The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1
Not Howard Shore's film score, but Australian jazz and film composer John Sangster's ambitious 1970s musical portrait of Tolkien's characters and events, restored here on a double CD more than twenty-five years after the original EMI LPs.
Graeme Lyall soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
Len Barnard drums, percussion, voice, stride piano
Bob Barnard trumpet
Alan Nash trumpet, flugelhorn
Bob McIvor trombone
Ken Herron trombone
Bill Motzing trombone
Arthur Hubbard tuba
Harry Kirby first violin
Della Woods second violin
Irene Morozov viola
Nathan Waks cello
John McCarthy clarinet
Errol Buddle oboe, flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Tony Buchanan clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Col Evans piccolo
George Thompson acoustic bass, electric bass
Col Nolan acoustic piano, electric piano, electric harpsichord
Ian Bloxsom percussion, marimba, glockenspiel, bass drum, gongs, triangle
Two CDs for the price of one.
Not to be confused with Howard Shore's music for the award-winning films, this trilogy is wholly Australian. It first appeared on three double-LP sets from EMI in the late 1970s and had been unavailable for many years. Sangster's complete Lord of the Rings cycle, together with the equally rare fourth double-LP set Landscapes of Middle Earth, has been carefully restored.
Written by the noted Australian jazz and film composer John Sangster, the series remains a highly ambitious production. From trad jazz to film-like scoring, there is something here for a wide audience. Collectors also get extras including the original LP artwork as PDF files and rare video footage of Sangster at work.
Having read the book and seen the film trilogy, listeners can now hear the jazz music: an essential album for any Australian jazz or Tolkien fan.
If you want a musical autobiography, it's all there in the Lord of the Rings albums. A crazed montage of all the jazz (and other) idioms I've been involved with during my life. All the musics I love are in there; some plainly stated, some distorted and disguised a little bit the way memories sometimes go.
Reviews
Long overdue is the reissue of the seminal 1974 recording from the free-thinking hellraiser of Australian jazz. The scope and production values in this reworking of Tolkien's epic are nothing less than ambitious ... [a] stellar line-up ... It bristles with humour and gorgeously layered orchestrations. Breathtaking solos, too. ★★★★
Hats off to Move Records for giving us John Sangster's 1974 classic ... It is a tribute to the man as a composer, player, bandleader and conceptualist that he could pull off such an ambitious project ... Rambunctious trad, skating post-bop, innovative percussion, string quartets and even experimental studio remixes all happily cohabit Middle Earth. What brings them together is the warm heart of Sangster, and a strong sense of joy in the making of the music ... Enchanting.
an exciting musical journey that swings from the chaotic to the celebratory and seduces with passages of extraordinary beauty and pathos.
The whole piece intrigues, excites and entertains ... enhanced by film footage and artwork accessed on the two hybrid CD/CD-ROM discs
Move Records is to be praised for its salutary efforts at making these important artifacts of musical history once again available to the public ... this CD (and its promised successors) is an essential item for any die-hard collector - Tolkienian and Sangsterite alike. These albums are legendary ... The newly released double CD set is a Cadillac with all the luxury features one expects from a special edition DVD
John Sangster music is highly ambitious and this epic production juxtaposes ragtime, big band and evocative soundtrack-like creations to portray the many characters and events that inhabit Middle Earth ... Essential listening
This is a jazz album, inspired by the Tolkien tale but interpreted in a jazz way, not as a soundtrack to a narrative. So much can be said of this blockbuster but a few essentials stand out: the scope of the writing, its constant authority and control, despite its litany of jokes, effects and general bonhomie. The quality of the musicians ... amount[s] to a roll-call of the best players of the day ... an amazingly detailed and rich recording.
I was knocked out by the quality of the music ... Move Records have done a magnificent job
Sangster gave his imagination free rein ... elves, hobbits, orcs ... were depicted variously by jauntily swinging jazz combos, elegant string quartets and more avant-garde combinations, evoking influences from Scott Joplin to Duke Ellington ...
magical music most worthy of the subject matter ... Only the mind of Sango the Great, part Hobbit, part wizard, could have come up with such a wondrous musical phantasmagoria.
worth the listening ... the performances stand up well ... an Australian milestone.
