Video from Listening In
"Through his scores for 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, Howard Shore has shown that he is a master at manipulating tension. He perfectly crafts the music to fit vast cinematic sequences, building and releasing tension with ease, but also develops the tension inherent in his thematic material over long stretches of time. This is demonstrated best by looking at the music for the two kingdoms of Men - Rohan and Gondor. Shore makes subtle changes to their themes, altering the orchestration, harmony and melodic lines such that tension is gradually built and sustained. In this essay, I look at how he builds tension in Rohan and Gondor’s music and then how, during the battle for Minas Tirith, this tension is finally released." from video introduction.