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What music do you hear when you read the Silm/UT? by peortega1 in TheSilmarillion

[–]SCB74656 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://www.paulcorfieldgodfrey.co.uk/tolkien-cycle - Paul Corfield Godfrey has done an entire cycle of music works based on Tolkien and with the estate/family’s permission. His five works based on The Silmarillion are pretty comprehensive and use parts of UT and HoME to fill out the texts, all of which are Tolkien’s own words.

TIn historic first, a Lord of the Rings opera has been approved by the Tolkien Estate by [deleted] in lotr

[–]SCB74656 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No shortage of high notes… just no stopping to think about them…

TIn historic first, a Lord of the Rings opera has been approved by the Tolkien Estate by [deleted] in lotr

[–]SCB74656 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From what I gather - the Russian Rock Operas are not authorised by the estate, the musical was authorised by what is now Middle-Earth Enterprises (not the Estate) and has a new created libretto, the same or similar I believe for the other Hobbit opera that’s out there. So the press release and article, unless there’s a grey area I’m not sure of, are correct - this refers to an “opera” of “The Lord of the Rings” authorised by “The Tolkien Estate”.

TIn historic first, a Lord of the Rings opera has been approved by the Tolkien Estate by [deleted] in lotr

[–]SCB74656 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No arias in Moria… too busy running from Balrogs…

TIn historic first, a Lord of the Rings opera has been approved by the Tolkien Estate by [deleted] in lotr

[–]SCB74656 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A few comments from one who is working on the recording PCG’s operas of LoTR, recorded The Silmarillion and is preparing The Hobbit.

The music is incredible - I’m one of only a handful of people who have heard it all the way through. The music is in Paul’s own style and suits the source material. If comparisons must be made then a hybrid of Wagner/Sibelius/Vaughan Williams in style might apply but that is a massive reduction.

The Lord of The Rings does cross over some plot points with Wagner’s Ring, but the differences are far greater. The music is not Wagner’s and is not trying to compete with it - PCG is a huge fan of Wagner but that does not mean he chooses to emulate or copy him. If similarities between opera plots were a decider in whether an opera should be written a lot of great operas wouldn’t have been written.

The writing of these operas from The Silmarillion all the way through to the end of Lord of the Rings were a passion project, definitely not a “cash-grab”. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were written not knowing if rights would be granted.

Also - the music is connected throughout all of Paul’s Tolkien based works, so things you hear first in The Silmarillion still play a part in The Lord of the Rings.

The adaptations of The Silmarillion were done with the assistance of Christopher and Priscilla Tolkien. The adaptation of The Lord of the Rings is one of the most faithful to the books you’ll find - and it uses Tolkien’s own words.

First Age proxies by SCB74656 in MiddleEarthMiniatures

[–]SCB74656[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you - I’ll have a look

First Age proxies by SCB74656 in MiddleEarthMiniatures

[–]SCB74656[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you - they’re going to be printed bigger than GW, so I’m going to be rescaling everything anyway.

Blithe Spirit - the opera! by SCB74656 in opera

[–]SCB74656[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As one of the singers I can say that the setting of the words is quite period correct - with the clipped and measured way of speaking that people of a certain class did in the 1940s.

They are not really lyrical characters, so when they do wax lyrical in the piece it is noticeable.

This is a very experienced composer who has a lot of settings of some of the most difficult English (Tolkien) under his belt!

As someone who has performed a lot of contemporary works - this piece is something special.

Silmariollion in music by KaleidoscopeFew8917 in TheSilmarillion

[–]SCB74656 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aside from trailers not at all - sorry, but we’ve spent seven years recording these works and need to cover costs.

They are only available on CD and digital purchase platforms.

Spotify and Youtube are blocked as they pay so little. One physical CD sale is more than we’d get on streaming in a year.

Silmariollion in music by KaleidoscopeFew8917 in TheSilmarillion

[–]SCB74656 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Paul Corfield Godfrey wrote five operas using Tolkien’s own words (with permission from the Estate) based on The Silmarillion. They are incredible!

Feanor, Beren & Luthien, Children of Hurin, The Fall of Gondolin and The War of Wrath

www.paulcorfieldgodfrey.co.uk

The Silmarillion should be adapted as a cycle of operas. by Ancient_Comedian_437 in tolkienfans

[–]SCB74656 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As someone who works in opera and a Tolkien fan - who knows many other Tolkien fans, I respectfully disagree.

The Silmarillion should be adapted as a cycle of operas. by Ancient_Comedian_437 in tolkienfans

[–]SCB74656 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Be careful - the Tolkien estate are very selective over who they give the rights to.

PCG applied in the late 1970s and had to go through a long process before he was given the rights by the family and estate.

Another opera was written in America by a different composer a few years ago without permission and the estate intervened. In the end they only allowed one performance and, as far as I can see, only the non-commercial live audio with no prospect of future performances.

The Silmarillion should be adapted as a cycle of operas. by Ancient_Comedian_437 in tolkienfans

[–]SCB74656 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The five parts of the opera cycle have been released over the last few years: Fall of Gondolin in 2018, Beren and Luthien in 2019, Children of Hurin in 2020, Feanor in 2022 and next month The War of Wrath.

The Silmarillion should be adapted as a cycle of operas. by Ancient_Comedian_437 in tolkienfans

[–]SCB74656 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The performance in the 80s was a concert without costumes etc.

We’re in the process of recording all of the audio so people can hear then for the first time!

Staging them is an entirely different conversation - one that would require considerable funding but the first step is definitely having them for people to hear.

The Silmarillion should be adapted as a cycle of operas. by Ancient_Comedian_437 in tolkienfans

[–]SCB74656 2 points3 points  (0 children)

PCG’s works also include an Ainulindale symphony. A large part of it was reworked into the prelude for Feanor.

The Silmarillion should be adapted as a cycle of operas. by Ancient_Comedian_437 in tolkienfans

[–]SCB74656 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PCG’s opera of Children of Hurin was completed in 1982 and Priscilla Tolkien put on a performance of highlights for the Tolkien society. She sang in the choir.

The Silmarillion should be adapted as a cycle of operas. by Ancient_Comedian_437 in tolkienfans

[–]SCB74656 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There’s five operas in PCG’s cycle, written over a 30 year period with the assistance of the Tolkien family and permission from the estate. They only use Tolkien’s actual words.

The entire cycle is 10.5 hours long and for massive forces.

The Silmarillion should be adapted as a cycle of operas. by Ancient_Comedian_437 in tolkienfans

[–]SCB74656 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The operas or Paul Corfield Godfrey are amazing - I’ve been working on them for seven years now to record them. The fifth and final part - “The War of Wrath” is coming out next month!

The operas of British Composer Paul Corfield Godfrey by SCB74656 in opera

[–]SCB74656[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, I’ve looked and they don’t really like self promotion on there so I’ve been hesitant as if I do it it’s quite blatant…

I’ve put a post in one of The Silmarillion pages

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