An Evening in Rivendell

The Tolkien Ensemble

at Tivoli Concert Hall, 17th of October 2002

The Tolkien Ensemble gave a mediocre performance at Tivoli’s Concert Hall, Copenhagen, in surroundings that did not live up to the adventurous ones depicted in Tolkien’s books. A mixture of Hobbit-like coyness, majestic Elven grace, formless soloists and a misused choir characterized the evening.

Caspar Reiff

On October 17th 2002, the Danish ensemble invited Tolkien-fans to join them at what was to be a memorable and unique experience, featuring none other than Christopher Le e, who played the part of Saruman in Peter Jackson’s recent screen version of Lord of The Rings. It also featured Tom McEwan, Signe Asmussen, Kurt Ravn and Morten Ernst Lassen, Copenhagen Youth Strings and the chamber choir Camerata – all renowned, Danish artists in various musical contexts. Thus, the night was very much intended to be unsurpassable in its content.

The ensemble this evening consisted of Caspar Reiff on guitar, Morten Hall on guitar and lute (or something similar, I’m not that familiar with instruments, I’m afraid), Morten Ryelund Sørensen as conductor and on violin, Oyvind Ougaard on harmonica and Katja Nielsen on double-bass. Others who appeared as needed were Signe Asmussen with her mezzo-soprano voice, Kurt Ravn (tenor), Morten Ernst Lassen (baritone), a guy whose name I forget, but who played the English horn on one account – and finally Tom McEwan on a peculiar drum set, seeking a bit too much attention from the audience.

Intro …

The concert was introduced by Mr. Lee, who seemed very happy and honoured to be part of the project, and he proceeded to recite the famous “Verse of the Rings” from the books, with the chamber choir chanting ominously in the background. Very effective stuff. Afterwards, he went off-stage and appeared moments later in the audience, where he sat down an d remained for the rest of the first half of the concert. Already, it was obvious that he was just there for show.

From thereon, the songs were introduced mainly by Caspar Reiff, the founder of the ensemble, and in a few cases by Peter Hall, the second half of the composing force behind the music. The first song was sung by Signe Asmussen, a strong and classical tune, which is sung by Galadriel in the books. Signe has a powerful voice, which she controlled almost flawlessly, but which in my opinion is a bit too set for opera to seem Elvish. None the less, it was a good start, and steadied the mood.

Next came the classic “Old Walking Song”, which was one of the first poems set to music by Caspar Reiff. His version of the tune is by now widely known, and matches the lyrics very well. It was sung by Peter Hall, who is originally from Norfolk, England, and thus accented the words beautifully.

Christopher Lee

… to an outro

At this point, the chamber choir, the strings, the whole ensemble, Christopher Lee, Tom McEwan and one third of the featured soloists had appeared on stage, and already covered the two major musical styles that make out the Tolkien Ensemble’s rendition of the verses in LOTR. That being folkish Hobbit-songs and ceremonious Elven poetry.

Thus, there were not really any surprises left for the audience, and the rest of the evening became rather flat and predictable. Kurt Ravn appeared not long after, seeking to sing the part of Legolas, a fair elven warrior. Having heard him perform the diversified role of Jabbadoor in the musical Atlantis, his voice this night seemed out of form and plain dull.

Most enjoyable

However, a memorable performance was given by Morten Ernst Lassen, as he came to sing the “Song of Gondor” from their newest album. Sung in the books by Aragorn, a King of old, he had the proper ‘heroic’ gleam and voice to create a believable musical setting. Also, the recurring appearances of Signe, singing more of Galadriel’s hymns and poems were uplifting and enjoyable, backed by the strings and Morten Ryelund Sørensen’s main violin and to some extent by the choir.

To my joy, Morten Ernst Lassen and her appeared in a duet, “Gandalfs Song of Lórien”. In the book, there are no suggestions that they appear together at this point, but Caspar Reiff has succeeded in intertwining Galadriel’s “Song of Eldamar” with the tune, leaving an emotional image of Gandalf’s reminiscence throughout the song. Also, the fact that Galadriel sings in Elvish is an important factor in this respect, and though the lyrics were hard to make out, it was clear that she made an effort to pronounce the words correctly.

Too happy hobbits

There were plenty of Hobbit-tunes, too many to my liking, but sprinkled with lots of happy outbursts from the performers and it was generally a laugh to look at and listen to. They included “There is an Inn, a Merry Old Inn” as sung by Frodo in the Prancing Pony Inn at Bree. Also, “The Bath Song” and “Sams Rhyme of the Troll”, which is sung as the Company reaches the stone trolls from “The Hobbit” appeared in the repertoire.

The second half was again opened by Christopher Lee, who again sat down for the rest of the show. The two departments did not differ much in musical content; it was seemingly an insignificant break that did not serve any particular purpose other than that of a pause in the concert.

Technical

The soloists sang with an almost invisible microphone attached to the side of their faces, but it worked flawlessly, except for a few notes sung by Morten Ernst Lassen’s powerful baritone voice, where it crumbled and cracked. And of course, the hall has wonderful acoustics.

The lighting, however, was horrendous, as was the stage setup. They attempted to vary the orange and green spots according to the music, but it failed completely. They also had smoke generators, turning on and off at what appeared to be randomly set intervals, and it created a pressing air in the room, which some of the elderly people in the audience must have had problems with. In fact, the stage was plastered with cables running across the floor, and various equipment was lying around at the sides. This particular concert had the potential to create an intimate and fantastic setting that would add to – if not complete – the total perception of the experience. But it totally lacked creativity in that respect, sadly.

Overall

All in all, I found that the otherwise splendid chamber choir Camerata was not used to its full extent. They have the potential to create a wonderful sound environment backing, which would fit in perfectly with the Tolkien universe, but this was only the case on a few occasions. The strings were a bit more audible, but do naturally not go well with Hobbit-tunes. Of the main ensemble and the soloists, Signe Asmussen and Morten Ernst Lassen performed very well. Their voices seemed perfect for the songs. Kurt Ravn, Tom McEwan and Christopher Lee could have been left out, but they were of course necessary for the publicity of the event (especially Mr. Lee). The English horn and the harmonica had no effect at all.

That said, creating music to no less than 70+ poems from the most renowned fantasy book of all time is definitely a feat that cannot be underestimated. It has taken time and a lot of energy to accomplish, and I am honoured that this has been done by a fellow Dane, who is now known across the world for his accomplishment. Though the concert had flaws and did not outlive its full potential, it was a unique experience, and I am glad to have been there. But I attribute this to my enchantment with Tolkien’s writings, and not least to his skills with poetry and lyrics. I fear that anyone among the audience, who was not wholly acquainted with his books (e.g. someone who had only seen the movie) may have been disappointed.