Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Faber Music have now been producing their series of deluxe piano anthologies for around a decade, with one or two new titles appearing each year, each volume generally bringing together an eclectic but appealing mix of music grouped around a specific theme: Christmas, Jazz Standards, Women Composers, and so on.
You can explore my reviews of the series here.
A previous title in the series broke the usual pattern by focusing on a specific movie series. The Harry Potter Piano Anthology was produced in association with the US publishers Alfred Music, who own the rights and arrangements, and in my review of that title, I concluded that it was “an exceptional publication which is unlikely to disappoint”.
Revisiting that partnership, Faber Music now bring us The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Piano Anthology, again in partnership with Alfred. The cover announces that the book includes:
“The best-loved themes from Howard Shore’s landmark scores along with other featured songs, arranged for intermediate piano solo.”
The anthology is as lavishly presented as ever, and likely to tempt all those who appreciate Shore’s superb movie scores, so let’s take a look…
The anthology
In their marketing materials, Faber Music offer the following invitation:
“Transport yourself to Middle-earth, the fantastical world of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, with this stunning collector’s edition piano anthology featuring music composed by Howard Shore.”
The book itself is stunning indeed! The stiff card cover has a matt finish, gold lettering on both front and rear, and open out flaps which, on the inside, include a colour reproduction of a map of Middle-earth.
The tastefully presented contents pages are followed by an engaging introduction written by Doug Adams, author of the authoritative study The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films.
The scores which follow are spaciously engraved on thick white paper, although in songs where guitar tab is included (more about this shortly) the systems are sometimes quite close.
Though the book is absolutely lush, it seems a pity that the binding isn’t more amenable (in the way that, for example, Edition Peters scores are). But (and as usual with this series) it behaves itself and stays open on the music stand, provided the spine is bent sufficiently. These Faber anthologies are so well put together that they can withstand regular and sustained use.
The arrangements
When it comes to making “intermediate piano solo” arrangements of Howard Shore’s appropriately epic movie scores, one might wonder how an arranger could convey the dramatic sweep of the music.
Confusingly, it turns out that they haven’t. And I think some prospective buyers may feel that the marketing of the book is rather misleading in this regard.
Well over half the scores include vocal parts with piano accompaniment, sometimes a solo vocal line, sometimes full choir (in ‘short score’ format), and occasionally both (written across five staves per system).
Furthermore, some scores (including some of those that are essentially piano solos) include chord symbols in standard format, while a few additionally include guitar tab. And in the song I See Fire, the fiddle riffs are transcribed as a cue on the vocal stave, rather than adapted into the piano arrangement.
Bearing in mind this lack of adaptation and potentially perplexing mix of notations, I have indicated the full scoring of each piece as presented in the book, using the following symbols when listing the piece titles below, so that readers can consider accurately whether the publication is for them:
+ single vocal part with piano accompaniment
++ two-stave (closed score) choral parts, plus piano
+++ three vocal lines (solo plus choir) with piano
# standard chord symbols included
## standard chord symbols and guitar tab included
Here is that annotated list of pieces as they appear in the collection.
They are generally grouped by movie title, chronologically, but for reasons that are unclear, The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) appear out of sequence:
The Fellowship of the Ring:
• The Prophecy ++
• Concerning Hobbits
• Many Meetings
• The Black Rider
• The Council of Elrond featuring Aniron +#
• Lament for Gandalf ++
• In Dreams +#
• May It Be +#
• A Long-expected Party #
The Two Towers
• Rohan / The King of the Golden Hall #
• Breath of Life +#
• Forth Eorlingas +++
• Isengard Unleashed +++#
• Evenstar ++#
• Gollum’s Song +#
The Return of the King
• Twilight and Shadow ++
• The Steward of Gondor ++
• Into the West +#
• Minas Tirith ++
• The End of All Things +++
• The Return of the King ++
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Misty Mountains +#
• Old Friends
• Dreaming of Bag End #
• Song of the Lonely Mountain +##
• The Adventure Begins
• A Very Respectable Hobbit #
• The Noble Wood (I Roderyn)
The Battle of the Five Armies
• The Ruins of Dale
• The Last Goodbye +##
• Sons of Durin ++
• Courage and Wisdom ++
• There and Back Again
• The Return Journey
The Desolation of Smaug
• Feast of Starlight ++#
• Thrice Welcome
• The Quest for Erebor
• Smaug
• I See Fire +##
• Beyond the Forest +++#
Bearing in mind the variety of vocal and instrumental forces called for, it is difficult to evaluate the arrangements objectively, because their suitability depends on a mixed bag of use-case scenarios. Some may want to use this score alongside singers (solo or choral, for example in a school concert or local event), while others may approach the music alone at the piano.
The latter will mostly be able to play the given piano accompaniments as written, which should prove effective for many of the pieces, although more advanced players may wish to adapt their reading and interpretation of the material to include the vocal melody lines and instrumental parts more consistently than shown.
Another approach would be to explore the scores in partnership with a second piano or keyboard player (in which case, two instruments will definitely be needed as the parts overlap throughout).
While the main piano parts would best suit an early advanced player (around UK Grade 7-8 level), most of the choral parts could be played by an intermediate player on a second instrument.
Concluding my review of the scores themselves, I should mention that no fingering suggestions are included, and that the arranger is not credited, which is surprising given the scale of the project.
Closing thoughts
The Faber Music Piano Anthology series has given us several outstanding titles over the last decade, characterised by creative music selections, superb variety of material suitable for players from early intermediate to advanced level, and truly sumptuous presentation. Each volume offers outstanding value for money, is built to last, and should offer many years of piano playing pleasure.
The Harry Potter Piano Anthology was something of an anomaly, with its very specific focus and target audience, but delivered a superb collection of solo piano arrangements. With the LOTR and Hobbit Piano Anthology, Faber Music depart further from the established formula, as most of the music here is not arranged for piano solo, intermediate or otherwise.
That said, for those looking for a superb collection of the best music from the LOTR cycle of films, there’s no question that this publication is superb, and for musicians wanting the breadth these scores offer, it will now be the very obvious choice.
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