The Tolkien Ensemble

The Tolkien Ensemble
The Tolkien Ensemble, 2015
Background information
Origin	Denmark
Genres	Symphonic music, folk music
Years active	1995–2013
Labels	Classico
Members	Caspar Reiff, Peter Hall, Morten Ryelund Sørensen, Signe Asmussen, Øyvind Ougaard, Katja Nielsen
Website	http://www.tolkien-ensemble.net/

The Tolkien Ensemble (founded in 1995) is a Danish ensemble which created "the world's first complete musical interpretation of the poems and songs from The Lord of the Rings". They published four CDs from 1997 to 2005, in which all the poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings are set to music. The project was approved by the Tolkien Estate. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark gave permission to use her illustrations on the CD covers.

Permanent members are Caspar Reiff and Peter Hall (composition, singing and guitar), Signe Asmussen (singing), Øyvind Ougaard (accordion), Katja Nielsen (double-bass), and Morten Ryelund Sørensen (conductor and violin). The ensemble have been described as elves, Tolkien's refined Middle-earth race, in contrast to the more rustic hobbit-like groups such as Brocéliande and the Hobbitons. Scholars have praised their settings as among the most atmospheric recordings of Tolkien's poems.