Undoubtedly, there are many ways in which sound and music play a decisive role in shaping and/or reflecting identity on the silver screen. This essay compares and contrasts two films from the mainstream cinema narrative - namely Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune (2021) and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Both of these films, adapted from bestselling fantastical novels, utilise sound and music to shape and reflect the time periods, locations, cultures and communities within their fictional worlds. Throughout this study, I will be referencing scholarly texts and video analyses, as well as giving my own personal opinions on the music and sound of Dune and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Creating the Score
It is important to note first that the scores of these films do not utilise neutral Western European music, otherwise known as classical, romantic or baroque. Dune and The Fellowship of the Ring stray towards non-neutral music, differentiating them from usual musical practices. In relation to his score for Dune, the composer Hans Zimmer stated that he could not understand why many science fiction films used European classical and romantic orchestras for their scores (Vanity Fair, 2022). He views science fiction films as genuine representations of futuristic cultures in different parts of the universe, thus he wanted his score to reflect that (Vanity Fair, 2022). Therefore, Zimmer wanted to invent sounds and instruments that do not exist and recruited the help of composer and instrument sculptor Chas Smith in order to implement this process (Vanity Fair, 2022). He even advised his electric celloist to imitate what a “Tibetan war horn” would sound like, even though there was no such thing as one (Vanity Fair, 2022). This process allowed Zimmer to shape the world of Dune and the cultures within it.
Similarly, in order to create the “element of antiquity”, the composer Howard Shore sought out non-European instruments for The Fellowship of the Ring, such as the hurdy gurdy, the Indian sarangi and the Iranian ney (Long, 2021). The theme for the Elven realm Lothlórien includes non-European musical sounds, which is in sharp contrast to the sounds of low strings, chimes and arpeggiated figures when the Rivendell elves appear (Long, 2021). Shore states in ‘The Music of the Lord of the Rings’, that the “Lothlórien music stretches into sustained, arrhythmic shapes that sound neither dangerous nor comforting, but create a sense of unanswered anticipation” (Long, 2021). The elves of Lothlórien are a powerful race in Middle-Earth, and because of that Shore’s alternate instrumentation successfully signifies their otherworldliness, setting them apart from the mortal characters in the film. Other examples are the use of Maori grunters when the Balrog monster appears, and the Irish bodhrán when Arwen races to save an injured Frodo (Adams, 2011, p. 180 and pp. 160-161;). No doubt, these examples also prove that alternative music is what shapes and reflects the races and world of Middle-Earth.
In the same way that Zimmer wanted to create a genre of music that could only exist in a far-off future on a different planet, Shore achieves a similar deed in his work for The Fellowship of the Ring. In his texts, Jorgenson writes that music has a way of blurring the lines between the past and the present, as it is an “art of time” (2010, p. 45). Shore’s soundtrack assists the audience to “move from one time to another”, thus while viewers are immersed in the film, “the past and imagined future” are brought to life (2010, p. 45). Jorgenson even goes on to state that the use of ‘leitmotifs’ in this soundtrack, which help “to make the ambiguity of the narrative more easily accessible and comprehensible”, imitates the format of ancient tales like Homer’s ‘Iliad’, which was told in “speech-song” format (2010, p. 45).
Role of Female vocalists
One feature that stood out to me the most in my viewing of these two films was the use of female vocals for both of the scores. According to Zimmer, the presence of female vocalists was used to “honor the source material of the novel” (Britt, 2021). Female vocalists are particularly prevalent in the scenes where the Bene Gesserit appear, which serves to underline the absolute control that this sect of women have in the film. Their voices, though unmistakeably female, are quite guttural and dramatic, and sound more like shrieking than conventional singing. It is clear that the female vocals signify the importance that all the supporting female characters have in Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) journey, as well as the fate of the universe in Dune (Villeneuve, 2021).
Generally, female vocalists are used when the characters are in Rivendell and Lothlórien, or when the Elves appear on screen in The Fellowship of the Ring. The dreamy female vocals serve to communicate to the audience that the Elves are beautiful divine creatures, particularly when it comes to the female elf characters. Whereas the female vocalists of Dune sound rough and frightening, the vocalists in this soundtrack are light and angelic. When female elf Arwen (Liv Tyler) first appears on screen, her glowing figure is accompanied by a chorus of heavenly female vocals, thus evoking the image of a pure angel of light. Doug Adams writes that Arwen’s theme “seems to hang in the air” (2011, p. 160). The female choir sings ‘Hymn to Elbereth’ in Sindarin, an Elvish language constructed by Tolkien, when the characters arrive in Rivendell (Adams, 2011, pp. 162-163). The song ‘Aníron’, sung in Sindarin by Enya, is played when Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Arwen are in the gardens of Rivendell. The lyrical language clearly acts as a complement for the romantic love between these two characters.
