Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical | Music: Interrogating Gollum

After this instrumental, I will take a short break from composing music to research topics in folklore and Real World history related to The Lord of the Rings. Out of the seventeen scenes to appear in this chapter, this instrumental is for the twelfth scene. In this piece, I include a new theme to represent Gandalf interrogating Sméagol/Gollum, a new motif to represent the moon, and the return of multiple recurring themes and instruments.

The Moon in Classical Music

Several well-known pieces have been inspired by the moon, including Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21 [Petey Moonstruck] by Arnold Schoenberg as discussed when describing “The Adventure Song” and “Clair de lune” [“Moonlight”] from Suite bergamasque (1890) by Claude Debussy. Both pieces were inspired by the dance culture of Bergamo, Italy. Schoenberg learned about the ‘rustic’ lifestyle from the poetry book Pierrot lunaire: rondels bergamasques [Petey Moonstruck: Bergamasque Round-Poems] by Belgian author Albert Giraud, while Debussy read the poem “Clair de lune” by French poet Paul Verlaine.

However, the simplest yet most effective motif for the moon appears in Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# minor by Ludwig van Beethoven, also known as Mondscheinsonate [Moonlight Sonata], although it was not called by that name until after Beethoven’s death. The piece is easily recognized by the motif in Movement I, triplets of G-C-E played repeatedly over a slowly moving bass line. The piece is not without a taste of historical scandal. Beethoven (age 30) dedicated it to his student and crush, Countess Julie “Giulietta” Guicciardi (age 15–16). According to Beethoven biographer Alexander Wheelock Thayer, his “relationship to the Countess was exaggerated”, although Beethoven himself allegedly described her as the “dear fascinating girl who loves me and whom I love”. At any rate, the music lessons seemed to have stopped not long after the dedication.

A man wearing all white, holding a flower, and standing in front of the moon

When borrowing the motif of Moonlight Sonata, I used a trio of flutes instead of a piano. I had used a solo flute to represent the sun, Arien, during “Sméagol Is Turned Out”. Using the same instrument made the themes for the two celestial bodies sound cohesive.

Instrumental

The instrumental begins in C# minor in 4/4 time at 120 BPM. The first melody, “Interrogating Gollum”, blends a trio of contrabassoons representing Gandalf with the “Stoor Claves”, bass drum, and a trio of treble viols representing Sméagol/Gollum. The staccato eighth note rhythm in the contrabassoons mirrors the sixteenth notes supporting Gandalf’s verse during “The Want Song” in Episode 1. The chord progression is somewhat lengthy but logical: C#m/G# to A/C to A to D#° to D#°/A to F#/C# to F#/A to G#m/B to C#m to C#/G#. For those familiar with figured bass notation, the progression becomes clearer: i64 – VI6 – VI – ii°→ii°64 – iv64→iv6 – v6 – i→i64. This pattern of chords is common in western classical music and is an example of smooth voice leading, which makes the piece feel stable and grounded.

A little guy in ripped up black clothing crouches in a narrow stream near the mouth of a cave.

The twelve-measure chord progression was so satisfying to me that I used it constantly throughout this section. It repeats verbatim in measure 13, repeats with the contrabassoons raised an octave in measure 25, repeats with the treble viols raised an octave in measure 37, and repeats in measure 49 with the crescendo of the bass drum and claves, along with a delayed introduction of the harp in measure 50. The harp once again represents Frodo and plays eighth note arpeggios in the same chord sequence as the contrabassoons.

A little guy wearing ripped up black clothes crouches atop a stone. A larger wizard dressed in grey and wearing a blue hat holds a pipe in his left hand and a wand lit with flames under the little guy's nose with his right hand.

This repeat, which is the fifth iteration of the “Interrogating Gollum” melody, is interrupted in measure 56 by the “Sméagol/Gollum Theme” in the marimba and accompanying chords in the treble viols. In measure 59, the “Tilion Theme” arrives in the flutes for six measures before fading out with the “Sméagol/Gollum Theme” at the end of measure 64. The sixth and final iteration of the “Interrogating Gollum” theme returns at a louder volume, especially in the percussion, to reference the incessant “Drums of Doom”. The melody plays all the way through with a tag that repeats the last four measures. An extra “crash” in the final measure, as all instruments play an accented chord or strike, ends the piece dramatically. While not the most technically complex instrumental in the episode, the driving eighth note rhythm keeps the tension high as Gandalf gets information out of Sméagol.

Watch the music video here: