Poems and Songs of Middle Earth
Poems and Songs of Middle Earth | |
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Studio album by | |
Released | 1967 |
Recorded | 1967 |
Genre | Spoken word, classical |
Label | Caedmon Records |
Producer | Howard Sackler (spoken word tracks); Donald Swann (musical tracks) |
Poems and Songs of Middle Earth is an album of songs and spoken-word poetry by J. R. R. Tolkien and Donald Swann with vocals by William Elvin.[1][2][3] The songs and poems are taken from Tolkien's collection The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-55). Tolkien recorded his parts on 15 June 1967[4] The album was released as a vinyl LP in 1967.[1][2][5]
The illustration which appears on the sleeve's obverse was designed by Pauline Baynes.[2][5] Poet W. H. Auden contributed an introduction which was printed on the sleeve's reverse.[2]
As of 2019[update] the album is yet to be released on any other format.
Track listing
Side A and the first track of Side B are made up of poetry recited by Tolkien,[2] while the remainder of Side B is a song-cycle sung by William Elvin;[2] the songs are poems by Tolkien set to piano by Donald Swann.[1]
All lyrics are written by J. R. R. Tolkien; all music is composed by Donald Swann, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" (poem read by J. R. R. Tolkien) | 4:00 |
2. | "The Mewlips" (poem read by J. R. R. Tolkien) | 1:21 |
3. | "The Hoard" (poem read by J. R. R. Tolkien) | 3:25 |
4. | "Perry-the-Winkle" (poem read by J. R. R. Tolkien) | 4:26 |
5. | "The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon" (poem read by J. R. R. Tolkien) | 5:16 |
6. | "The Sea-Bell" (poem read by J. R. R. Tolkien) | 5:25 |
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "A Elbereth Gilthoniel" (poem read by J. R. R. Tolkien in the Sindarin language) | 0:14 | |
2. | "The Road Goes Ever On" (piano – Donald Swann; vocals – William Elvin) | 1:00 | |
3. | "Upon the Hearth the Fire Is Red" (piano – Donald Swann; vocals – William Elvin) | 1:35 | |
4. | "In the Willow-Meads of Tasarinan" (piano – Donald Swann; vocals – William Elvin) | 2:35 | |
5. | "In Western Lands" (piano – Donald Swann; vocals – William Elvin) | 2:15 | |
6. | "Namárië" (piano – Donald Swann; vocals – William Elvin in the Quenya language) | Swann, Tolkien | 1:25 |
7. | "I Sit Beside the Fire" (piano – Donald Swann; vocals – William Elvin) | 3:38 | |
8. | "Errantry" (piano – Donald Swann; vocals – William Elvin) | 3:43 |
Personnel
The poems and songs
The poems and songs featured in The Lord of the Rings as follows:[6]
- "A Elbereth Gilthoniel" – The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter "Many Meetings".
- "The Road Goes Ever On" – The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter "A Long-expected Party"
- "Upon the Hearth the Fire Is Red" – The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter "Three Is Company"
- "The Willow-Meads of Tasarinan" – The Two Towers, chapter "Treebeard"
- "In Western Lands" – The Return of the King, chapter "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"
- "Namárië" – The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter "Farewell to Lórien"
- "I Sit Beside the Fire" – The Fellowship of the Ring, chapters "The Ring Goes South" and "Many Meetings"
References
- ^ a b c Jones, Josh (10 September 2012). "Listen to J.R.R. Tolkien Read Poems from The Fellowship of the Ring, in Elvish and English (1952)". Open Culture. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "J.R.R. Tolkien – Poems And Songs Of Middle Earth". Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ S., J. R. (1968). "Recordings from Caedmon. The Comedy of Errors. King Richard III. Idylls of the King. Poems and Songs of Middle Earth. The Last of the Mohicans". The English Journal. 57 (3): 437–439. doi:10.2307/812256. JSTOR 812256.
- ^ Hammond, Wayne. G; Scull, Christina (6 October 2006). The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide. Vol. II: Reader's Guide. HarperCollins. p. 823.
- ^ a b "Artwork for J. R. R. Tolkien". Retrieved 7 August 2019.
The cover and a close up of Pauline's art for the album Poems and Songs of Middle Earth, released by Caedmon in 1967.
- ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (20 October 1955). The Lord of the Rings. HarperCollins. pp. 27–1198. ISBN 978-0-261-10238-5.