Howard Shore’s “The Lord of the Rings” Orchestrations, Ranked

The music of “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy is nothing short of monumental.

Those tracks weren’t written just for the movies—they have their roots in the books. It took J. R. R. Tolkien roughly seventeen years to write, Peter Jackson about six years to direct, and Howard Shore around four years to compose.

Most of the music didn’t even make it to the movies. Not even the Director’s Cut editions! But “The Complete Recordings” albums have almost all of it. Listen to those and you’ll agree that they’re among the most intricate film scores in history.

I have a passion for The Lord of the Rings, especially the books. As a listener, I treat Shore’s scores as a musical bible. Naturally, I’ve also listened to every orchestration of the soundtracks that I could find.

I’ve listed the best of them for you here! The rankings are based on sound quality, arragements, and talent. They don’t have anything to do with copying the originals. In better words, I’m mostly looking for creativity while still being true to the narrative.

Let’s get to it!

5. The Lord of the Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra, Chorus, and Soloists (Arranged by Howard Shore, Performed by Various Orchestras, 2003)

This performance doesn’t have a cover, so I’ve cropped out part of the documentary’s.

I’m kicking things off with an orchestration by Howard Shore himself! (Yes, I love the man.)

It’s not surprising if you’ve never heard of this one. That may have two reasons. First, Howard Shore only conducted the symphony’s premiere in New Zealand, which I haven’t heard.

Second, this record isn’t available online as a coherent album or video. I’ve put it on the list based on bits and pieces featured in Creating the Lord of the Rings Symphony, a one-hour 2004 documentary that came on a DVD.

I’m assuming that the concert itself, titled “The Lord of the Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra, Chorus, and Soloists” featured a complete selection of tracks. I can also say with some certainty that several orchestras performed it around the world in 2003 and 2004.

Now for the performance! I think it’s safe to say that dear Shore has done everything before everyone else. For the rest of this article, you’re going to read all about different arrangements, creative uses of instruments, going out of the established rhythm, etc. If it’s a good alteration, Shore seems to have done it himself in this symphony!

Again, this is all based on bits and pieces. Let’s move on to albums that are more readily available, starting with a hidden gem from Poland.

4. Der Herr Der Ringe in Concert (The Warsaw Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Marzenda Diakun, 2010)

“Über 200 Mitwirkende” translates to “Over 200 Contributors”

This is the only album I’ve heard from The Warsaw Symphony Orchestra, which is a shame because I’m enamored with the arrangements, the clean sounds, and the dedication put into it.

The Warsaw Symphony Orchestra has performed the album under the baton of different conductors, according to search results. The album cover says the conductor here is Marzenda Diakun.

Let’s take a closer look at the album!

A Complete Selection

Here’s the track list to amaze you:

The Prophecy
The Black Rider
At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
The Council of Elrond
A Knife in the Dark
Lothlorien
Many Meetings
The Riders of Rohan
Helm’s Deep
May It Be
The Taming of Smeagol
The Uruk-Hai
The White Tree
The Bridge of Khazad Dum
The White Rider
Evenstar
Forth Eorlingas
Isengard Unleashed
A Storm Is Coming
Minas Tirith
Ash and Smoke
Concerning Hobbits
Twilight and Shadow
The Ride of the Rohirrim
Into the West
The Black Gate Opens
The End of All Things [Includes “The Eagles”]

It runs for 93 minutes and is very complete. It’s actually the second most complete album on this list.

“Der Herr Der Ringe in Concert” hasn’t moved tracks around except for “Into the West” and “Concerning Hobbits”. I personally would’ve liked “Into the West” at the very end, where you typically find it.

But here’s the interesting bit: “Concerning Hobbits” is one of the first pieces of the original albums. But it’s placed right before “Twilight and Shadow” in this album, far into the narrative. That’s a strategic choice!

