The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Piano/Vocal/Chords) [Paperback]

Howard Shore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2003

Featuring the music of Academy Award(R)-winning composer Howard Shore, this new Two Towers folio includes eight pages of magnificent full-color photos from the motion picture and P/V/C arrangements of the soaring soundtrack -- all printed on high-quality antique paper stock. Titles: Gollum's Song * Isengard Unleashed * Breath of Life * Forth Eorlingas * Rohan. One selection, "Evenstar" was chosen for the Royal Conservatory of Music Popular Selection List (2007 Ed.)

Product Details

• Paperback: 42 pages
• Publisher: Warner Bros Publications; 1 edition (March 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757912052
• ISBN-13: 978-0757912054
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent soundtrack-to-piano music...Rohan is to die for, July 4, 2004

By 

Dave (Lexington, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Piano/Vocal/Chords) (Paperback)

It's books like this that made me wish I had the natural talent for music, or had at least studied and practiced hard enough to develop talent. The motion picture score that Howard Shore composed for The Lord of the Rings trilogy is absolutely brilliant, and while nothing can match his magnificent orchestra, there is something unique and incredible about hearing the same music played on a simple piano -- coming from your very own fingers.

The front cover is one of the promotional posters (NOT the DVD cover as was the case with the other two piano books from the trilogy) showing Saruman from the back commanding his 10,000 Uruk-hai. If you look on the right, although it is geographically incorrect, you can see Edoras in Rohan in the distance. Inside the book are forty pages, eight of which are movie pictures. Once again, there are some gruesome orcs pictured inside, in case you have little hobbits around the house that might get scared.

The music includes:

- Gollum's Song, the end-credits song of the movie. Not very enjoyable to play, I'd say...it's a rather mournful and melancholy song.

- Evenstar, which is all-Elvish, but surprisingly doesn't provide the translation. Shouldn't be too hard to dig one up on the internet, however. The tune is pretty, the background for Aragorn's dream/vision of Arwen in The Two Towers.

- Isengard Unleashed, which begins as the soundtrack score does, with the lament for Haldir upon his untimely death in the battle for Helm's Deep. Then it moves on to the score for the Ents as they march to war. This is probably the longest in the book, maybe of all three books. Afterwards, they give the translation of the war song of the Ents.

- Breath of Life, the quiet but stirring tune/song that you hear when Aragorn lies wounded after a battle, and receives another vision/dream of Arwen that gives him a (let's all say it together now) "breath of life". Elvish lyrics, English translation at the end.

- Forth Eorlingas, my favorite one (at least to HEAR), the tune that shows the rousing of the remaining soldiers at Helm's Deep, their death plunge out the causeway, and Gandalf's near-biblical arrival to the rescue. The second-best in this book, in my opinion.

- Rohan, which was an absolutely necessary piece to include in this book. It's short, *almost* simple enough for a beginner like me to pick my way through, and beyond gorgeous. It begins with the noble theme for Éowyn, and peaks into the majestic score for the kingdom of Rohan. This one alone is worth getting the book for.

This book makes an excellent addition to your piano library, or an excellent gift for your musically-inclined hobbit-heads. Go for it.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful pieces!, February 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Piano/Vocal/Chords) (Paperback)

This book contains some of the best music ever written! I play this stuff over and over, because not only is it awesome, it's fun. "Gollum's Song" is a haunting, beautiful song - one that really makes you feel sorry for Gollum. "Evenstar" is also a beautifully flowing piece. It's easy to put a lot of expression in it when you play it. "Isengard Unleashed" is a more complicated piece, once you get about half way through it, and it's rather hard to figure out in the beginning. "Breath of Life" and "Forth Eorlingas" are pretty simple, but redundant at times. "Rohan" is an absolutely amazing song that just makes me want to cry when I play it. That also lends itself to expression while playing. All together, this book is an absolute masterpiece, and while harder than the book for The Fellowship of the Ring, in my opinion, it is still pretty simple, and the arrangments are much better. I highly recommend this book. It's beautiful!!

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Music, June 27, 2003

By 

supernova25rules (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Piano/Vocal/Chords) (Paperback)

This book of songs from the Two Towers, the movie, is beautiful and inspiring collection. The songs are slightly harder than the music from the Fellowship of the Ring, but still very enjoyable. I reccomend this for people who love music and Tolkien.