These songs are just some examples where melodies are sung in one of the languages constructed by Tolkien, which also include Quenya, Khuzdul and Black Speech. These languages are used throughout Shore’s soundtrack and appear as diegetic and non-diegetic (The Soundtrack Show, 2019). The podcast ‘The Soundtrack Show’ notes that while the music itself was created for the film, the lyrics are extracts and adaptations of text originally composed by Tolkien (2019). From my reading of the translation of these songs in Adams’ ‘The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films’ (2011), I discovered just how much meticulous thought and effort had gone into these poems, which I would describe as accurate imitations and reflections of the races, cultures and time period of Tolkien’s world.
In this specific comparison, I found that the female voices in Dune are about the feminine power and prestige of the women in Herbert’s mythology. The femaleness of the score is what makes it unique. Like Shore, Zimmer’s score also uses a language that was created specifically for Dune (Burlingame, 2021; Villeneuve, 2021). However, that feature is drowned out by the sheer power of the female vocals – clearly the dynamics and throaty singing are the real focus. Furthermore, Zimmer himself stated that he didn’t care what the words meant or if they even made sense (Song Exploder, 2021). He simply chose the words that sounded good, as he wanted the listeners to understand that the singer was telling them a story (Song Exploder, 2021). In contrast, the emphasis of the female voices in The Fellowship of the Ring is on the poetic arrangements of Tolkien’s languages. Therefore, in my opinion it is Tolkien’s text that helps to reflect and shape the culture and identity of the Elves.
Reverence
During my analysation of the two films, I found that the scores had a certain reverential quality to them, as if they were made purely to push the audience into almost venerating the worlds and cultures within the films. Howard Shore’s score is a tool that is used to emphasise Tolkien’s mythological work. In relation to this, Jorgensen states in his writing: ‘Music’s role in kindling reverence goes to the heart of what these films share that make them mythic—transcendence, profundity, ambiguity, narrativity, and an aesthetic and didactic character that arouse awe, mystery, and a heightened sense of the human condition’ (2010, p. 45). The dreamy score and strange languages heard in The Fellowship of the Ring allow the audience to be in awe of the world of Middle Earth. For example, Galadriel’s (Cate Blanchett) scenes were shot in 33 frames per second, thus she appears in slow motion with real-time dialogue (INDEPTH Sound Design, 2019). This sound method causes her to radiate a rather dream-like appearance.
In the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, an “ominous drone” is heard right before the song ‘Footsteps of Doom’ is played and Galadriel begins to narrate the prologue (Long, 2021). Long writes in her Polygon article that this sound was created by an ancient instrument known as a monochord, invented around 300 BC, which was used by the philosopher Pythagoras to “explore the relationship between ratios of string length and musical intervals” and went on to develop the “music of the spheres” hypothesis which theorised that “the planets in our solar system all emit their own unique celestial hum based on their orbit” (2021). This fifty-stringed instrument serves as an evocation of “things that were, things that are, and things that have not yet come to pass in the land of Middle-earth” (Long, 2021). This in my opinion, further accentuates my point that Shore’s music is trying to illustrate and reflect the lore of Middle Earth in a way that elicits awe from the audience.
Villeneuve himself stated that he wanted the soundtrack of Dune to be “a spiritual one” (Burlingame, 2021). From my viewing of this film, Zimmer communicates through his music that the Sand Worms are meant to be revered. When Paul first encounters a Sand Worm, the score isn’t communicating darkness or terror like it would in other monster films. The presence of the female voice elicits a mystery and awe surrounding the creature, so although we can clearly see the massive ripples it makes in the sand and how it mercilessly devours one of the spice harvesters, the audience knows through the score that the worm is meant to be esteemed. This assumption is also helped by Dr. Liet Kynes’ (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) deferential prayer as they watched the Sand Worm swallow the harvester.
Sound Design
As well as musical scores, sound design plays an important role in establishing the tone and narrative of these two films. From watching Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune, I was particularly taken with how sound was used. The sound design serves as the language of the film, communicating to the audience that this story is set thousands of years into the future. It helps to build the scale of this futuristic world, as well giving hints at what is about to enfold for all the characters, especially Paul Atreides.
The sound design crew of Dune resorted to rather unusual methods in order to capture the sound they wanted for the film (Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2022). In a behind-the-scenes featurette by Warner Bros. Entertainment, it was revealed that the crew members experimented with sand out in the Death Valley (2022). One method was to plant microphones under the sand dunes, using what is known as the “singing sand dunes” as a basis for the sound of Arrakis (Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2022). They also captured furrowing and thumping sounds made by their fists hitting the sandy ground, which served as the basis for the sound made by the Sand Worm (Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2022). The crew felt it was very important that the Sand Worm was not to be viewed as a monster but as something ethereal (Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2022).
Perhaps the most impressive example of sound in Villeneuve’s Dune is the Sardaukar chant, which appears in the scene where the Sardaukar soldiers are taking part in a religious ceremony prior to their attack on Arrakis. This chant was sung by a male vocalist, and the original language was written by a linguist especially for this film (Vanity Fair, 2022). The sound design crew subsequently used compressors to reduce dynamic range, making the syllables sound frightening and dangerous (Vanity Fair, 2022). In my opinion, this moment in the film truly captures the war-like culture and identity of the Sardaukar army.
