Excitement!

Greetings to all.

I've been mulling over what to write for this post. Alas, I have nothing much to share. I had hoped to share a few thoughts on concepts in Tolkien applicable to our current events, but that will have to wait.

The short film I'm scoring (Lego Silmarillion) is coming along nicely. I'm really looking forward to the final result later this year. I'm going to be able to have some live players involved in the final recording. (Ok it's me playing cello and horn but that counts!) You can see some behind the scenes footage by clicking here and you can see me talking about the scoring process for the film below.

I should be able to produce another video soon, and hopefully some new clips of the string and piano piece I've been working on for The House of Hurin.

Peace,
Aaron

Sneak Peak

Today's been a little bit of a downer for me as I've been fighting allergies/cold all day. However I have managed to get a little sneak peak into my composing the score of "Unnumbered Tears". This one's rather heartbreaking. In the aforementioned Unnumbered Tears, the vast majority of the High Elves fight against the forces of Morgoth. As such, the High King of the Noldor, Fingon is present and commanding a substantial force of Elves and Men.

The battle begins somewhat well for the Noldor (which I will illustrate in the score) but the battle eventually goes ill. Fingon ends up separated from his brother Turgon, and in single combat with a Balrog. Fingon fights valiantly, however eventually he gets killed and trod into the mire by the Balrogs and their maces. It's a bad day for the Elves, but Turgon manages to escape.

The excerpt picks up right as Fingon is being killed. The musical story is told as though Turgon was able to catch a glimpse of his brother's last stand. That's what makes the most sense to me. Here's the piece: The Fall of Fingon.

Best of wishes,
Aaron

Small steps

Today's been a day of little steps - the kind by which we travel far.

I started out by practicing my horn. That went well enough. But then I started working a recent idea. It's looking to be a dead ringer for "The House of Hurin." I started working on a largo last week while helping someone learning guitar. Amazing what messing about with a couple chords can do for you. I was hoping to having a sketch up on soundcloud but I was also working on a short film that should coming out later this month (it's a Western). I'll have a link ready here when it's out.

Going back to The House of Hurin, it's going to be a string quartet accompanied by piano and solo clarinet. The music itself will cover the parts of The Silmarillion after Hurin is captured by Morgoth in the Unnumbered Tears. So I'm looking forward to finishing this one this year. Hoping to have a mockup done by next post.

Best wishes.