lord of the rings symphony @ royal albert hall
For somebody who has been classically trained in music, it is shameful that I have never attended a proper symphony before. Until now.The Lord of the Rings Symphony was last night at the Royal Albert Hall. Although I left my flat an hour in advance to get to a venue that was a mere four tube stops away, my train got stuck in the underground for 15 minutes. Half an hour before the concert was due to begin, I was sitting in a train with hundreds of harried-looking passengers nervously cracking their knuckles.
I also did a slight miscalculation of distance whilst planning. What I had reckoned to be a 10-minute walk from the station turned out to be a 20-minute run. The security guard at the Hall said, 'Honey, you'd better run for your seat, otherwise you're not going to be let in.' Although I figured a few eyelash bats could have done the trick, I scurried off quickly, making it to my seat with exactly a minute and 37 seconds to spare.
The run was worthwhile, to say the very least, and not just for the cardiovascular system either. It was utterly amazing. I was 15 feet away from Howard Shore to the left, fifth row from the stage, in front of the string and horn section. There were over 200 musicians, a female and male choir, and a young boys' choir (of which the soloist, a boy no older than eight or nine, was spectacular).
Of course I expected it to be grand. But not quite like this. I had listened to the soundtrack so many times, thinking of the music as a whole. Seeing it live makes you realise that it really is a sum of hundreds of parts, individual voices, singular instruments. The sheer magnitude of realising this is spectacular. From the first chord that sounded, chills were travelling down my spine. I was sat there drinking in every face, every instrument, every motion that Howard Shore made. The voices in the choirs were so ethereal that you had to remind yourself that there were people behind those voices. It was otherworldly; surreal.
The performance was in six movements with all key pieces being played, some in a medley. Highlights included The Prophecy, The Bridge of Khazad-Dum, The Riders of Rohan, The Steward of Gondor, and The Grey Havens - to name a few. There were moments when the full power of all 200 musicians would be unleashed, and it was unlike anything I've experienced before. I lack adjectives to describe the effect it had on me, and superlatives don't seem to be enough. It was so moving, breathtaking, powerful - that the audience was open-mouthed throughout. By the end of Into the West, I was in tears. I wasn't the only one. When Howard Shore came onstage for the fourth time to a standing ovation, I'm quite sure I saw a little tear glistening in his eye as well.
L'Esthete @ 20:16