Remember that at this point of the story, Frodo and Sam are almost destitute with the ring weighing more and more on both. This piece here is a reminiscence of The Shire: a faint memory, a flash of nostalgia, desperately started and swiftly gone.

And the Polish creativity doesn’t end there!

Smart Arrangements

I’m not sure if it’s just pure ingenuity or a solution to a possible lack of numbers, but these people have modified the tempos of many tracks in this album. For example, instead of hearing 50 violins playing at top speed, you have 30 at a lower speed. Or alternatively, one drum plays over-tempo instead of three drums on-tempo together.

And, as you’ve already guessed, it just works! The violinists are given a lot of the spotlight, you don’t hear anything missing, and this performance possibly gets to be the most creative on the list.

Don’t skip it lightly! You can listen to it on Deezer, Spotify, and probably other streaming platforms.

Now, let’s go to a personal favorite of mine!

3. Music from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra & Crouch End Festival Chorus Conducted by Nic Raine, 2004)

Lovely artwork, too!

I absolutely love The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. I love them from their rearrangements of Stage & Screen hits to their reiterations of all-time classical music.

As a result, I may be biased in putting it higher than the previous album. It doesn’t hurt that The City of Prague Philharmonic is more consistently active than The Warsaw Symphony Orchestra.

Anyways, on to the music!

Quality Over Quantity

To my dismay, this album is not comprehensive. That’s probably the first criticism it gets from hardcore fans.

I still think the picks go well together and are true to the overall narrative. Here’s the track list:

The Fellowship
The Prophecy
Concerning Hobbits
The Shadow of the Past / A Knife in the Dark
The Bridge of Khazad Dum
May It Be
The Riders of Rohan
Evenstar
Forth Eorlingas / Isengard Unleashed
Gollum’s Song
Hope And Memory / Minas Tirith
The White Tree
Twilight and Shadow
The Fields of Pelennor
The Return of the King / Finale
Into the West
Gollum’s Song (Vocal Version)
May It Be (Vocal Version)
Into the West (Vocal Version)

Yes, it does jump over some parts of the story. That’s why I didn’t put it higher! Other than this, the orchestra is complete, the sounds are absolutely flawless, the arrangements are true-blue, and the recording is more than professional.

Great Voice Choice

The City of Prague Philharmonic doesn’t come with their own chorus, so let’s also take a moment to appreciate Crouch End Festival Chorus, Tara Scammel, and Helen Hobson as attachés in this album.

I didn’t know the chorus from before, but they’ve done a fantastic job here. It’s not easy keeping up with the jaggedness of pieces like “The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm” and the level of the orchestra.

There are also two singers that aren’t part of the orchestra: Helen Hobson (performing “Gollum’s Song” and “Into the West”) and Tara Scammel (performing “May It Be”). Again, both are great choices.

“Gollum’s Song” is hard to do for obvious reasons. Emilíana Torrini is the original artist here, closely imitating Gollum’s voice to create a hauntingly beautiful piece. The album here has elected to sidestep Gollum’s voice altogether and opt for operatic malice instead. Helen Hobson doesn’t fail to impress!

Now, let’s take the same Helen Hobson from the dregs of “Gollum’s Song” to the waves of “Into the West”. She still does a wonderful job! This one is quite the feat, since the song was originally sung by Annie Lennox and won an Oscar.

On the other hand, “May It Be” has somewhat of a different atmosphere. It has a lost but grounded feel to it, if you will. It remains popular to this day because of Enya and The Lord of the Rings, but I believe few have been able to pull it off. (Not even Lisa Kelly with her powerful voice and long history in Celtic singing.) However, Tara Scammel sings it beautifully in this album!

And speaking of Celtic music, the most creative track here may also be the instrumental “May It Be”, performed in Celtic tradition where a flute replaces the human voice. You may think it’s not in line with the gravity of the story, and you may be right. I still think it emphasizes hope and promise over dread and loneliness, and that alone deserves praise.

This album is a must-listen! Find it on Deezer, Spotify, or other streaming platforms.

