In Memoriam Tolkien

Click on the flowers to hear the first movement, "Goldberry's Meadowdance," in RealAudio format

The original version of In Memoriam Tolkien was written in 1977 in commemoration of the passing of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. That version, scored for a very small ensemble including three flutes, melodica, harp and three solo strings, was played only once, at the annual OCTOCON science fiction convention as part of a program honoring the late author. The ensemble was made up of Sonoma State University music students and conducted by Carol Caywood. In 1979 "Voyage to Valimar," the final movement of In Memoriam Tolkien, was performed by the Santa Rosa Jr. Symphony under the direction of Eugene Shepherd, at a concert featuring works by local area composers. For that performance a special orchestration was provided to meet the requirements of the Jr. Symphony. The current orchestration, for winds, harp, percussion and strings, was completed in December 2000. The three movements are completed by an (optional) fourth movement for a capella choir, titled "Namarie" to a poem from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Permission to perform and publish the lyrics has been granted by the Tolkien estate.

The first movement, "Goldberry's Meadowdance," is based on a melody written in 1973 as part of an exercise created for a group of students (the opening harp melody). The music is a evocation of Tolkien's character Goldberry, who dances in the meadows of Middle-Earth and calls to her jolly (but mysterious) companion Tom Bombadil. Toward the end of the movement there is a duet intended to be sung by soprano and baritone singers, but the computer-generated demo substitutes "Ahs." The attentive listener may be able to imagine the proper expressions, such as Goldberry calling for "Tom, Tom Bombadillo" and Tom's cheery "Hey come merry dol, ring-a-dong dillo!"

The second movement, "The Passing of the Master," is in the manner of a lament and funeral dirge at the opening, developing into a paean of triumph as it is realized that the heroic spirit epitomized in Tolkien's works is immortal through the minds and hearts of those who read, and thereby reincarnate, that spirit at every reading of the Master's stories which express everlasting human values. In the final movement, "Voyage to Valimar," this promise of immortality is fulfilled as those whose time on Middle-Earth is over take ship to the Blessed Lands of Valimar beyond the Western Sea which are illuminated by the light, silver and gold, of the two trees Telperion and Laurelin. This movement begins with a depiction of the swaying wavelike rhythm of the ship's journey, then after a period of more agitated but determined movement the ship passes through a calm and a mist out of which the towers and light of Valimar finally appear.

From a harmonic point of view this work is not set in any particular key, but moves freely between modes, regularly using chords of fourths and fifths. However overall the composition emphasizes the major mode, particularly at moments when light bursts forth in the form of C major chords. Only in the second movement does a minor mode predominate, but even there the denouement turns to the major mode and a triumphant ending.