings has a special place in their hearts...
Discography
- An Evening in RivendellAn Evening in RivendellAn Evening In Rivendell is the first album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R...
(1997)- Malene Nordtorp, Ole Jegindø Norup, Mads Thiemann, Morten Ernst Lassen, Commotio-Kvartetten choir, Polkageist.
- A Night in RivendellA Night in RivendellA Night In Rivendell is the second album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R...
(2000)- Ulrik ColdUlrik ColdUlrik Cold was a Danish operatic bass. In 1963 he made his professional opera debut at the Royal Danish Theatre as Seneca in Claudio Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea...
, Kurt Ravn, Povl Dissing, Mads Thiemann, Morten Ernst Lassen, The Chamber Choir Hymnia.
- Ulrik Cold
- At Dawn in RivendellAt Dawn in RivendellAt Dawn In Rivendell is the third album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and forms the third part of what was to become a complete musical interpretation of all poems and songs in the book...
(2002)- Kurt Ravn, Morten Ernst Lassen, Peter Hall, Tom McEwan, Caspar Reiff, the Copenhagen Chamber Choir Camerata, Copenhagen Young Strings. Recitation by Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
.
- Kurt Ravn, Morten Ernst Lassen, Peter Hall, Tom McEwan, Caspar Reiff, the Copenhagen Chamber Choir Camerata, Copenhagen Young Strings. Recitation by Christopher Lee
- Leaving RivendellLeaving RivendellLeaving Rivendell is the fourth album by the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble. It features songs composed to the lyrics found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and forms the end part of what was to become a complete musical interpretation of all lyrics in the book.-Tracks listing:#...
(2005)- Jørgen Ditlevsen, Kurt Ravn, Nick Keir, the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR, the Danish RadioDanmarks RadioDR – officially rendered into English as the Danish Broadcasting Corporation – is Denmark's national broadcasting corporation. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is today Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterprise...
Sinfonietta/DR. Recitation by Christopher Lee.
- Jørgen Ditlevsen, Kurt Ravn, Nick Keir, the Danish National Chamber Choir/DR, the Danish Radio
- Complete Songs & PoemsComplete Songs & PoemsComplete Songs & Poems is a compilation album of all the songs from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings set to music by The Tolkien Ensemble...
(2006)- Since this is a compilation of all their previous work the soloists are all of the above mentioned.