Let’s move on to the most recent album that was worth the wait.

2. Howard Shore: Anthology – The Paris Concerts (La Maîtrise, le Chœur et l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Conducted by Ludwig Vicki, 2025)

Even the album cover screams “classical and worth listening to”!

I think I waited four months for this one! I hadn’t heard a worhty orchestration of The Lord of the Rings in years, and I knew the French wouldn’t disappoint. They didn’t!

Note that this album is divided into two parts. The second part features Shore’s other notable works, like the soundtracks from David Cronenberg movies “The Fly” or “Crash”. We’re not evaluating those in this article.

The first part is a selection from The Fellowship of the Ring performed by Orchestre Philharmonic de Radio France, Chœur de Radio France, and Maîtrise de Radio France. Those are Radio France’s philharmonic orchestra, children’s choir, and choir ensemble. Even the children do a wonderful job!

Properly Honoring the Music

See how different the track list is from the other albums:

Shore: The Noble Wood (I Roderyn)
Shore: Where the Shadows Lie
Shore: The History of the Ring
Shore: A Long-Expected Party
Shore: The Seduction of the Ring
Shore: A Black Shadow
Shore: Last Homely House
Shore: Turning Southwards
Shore: The Road Under the Mountain
Shore: The Halls of Durin
Shore: Durin’s Bane
Shore: The Golden Wood
Shore: Gandalf’s Lament
Shore: Beyond Lothlórien
Shore: The Anduin
Shore: The White Hand
Shore: The Passing of Boromir
Shore: The Fate of the Bearer
In Dreams

First, you’ll notice that almost every title is rewritten. (More on this in the next section!)

Second, all titles explicitly attribute the tracks to “Shore”, which is the norm when a professional orchestra performs a classical piece. Your platform of choice may have eliminated this, but it’s important!

The music of The Lord of the Rings has always been put in the Stage & Screen genre beside those from movies, series, and video games. Still, let’s understand that the original music is a prodigious 11-hour production that was meticulously based on Tolkien’s masterpiece and composed for an orchestra in almost four years.

And for this album, it has taken a full orchestra and two choirs to accomplish live. To me, that qualifies as a modern classical. So, this and the next album are as close as The Lord of the Rings soundtracks get to classical music. Not a fan? That’s okay. Here’s an article on how to start listening to classical music!

The Original Tears & Goosebumps

I’ve written more in praise of the album from The City of Prague Philharmonic. I also think the slow arrangements of The Warsaw Symphony Orchestra are unmatched.

Still, this album takes second place simply because it takes me back to the first time I heard every piece. Like The Complete Recordings, it’s magical beyond words. The magic here is achieved through a mix of placements, arrangements, and performance.

Let’s start with the fact that pieces aren’t contained to their titles. For example, “Last Homely House” doesn’t solely include music from Imladris. It starts with “Rivendell”, goes on to “The Road Goes Ever On, Pt. 1”, then on to “Farewell Dear Bilbo”, and finishes with the epic end of “The Council of Elrond Assembles”.

Sounds bizarre on paper, doesn’t it? Skipping “Aníron” doesn’t seem like a good idea at all! But it follows Frodo. It takes you to see it from his eyes. All of a sudden, you’re just a small hobbit in the presence of all these important, big people debating things you have just heard of. One minute, all you want to do is go back to the Shire. The next, you volunteer for a journey no-one even expected you to undertake.

I’ll try not to make this section too long. While not every piece in the album features several original songs, the effect will be fresh until the very last second. You’ll be on the edge of your seat with “A Black Shadow”. You’ll be in shock for “Durin’s Bane”. You’ll be on the verge of tears all through “The Golden Wood” and “Gandalf’s Lament” with violins and the choir taking center stage. And the road goes ever on.

I do so hope they would also perform pieces from the other two movies. Find the album on Deezer, Spotify, and other streaming platforms.