Meanwhile, sound design is used to reflect and evoke the mysticism and beauty of Tolkien’s universe in The Fellowship of the Ring. One such example is the character of Galadriel, whose scenes were shot in a way that highlighted her mystical nature. The footage of her was mainly shot in slow motion, and had real time dialogue, which Cate Blanchett had to lip sync, and in ADR, those pictures were increased in speed to accommodate the recorded sound (INDEPTH Sound Design, 2019). In the moment where Galadriel is tempted by the ring and displays her ‘Dark Queen’ persona, the footage was shot at 48 frames per second (INDEPTH Sound Design, 2019). This sound editing resulted in a rather frightening portrayal of Galadriel, with her voice edited to make it sound almost godlike.
Sound also helps to shape and reflect the darkness of Middle Earth, particularly the different races of monsters. In contrast to the Sand Worm in Dune, the monsters in The Fellowship of the Ring are much more frightening, and this tone is underlined by the sound design. INDEPTH Sound Design revealed that the sounds created for the Orcs of Moria were based on human imitations of animals, such as a pig dog, viciously attacking prey, which they subsequently pitched down (2019). The Moria Orcs were meant to elicit a sort of scuttling insect-like vibe for the audience, so to emulate their crab-like movements, the crew members took seashells and scraped them against the walls of tunnels (INDEPTH Sound Design 2019).
In INDEPTH Sound Design, the Nazgul or Black Riders were described as these anti-life creatures that sucked “the life and the energy out of the environment”, so all the other sounds in the background were removed in order to achieve that atmosphere (2019). The horses that the Black Riders rode on were given wheezy asthmatic sounds in order to drive home the idea that these were ghoulish lifeless creatures (INDEPTH Sound Design 2019). A processed female voice was then used to make the chilling inhuman scream for the Black Riders (INDEPTH Sound Design 2019). I found it very interesting that for both the orcs and the Black Riders, the basis of the sounds were mainly noises generated by living breathing creatures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the films that I have used as case studies would not have had the same impacts on audiences if the music and sound design had been different. Zimmer and the sound crew of Dune undertook unusual methods in order to capture the sound of a foreign planet thousands of years into the future. Shore uses Tolkien’s languages to craft poetic melodies that shape the cultures and setting of Middle Earth lore, and the sound design crew helped to reflect both the mystical and frightening tones of Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring. Zimmer and Shore’s musical scores are vastly different in terms of tone and style, yet there are some significant similarities between them that cannot be ignored. Exploring the way that the sound and music contributed to the shaping and reflecting of alternate identities of Dune and The Fellowship of the Ring proved that there is always much more to it than meets the eye.
Bibliography
Text References:
Adams, D. (2011) The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films : A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores. Van Nuys, Calif.: Carpentier, Accessed on 5 May 2022
Britt, R. (2021), How Hans Zimmer Brought the Dune Soundtrack to Life, https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/how-hans-zimmer-brought-the-dune-soundtrack-to-life/, Accessed 26th March 2022
Burlingame, J. (2021), Hans Zimmer on ‘Dune’ Score’s Electronic Textures and Made-Up Choral Language … and His Head Start on Part 2, Variety, https://variety.com/2021/artisans/awards/hans-zimmer-dune-score-1235094486/, Accessed on 1st May 2022
JORGENSEN, E. R. (2010), Music, Myth, and Education: The Case of The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy, The Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 44-57 (14 pages), Published by University of Illinois Press, https://doi.org/10.5406/jaesteduc.44.1.0044, Accessed on 27th March 2022
Long, R. (2021), The first note played in the Lord of the Rings Score has an ancient history, Polygon, https://www.polygon.com/lord-of-the-rings/22641074/lord-of-the-rings-music-instruments-soundtrack, Accessed on 23 April 2022
Videos:
INDEPTH Sound Design (2019), MASSIVE Sound Design Breakdown of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1SRFZo2IXI, Accessed on 3 May 2022
Vanity Fair (2022), How 'Dune' Composer Hans Zimmer Created the Oscar-Nominated Score | Vanity Fair, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93A1ryc-WW0, Accessed 26th March 2022
Warner Bros. Entertainment (2022), Dune | The Sound of Dune | Warner Bros. Entertainment, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gkf_rdROyWw, Accessed 26th March 2022
Podcasts:
iHeartPodcasts (2019), The Fellowship of the Ring: The Music (Part III), The Soundtrack Show, 22nd May, Available from: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6oy30ChaJKxMfGyejqFPXq?si=841460ef00234929, Accessed on 1st May 2022
Hrishikesh Hirway (2021), Hans Zimmer – Dune, Song Exploder, 17th November, Available from: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4K6HN4X9JjKpzRHg1C5WKk?si=6e2ba75f236b4ac8, Accessed on 5 May 2022
Films:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Directed by Peter Jackson [Feature Film], Burbank, California: New Line Cinema
Dune (2021), Directed by Denis Villeneuve [Feature Film], Burbank, California: Warner Bros. Pictures