Olivier Doise (oboe), Jean-Paul Gasparian (piano), Raphaëlle Moreau (violin), Stéphane Guillaume (alto saxophone), Lydia Kavina (theremin)

The Noble Wood (I Roderyn)
Where the Shadows Lie
The History of the Ring
A Long-Expected Party
The Seduction of the Ring
A Black Shadow
Last Homely House
Turning Southwards
The Road Under the Mountain
The Halls of Durin
Durin's Bane
The Golden Wood
Gandalf’s Lament
Beyond Lothlórien
The Anduin
The White Hand
The Passing of Boromir
The Fate of the Bearer
In Dreams
Catania
Esther Kahn (Paris Suite)
Eastern Promises
Tatiana / Trans-Siberian Diary
The Fly
Plasma Pool
Stathis Enters
The Stairs
The Jump
Finale
Naked Lunch
Fadela's Coven / Dr. Benway
Ed Wood (Transcr. for Theremin and Orchestra)
Grave Robbers (Transcr. for Theremin and Orchestra)
This Is the One (Transcr. for Theremin and Orchestra)
Crash
CineTerra
Mechanism Of Occupant Ejection
Mirror Image
Where's the Car?
Sexual Logic
Road Research Laboratory
Chromium Bower
Triton
Prophecy Is Dirty and Ragged

Recorded live over one very special weekend in 2023, Howard Shore: Anthology – The Paris Concerts presents highlights from key scores by the multi-award-winning Canadian composer.

This new album features such diverse soundtracks as The Fly, Naked Lunch, Ed Wood, Crash, Eastern Promises and, of course, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is conducted by Ludwig Wicki and Bastien Stil, while Mike Schäperclaus conducts Le Balcon ensemble in the chamber works.

Howard Shore was working as Saturday Night Live’s first musical director when, in 1979, he was asked to write his first film score – for his friend David Cronenberg’s The Brood. Since then, his music has graced dozens of movies (including 16 more directed by Cronenberg) and won him a string of awards, including 3 Oscars, 3 Golden Globes and 4 Grammys. He has also written for opera, ballet and the concert hall.

The rich variety resulting from this approach is reflected on this album – a generous compilation of works heard during Radio France’s 2023 “Week-End Howard Shore”. The programmes showcased music of different styles and eras, from the non-cinematic solo piano piece Catania, performed by Jean-Paul Gasparian, to the epic, orchestral-choral grandeur of Shore’s award-winning Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack, featuring the Maîtrise (children’s choir) and Chœur de Radio France.

Suites from some of his earlier film scores help demonstrate his multifaceted talents. There are the dark, sinister tones of The Fly; the cool sax lines created for Naked Lunch (with Stéphane Guillaume ably taking the solo part made famous by Ornette Coleman); the mysterious ambience of Ed Wood, where Lydia Kavina plays the theremin, as she did for the original, 30 years ago; and the eerie metallic sounds of harps and electric guitars heard in Crash. Different worlds again are conjured in the gently hypnotic extract from Esther Kahn and in the Eastern European-influenced Concertino from Eastern Promises, for solo violin and chamber ensemble. Raphaëlle Moreau is the soloist, her melancholy line enhanced in particular by the colours of clarinet and cimbalom. And, as we might expect, the album opens in Middle Earth, with a beautiful moment from The Hobbit, starring the orchestra’s principal oboist Olivier Doise.

Speaking at the end of the Radio France weekend, Howard Shore summed up his feelings: “I was overwhelmed by the dedication of the performers to study the music and play it so well, and I’m thrilled by the collaboration with Radio France and Deutsche Grammophon.”

The Noble Wood (I Roderyn)
Where the Shadows Lie
The History of the Ring
A Long-Expected Party
The Seduction of the Ring
A Black Shadow
Last Homely House
Turning Southwards
The Road Under the Mountain
The Halls of Durin
Durin's Bane
The Golden Wood
Gandalf’s Lament
Beyond Lothlórien
The Anduin
The White Hand
The Passing of Boromir
The Fate of the Bearer
In Dreams
Catanina1  
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laboiteamusique.eu
laboiteamusique.eu
Esther Kahn (Paris Suite)
Eastern Promises
Tatiana / Trans-Siberian Diary
The Fly
Plasma Pool
Stathis Enters
The Stairs
The Jump
Finale
Naked Lunch
Fadela's Coven / Dr. Benway
Ed Wood (Transcr. for Theremin and Orchestra)
Grave Robbers (Transcr. for Theremin and Orchestra)
This Is the One (Transcr. for Theremin and Orchestra)
Crash
CineTerra
Mechanism Of Occupant Ejection
Mirror Image
Where's the Car?
Sexual Logic
Road Research Laboratory
Chromium Bower
Triton
Prophecy Is Dirty and Ragged