Howard Shore is a frequent collaborator with David Cronenberg. He’s scored every single one of his films apart from one since 1979. He’s composed an opera, and he’s composed for television, working as the musical director for SNL for five years. Shore has established a glittering and varied career, but the composer will inevitably be most known for his work on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, with his music playing an essential role during scenes with minimal dialogue, or no dialogue at all.
His work comes to the fore, however, with his masterful ‘The Grace of Undómiel’, sung by Renée Fleming in Return of the King. A voiceover of her father Elrond is heard ordering her safe passage to the Grey Havens, where she will be carried across the sea to the land of the undying. The scene suddenly switches to slow motion, however, as a vision of Arwen’s future son, Eldarion, runs across the forest. ‘Grace’ starts playing as the camera focuses on Arwen’s transfixed face watching her boy run into the arms of his delighted father Aragon, before appearing to stare at her with a blank expression. Arwen notes the Evenstar around his neck, confirming without doubt that the boy before her is her future son. She closes her eyes in anguish as she remembers her father’s lie that the world of man holds no promise for her, ultimately deciding to ride back to Rivendell and confront him.
It’s difficult to hear Fleming’s lyrics here, which sing of Arwen’s dimming light and the coming darkness due to her indecision, but ultimately, you don’t have to. Ultimately, the emotive power in her voice combined with Arwen’s determined actions do all the storytelling by themselves. She then manages to persuade Elrond to reforge Isildur’s blade, Narsil, as the score becomes mightier and the lyrics continue to explain the narrative. But again, we don’t need to hear the words to gain their emotive affect. Ultimately, it is the opening scene where ‘Grace’ first begins to play that has the most impact, where hope is conveyed through a single, silent glance between a mother and her earnest son.
Love that scene! Gonna have to go and find it now.