Onward to no. 1 on the list, then!

1. The Lord of the Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra & Chorus (21^st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Conducted by Ludwig Vicki, 2011)

Old but gold!

And the first place goes to the longest album here, conducted by the same Ludwig Vicki of the previous production.

Let’s waste no time getting into it!

As Complete as Could Be

This album features six movements, two for each movie, and runs for about 115 minutes. Here are the original tracks under each movement as listed in the physical booklet:

MOVEMENT ONE
1. The Prophecy
2. Concerning Hobbits
3. The Shadow of the Past
4. A Short Cut to Mushrooms
5. The Old Forest
6. A Knife in the Dark
MOVEMENT TWO
1. Many Meetings
2. The Ring Goes South
3. A Journey in the Dark
4. The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
5. Lothlórien
6. Gandalf‘s Lament
7. Farewell to Lórien
8. The Great River
9. The Breaking of the Fellowship
MOVEMENT THREE
1. Foundations of Stone
2. The Taming of Sméagol
3. The Riders of Rohan
4. The Black Gate is Closed
5. Evenstar
6. The White Rider
7. Treebeard
8. The Forbidden Pool
MOVEMENT FOUR
1. The Hornburg
2. Forth Eorlingas
3. Isengard Unleashed
4. Gollum’s Song
MOVEMENT FIVE
1. Hope and Memory
2. The White Tree
3. The Steward of Gondor
4. Cirith Ungol
5. Andúril
MOVEMENT SIX
1. The End of All Things
2. The Return of the King
3. The Grey Havens
4. Into the West

Not that these titles don’t fully correlate with “The Complete Recordings”. For example, “The End of All Things” here also features “The Eagles.”

But as I mentioned before, this symphony features more songs than any other album on this list. I certainly miss some pieces like “Aníron” and “Twilight and Shadow”, but the whole performance is very together and flows remarkably well. You’d only notice the absences if you’re actively listening for them.

The Originals, Heightened

One of the pros I mentioned for the previous, newly released album is that it brings out the same set of emotions as the originals. That’s also the case with this album, with the difference that this one seems to take a new level in some aspects.

The executive producer for this symphony is Howard Shore himself. He composed and conducted the originals, he created the first symphony with many creative variations, and it’s likely that he (and presumably Ludwig Vicki) sat down for this one to actively elevate the music to new highs.

And they did a perfect job! The arrangements have a classical gravitas necessary for an album bearing the name of a symphony. I wouldn’t say they’re “better” than the originals, but different in a majestic way.

Let’s also remember that the people who brought this performance to life couldn’t be more wonderful. The album’s original booklet features the names of everyone involved in the 21^st Century Orchestra and Choir for the production.

If you haven’t listened to it already, please do on Spotify! The digital album is also available for purchase on Apple Music.

Wrap-Up

That turned out to be a long one!

Here’s a little wrap-up table, along with One Track to Rule Them All from each album:

Rank	Title	Year	Performed by	Main Characteristics	One Track to Rule Them All
5	The Lord of the Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra, Chorus, and Soloists	2003	Various orchestras, conducted by Howard Shore and others	Many new deviations, and having tried these deviations before everyone else!	Prologue [if you can get your hands on it!]
4	Der Herr Der Ringe in Concert	2010	The Warsaw Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marzenda Diakun	Complete selection, and smart arrangements that work	Isengard Unleashed
3	Music from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy	2004	The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nic Raine	Worthy of The City of Prague Philharmonic, with excellent voices	Twilight and Shadow
2	Howard Shore: Anthology – The Paris Concerts	2025	La Maîtrise, le Chœur et l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Conducted by Ludwig Vicki	Newer arrangements, bearing the original feelings with a classical treatment	Shore: Gandalf’s Lament
1	The Lord of the Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra & Chorus	2011	21^st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Conducted by Ludwig Vicki	Complete narrative, and bearing the original feelings with different arrangements	Movement Six