Middle-earth: A World of Music

For all their cultural differences, almost every race in Middle-earth has a connection to song and music. The elves, of course, are portrayed in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as having perfected the tradition, being as it was that it was handed down by their creators, the Valar.

Tolkien, always a linguist, not only created a world with complex and legitimate languages, but he included music in his work as well. Not only did music give Middle-earth more dimensionality but it also tied it to earlier works of mythology and continued the tradition of poetry and epic tales within melodies. Music, it can be argued, was the basis for Middle-earth; The Silmarillion begins by describing the “music of the Ainur” which was what formed the world. The Elves, the first inhabitants of Middle-earth, are most frequently mentioned as singing or reciting poetry; but the dwarves prove their vocal power by singing “That’s What Bilbo Baggins Hates” in The Hobbit as well as their famous song, “Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold” (even accompanying it with instrumentals).

These two dwarven songs are famously featured in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of The Hobbit. For any fans of the movies, whether the original trilogy or the new Hobbit trilogy, music features strongly and helps create a vivid, three dimensional Middle-earth. It’s interesting to discover, though, that before actors and pop stars were singing these songs on the big screen, Tolkien himself, quite a renaissance man, recorded a few versions himself. Wouldn’t it have been a treat if they included some tribute to that in the last Hobbit film? We don’t have too long to find out… (my opinion is they won’t, but hey, one can dream).

Have a listen to Tolkien singing “That’s What Bilbo Baggins Hates”

And compare to the scene The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:

The film version is rounded out by multiple dwarf voices singing, their jubilant smashing of cutlery, and with a score in the background that gives a really Celtic-influenced feel to the whole song. Still, all things considered, it’s quite charming hearing the song from the person who wrote it and who was the mastermind of Middle-earth. Youtube is a great resource for the nerdy Tolkien fan; there are a good number of recordings of the Professor reading excerpts of his work and reciting poetry.

Personally, even though we can argue over the different ways in which Jackson changed Middle-earth in these recent adaptations, I think many of us can agree that the music has been well done and kept as a beautiful tribute to Tolkien’s world. Even original songs, such as “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran, have a touch of Middle-earth, both in the style of the instrumentals and the lyrics. “Keep watching over Durin’s sons” is a line that’s not dumbed down to say “all those dwarves who went to slay a dragon and reclaim their homeland” but instead, for the LOTR historian/geek, references their lineage (good job, Ed). I think Professor Tolkien would be proud to hear these original songs, so poetic are they in their own right; not simple pop lyrics but songs like Sheeran’s tell the story using the theme of fire.

And, last but not least, if you haven’t heard Billy Boyd’s (Pippin) song which has been making the rounds these past couple of weeks, it’s high time to give it a listen (bring some tissues). It’s obvious that it’s a last goodbye because if you’ve read The Hobbit you know what happens at the end; but I think another aspect of it is that it’s a last goodbye for all of us fans and lovers of Middle-earth. Unless Jackson magically gets the rights to The Silmarillion, it looks like The Battle of the Five Armies is our last look into Middle-Earth. For a lot of us, these films have spanned more than half the course of our lives, and it’s an alternate universe that is apart of our lives. It’s fitting to have a song to commemorate that; one that’s in the style of the beautiful poetry that Tolkien loved and built Middle-earth on, and one that’s a bittersweet farewell to a beloved series. As Gandalf said, I will not say all tears are an evil--but (another blog for another time), it’s never really farewell when we have such a beautiful and detailed universe to return to time after time, complete with the music that binds it together.

Continue Reading →

Keep Watching Over Durin's Sons

It’s almost too bad Tolkien didn’t create a dozen dwarves, otherwise we’d have one for each day of the 12 days of Christmas. However, since there are the twins Fíli and Kíli, I suppose they can count as one day. There’s not many posts left till Christmas, and The Battle of the Five Armies comes out in 3 days, but let’s discuss as many of the dwarves of The Hobbit as possible!

Reference to dwarven family trees is only made a couple of times in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations, and most of what movie-goers know is that Fíli and Kíli are Thorin Oakenshield’s nephews. They are all the direct descendents in the line of Durin; but there are also a few others in the company who are related as well. And those who aren’t are all related to some of the other dwarves in some way. With Christmas fast approaching and most of us preparing to host or visit family, would you trade that for a Durin family Christmas? (I mean, if it meant being in Middle-earth, I might take it. But on the other hand, I personally don’t like having a scratchy chin or spending a lot of time indoors/underground. Give me sunlight…).