Do yourself a favour - listen to these CDs
a real hit ... the quality is even better than the original vinyl releases.
this impressive work is a milestone in Australian jazz history ... splendid
Some of the most important music to come out of Australia as it shows the way out for the impasse modern classical music finds itself in, and it gives new direction to jazz
... masterly jazzman John Sangster gets some fine moments together ... this is a superb album that gains appreciatively by use of talents like Bob Barnard, Graeme Kayla, Errol Buddle (and) many many more. Outstanding track 'Vale Theoden'.
Artist
John Sangster
John Sangster (1928–1995) was an Australian jazz composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist whose work stretched from traditional jazz and film scores to large-scale suites of uncommon range, humour and colour.
Audio previews
Tracks
- Off to Adventures John Sangster 4:42
- Legolas: Elf John Sangster 3:50
- Gandalf the White John Sangster 4:35
- Elvish Dance John Sangster 3:33
- Nazgul John Sangster 4:23
- Sam the Man John Sangster 4:07
- The Ride of the Rohirrim John Sangster 5:54
- Glad'riel John Sangster 4:51
- Elvish Tea-Party, with Dance John Sangster 4:16
- Orcs John Sangster 3:06
- Blues for Boromir John Sangster 7:29
- Uncle Gandalf Needs You! John Sangster 5:16
- Ents and Entwives John Sangster 4:43
Disc 2
- The Great Battle John Sangster 6:12
- Vale Theoden John Sangster 9:39
- Three Cheers for Smeagol John Sangster 12:07
- Bilbo's Birthday Party John Sangster 3:32
- The Grey Havens John Sangster 7:50
Performers
- John Sangster · percussion, vibraphone, marimba, hub-waters, tambourine, guiro, triangles, brake-drums, bell-tree, bamboo rattles, various wind-chimes, gongs
- Graeme Lyall · soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Len Barnard · drums, percussion, voice, stride piano
- Bob Barnard
- Alan Nash · trumpet, flugelhorn
- Bob McIvor
- Ken Herron
- Bill Motzing
- Arthur Hubbard
- Harry Kirby · first violin
- Della Woods · second violin
- Irene Morozov
- Nathan Waks
- John McCarthy
- Errol Buddle · oboe, flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Tony Buchanan · clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
- Col Evans · piccolo
- George Thompson · acoustic bass, electric bass
- Col Nolan · acoustic piano, electric piano, electric harpsichord
- Ian Bloxsom · percussion, marimba, glockenspiel, bass drum, gongs, triangle
Contributors
Front cover and background graphics
John Franklin
John Franklin is a graphic designer whose cover designs, front-cover art and graphics appear on a range of Move Records releases.
Where to listen
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1 is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1 is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.
Product details
- Catalogue number
- MD 3251
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 100 minutes 5 seconds
- Producer
- Martin Goring Benge
Martin Wright - Recording Engineer
- Martin Goring Benge
- Mastering Engineer
- Martin Wright
- Venue
- EMI Studios 301
- Credit
- John Franklin
- Release date
- 2002
- Musical work
copyright - © 1975 John Sangster
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 2002 Move Records
- Categories
- Australian, Jazz
- Genre
- Jazz & Improvised
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574325126
Related recordings
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 2
The second volume of John Sangster's classic jazz epic on The Lord of the Rings. First issued by EMI as a double LP more than twenty-five years earlier, this music reaches CD for the first time in this Move reissue.
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 3
The third volume of John Sangster's classic jazz epic after J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. First issued by EMI as a double LP more than twenty-five years earlier, this ambitious Australian trilogy reaches CD for the first time here.
Landscapes of Middle Earth
The fourth and final volume in Move’s restored reissue of John Sangster’s jazz-inspired Tolkien cycle. First a late-1970s double LP, Landscapes of Middle Earth reached CD in 2006.
Jazz Music Series (set)
The five volumes of John Sangster's Jazz Music Series are available individually or together as a set at a reduced price.