Listen & tracks

2 of 18 tracks have a preview · 18 works · 95:10

1 Ring Bearer John Sangster 6:03
2 Frodo's Fantasy John Sangster 5:17
3 The Balrog John Sangster 8:37
4 Olipaunts John Sangster 4:32
5 Rivendell Rort John Sangster 4:12
6 Arwen's Regret John Sangster 4:42
7 Lullaby in Lorien John Sangster 7:39
8 Proper Fourteen-Twenty John Sangster 3:44
9 Hairy Foolish Soft-Shoeless Feet John Sangster 4:29
10 The Uruk-Hai John Sangster 7:18
11 Three Is Company John Sangster 6:00
12 Eleventy-One Today John Sangster 3:48
13 Merry-Go-Round John Sangster 4:41
14 Hoblyti-Hoblyta John Sangster 4:42
201 Ithildin John Sangster 4:52
202 V-M-E Day (a Mondorian Phantasmagoria) John Sangster 6:16
203 The Sweetness and Light Rag John Sangster 3:35
204 Celeborn Celbrant John Sangster 4:43

Not to be confused with Howard Shore's scores for the later films, this wholly Australian trilogy appeared on three double-LP sets from EMI, long deleted and unavailable for many years.

It remains a highly ambitious production. Styles range from Sangster's distinctive trad and modern jazz to film-like portraits of characters and events from Tolkien's books. The special double CD has something for everyone, with extras for collectors: original LP artwork as PDF files, four live performances in MP3 format, and a long interview with Sangster recorded a year before his death in 1995.

Bonus material on Vol. 2 and this volume is especially rich, with interviews from musicians who played on the sessions and two lengthy conversations with Sangster himself. That oral testimony gives essential context for the musician and reveals the lighthearted, unassuming spirit that shapes the music.

Having read the book, visited the Ring website, and seen the film trilogy, listeners can now hear the jazz: an essential album for any Australian jazz or Tolkien fan.

In the artist’s words

So, now, the Trilogy is complete. In all, fifty-two pieces (plus the thirteen Hobbit pieces, making sixty-five in all). Nearly six hours of music. And still one could go on, so packed with incident and character are these writings. Several of the main central characters, for example, remain un-scored; Meriadoc and Peregrin and especially Frodo Hero I somehow feel to be much too large for these relatively direct musical idioms. Besides, the reader will doubtless prefer his own thought-picture of these most complex characters.

My aim was simple, and best said in Professor Tolkein's own words: “The desire of a tale-teller to try his hand at a really long story that would hold the attention of his listeners, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them.”

If I have succeeded, perhaps it's because the Professor has loaned me “the gift of the Elf-Minstrels, who can make the things of which they sing appear before the eyes of those that listen.”

— John Sangster

Reviews

... the idea of painting musical pictures of strange characters was irresistible to Len Barnard, Bob Barnard, Graeme Lyall and a cast of thousands ... on comes a warm ballad like 'Arwen's Regret' which has Don Burrows playing as soulful a baritone as we've ever heard.

— Gil Wahlquist, Sydney Morning Herald

Like any great opera, Sangster's trilogy must be heard in its totality in order for the evolution of his vision to be fully appreciated. The albums become more complex and their instrumentation more subtle as they progress, gradually creating their own 'secondary world' of musical reference. A delight to listen to.

— Chris Seeman, The Tolkien Music List

The re-mastering is of the usual superb quality we have come to expect from Move and the added bonus tracks, interviews, etc round out a brilliant product.

— Roger Carpenter, Radio KLFM

Move's remastering of the original material makes the music sound as though it was recorded yesterday! The playing of the John Sangster Quartet bonus tracks, dating from 1989 is absolutely splendid

— John Barns, 3MBS FM Libretto

Artists

John Sangster

keyboards, percussion

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.