Lord of the Rings; Symphonie No. 1

Andre Jutras (Composer), Johan De Meij (Composer), Jan Van der Roost (Composer), Ensemble Vents et Percussion de Quebec (Artist), Rene Joly (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Andre Jutras, Johan De Meij, Jan Van der Roost
• Audio CD (July 14, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atma Classique
• ASIN: B000009Q5Q
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,196 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The music is great, the performance is not, June 27, 2000

By 

Scott Johnson (Ames, Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lord of the Rings; Symphonie No. 1 (Audio CD)

de Meij's Symphony 1: Lord of the Rings is a superbly written piece of music. Evocative, brooding, descriptive, and unmannered, it captures the essence of Gandalf, Shadowfax, Lothlorien, Gollum, the journey through Moria, and Hobbits in music. Especially effective is the Moria movement and the Hobbits melody; in both sections, de Meij seems to have been conversing with Tolkien himself while writing the music.

Be that as it may, this particular recording is not particularly well done. Balance is not good, and one loses some of the magic of the piece while listening for parts which seem to disappear from other recordings I've heard. The Dutch Royal Military Band did a far better recording a few years ago, and unfortunately I've not been able to find a new copy to replace the disc I wore out. This recording is passable but not the best version out there; unfortunately, it seems to be the only one readily available at this time.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor, September 4, 2003

By 

Tenorposaune (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lord of the Rings; Symphonie No. 1 (Audio CD)

No one can deny the scope and power of De Meij's visionary work for wind ensemble. This is truly one of the gems in the literature. However, this performance is singularly bad. The balance is unforgivable, the precision is nearly nonexistent, and it gets worse from there. Most other recordings are out of print, but De Meij recommends one by the Amsterdam Wind Orchestra, if you can find it. Whether or not you can find another recording, this one is a waste of your money. You'd do better to try and hum it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing imagery and power, a great interpretation., February 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lord of the Rings; Symphonie No. 1 (Audio CD)

I looked everywhere for a recording of the Lord of the Rings after having the opportunity to play it, and this is a great find. My only critique is on the tone of the soprano sax solo in the gollum mvmt, It's not up to par with other versions I've heard. They seem to do better with the powerful stuff then the more sensitive sections (which is usually the case with wind ensembles) All in all though I strongly recommend this piece, if you have never heard it, you need to.