The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings

There and Back Again – A Musical Tale

The recent passing of Sir Ian Holm, who played Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy films, had me feeling nostalgic and I found myself listening to this soundtrack one day while doing the dishes.

It’s still amazing. Each of these songs is so evocative of the themes and scenes from the films, I can still close my eyes and recall what was happening. They are sweeping, epic, and gorgeously wrought.

This second installment (of the three film soundtracks) in particular is my favorite. One – for the many variations on the Rohan theme that runs through so many of the tracks (very exciting!), but two – for “Gollum’s Song”, featuring vocalist Emiliana Torrini. It was a closing credits song and is perhaps lesser known than the vocalized credits songs of the other two films (including Enya’s “May It Be”, for example), but it’s haunting in both melody and lyrics, and I think it’s just a beautiful piece.

If it’s been a minute for you as well, I recommend taking a musical journey and giving this album another listen. If you’ve never heard it before, give it a try – perhaps you’ll find it no less epic or moving.