| The Hobbit | |
|---|---|
| Operatic film score cycle by Howard Shore | |
| Related | The Lord of the Rings |
| Text | J. R. R. Tolkien, Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Howard Shore |
| Language | English, fictional languages (Sindarin, Quenya, Khuzdul, Black Speech, Adunaic) |
| Composed | 2010–2014 |
| Movements | 78 movements (in three parts) |
| Scoring |
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The music of The Hobbit film series is composed, orchestrated, and produced by Howard Shore, who scored all three The Lord of the Rings films, to which The Hobbit film trilogy is a prequel series. It continues the style of The Lord of the Rings score, using a vast ensemble, multiple musical forms and styles, many leitmotifs, and unusual instruments.
Shore composed over nine hours of music, featuring many new themes and reprising 50 themes from The Lord of the Rings. The score calls for an ensemble of a symphony orchestra, stage "bands" featuring non-orchestral instruments, multiple choirs, and several vocal soloists.
While not as widely admired by critics as his The Lord of the Rings, Shore's score remained a financial success, peaking in the top ten album charts in multiple countries, and garnering award nominations. The setting of the "Misty Mountains" tune became popular. The score has since been performed as a symphonic piece in four movements for orchestra and soloist. The score and its production were the subject of an hour-long documentary film created for the behind-the-scenes features of The Desolation of Smaug.
With these three scores added to the music of The Lord of the Rings film series, Shore has composed by far the largest collection of themes in the history of cinema, and one of the biggest for any cycle of musical compositions.