What/who is the line of Durin, anyhow? Tolkien was a master at creating so many backstories and history, turning over (almost) every rock and giving us a lot of lineage and family tree information on the races in Middle-earth. Durin’s roots go right back to the foundations of Middle-earth. If you’re really interested in all the backstories and roots of this, go find a copy of The Silmarillion. To keep it short and simple (for now!), there were seven original dwarves created for Middle-earth by one of the Valar. The Complete Guide to Middle-earth describes the Valar as the “fourteen greatest (excluding Melkor) of the Ainur who chose to enter Ëa to fulfill the Vision of Ilúvatar” [1] (Ëa referencing the earth). Basically, the Valar are angelic servants (that take on physical form) of the creator, Ilúvatar. Aulë was the particular Valar who created the dwarves, Durin being one of the first seven.

From Durin, some of his most famous descendents came--Thorin (the second) and Fíli and Kíli (sons of Thorin’s sister), but also a few who made an appearance in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Balin, Dwalin, Óin, and Glóin were all on the family tree, although they were not as close genealogically to Thorin’s side. Balin and Dwalin were both brothers, as were Óin and Glóin. And--if you’ve kept careful watch in The Hobbit or anywhere in the books--Gimli is included in this family tree as well. Not only were the thirteen dwarves companions and comrades in arms, they shared a lot of Durin’s royal blood.

Tolkien didn’t write much about Thorin, his folk, and their traditions and life outside of his main works, especially before their quest, where we see most of their character development. After his grandfather being killed and the dwarves chased out of the mountain by Smaug, Thorin and Durin’s Folk eventually settled in the Blue Mountains until their quest began. Tolkien simply refers to this area as “Thorin’s Halls.” In both names and culture, we see Tolkien borrowing a lot from ancient Norse mythology and poetry, but you have to search his additional histories to piece together exact details. The same is true for the dwarves, even though you will find even less details on them--not even the only dwarven twins recorded in Tolkien’s histories are given much of a personality in The Hobbit. For all its faults pointed out by Tolkien purists, Jackson’s movies do a nice job of fleshing them out, paying particular attention to Kíli in particular. But the strong family ties are portrayed well; the twins are fiercely loyal to Thorin, and Fíli in particular is being trained to take over as the heir to the throne someday. Both brothers, like Thorin, possess stubborn pride (a very dwarf-like trait, it seems to me; or perhaps even more apparent in Durin’s Folk?) and loyalty to each other, which is a great portrayal of the dwarven race. It is rare to meet a Tolkien fan whose favorite race and obsession is the dwarves; even though many of us appreciate them, I’m pretty sure most of us would sign up for being elves without a second thought to what being one would really be like. There is something to be said for dwarves though. For all their pride and stubbornness, obsession with lineage, and hoarding of treasure, we see in both the movies and books both Durin’s Folk and other descendents of the original seven staying true to each other. There is a bond of brotherhood there, and as much as they seem to love their treasure I think when pushed, these dwarves would choose kin and friend immediately.

Durin’s line ended not long after Thorin was gone with Durin VII, a direct descendent and the last one, and as detailed as Tolkien usually got, the only explain that the world was growing old and the time of the dwarves was ending. We may see Jackson do something different than the inevitable ending of The Hobbit in his last movie (which most of us think has to happen, but also dread it. Tears will be shed) but other than the line of Durin being changed, I don’t see it as having any other real effect upon the dwarven race. Sure, there could be speculation about how Thorin’s character could change, or if the line would be continued longer, but I think the biggest change will be how the War of the Ring would be affected--and for Jackson to continue true to his adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, he can’t steer too far from the original. In The Lord of the Rings, we don’t see large numbers of dwarves, due to Sauron’s takeover of Middle-earth (the destruction of the dwarven settlement lead by Balin in the Mines of Moria being one of the disastrous effects)... and I wonder if Thorin had been around, if things would have been different. I have a feeling that he may have been entrenched in his mountain, protecting and hoarding his riches, even if Sauron’s forces came for him as well.

If you ever come to a point where you realize your hoarding and coveting habits are becoming too dwarf like, remember to stop before it’s too late and your greed backs you into a corner with no conceivable story plot out other than the inevitable, like poor Thorin. Tolkien’s work contains a lot of good life lessons, one of them being that the things that we want to last the longest either won’t fulfill us or they will outlast us--so choose wisely. And be thankful that you aren’t one of Durin’s doomed line.

Footnotes: 
[1] Foster, R. (2001). The complete guide to Middle-earth: From the Hobbit through the Lord of the rings and beyond. New York: Ballantine Books.

Continue Reading →