I don’t think there is or ever will be a better epic trilogy than Peter Jackson’s film Lord of the Rings (LOTR) based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel of the same name. The music of the series alone will sweep you off your feet with its wistful grandeur. Composed by Canadian musician Howard Shore, LOTR eventually elevated him to the status of other celebrated film composers such as John Williams, Ennio Morricone and Hans Zimmer. The LOTR themes became the most successful of Shore’s career, earning three Oscars, two Golden Globes, and three Grammys, among other nominations. Some of his themes, like The Shire theme from the Fellowship of the Rings, became instant classics, transporting listeners to a world of mystery and wonder. It and other scores in the series has attracted the interest of musicologists and Tolkien scholars and are performed by choirs and orchestras around the world as symphonic pieces, concert suites and live to-projection concerts. And to cap it all, Shores’s music for the film was voted the best soundtrack of all time by a Classic FM listener poll for six years in a roll.

Here is a segment of Howard Shore’s theme for the Fellowship of the Rings, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra uploaded from Classic FM’s TikTok channel. Tune on speaker, close your eyes and let the music take you to the ends of Middle Earth!