A Musical Illustration

Greetings friends,

I thought I'd take a little time to speak about the heart of "The Silmarillion Symphony" and what is motivating me on a daily basis as I edit through takes.

I've read the The Silmarillion a number of times since being exposed to it over ten years ago. I originally encountered some of its subject matter reading "The Lay of Leithian" poem (from The Lays of Beleriand in the History of Middle Earth series). I actually began reading it around the time a very dear friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer. Suffice to say, the book has stayed with me, but especially in the time my friend passed away.

As many of your will know, The Silmarillion  is a book that is full of grief, trial and loss. There are victories, albeit small ones. But there is also death and tragedy, and Tolkien never attempts to dodge the issue. So I found comfort in his writing, particularly in The Silmarillion, as many characters lose friends, brothers, parents, sisters etc. I found the writing applicable to my own grief in losing my friend, and in an odd way, I found the book to be almost pastoral. Indeed, grief is reflected in the music I've written as inspired by the book. As the book says about Iluvatar's Third Theme:

"The one was deep and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with an immeasurable sorrow, from which its beauty chiefly came." (The Silmarillion, pg. 16-17)

Writings so descriptive as this passage inspire me as a musician. It's almost as if the words beg for a composer to interpret them in a score. This has been a huge driving force for me. The composing process for The Silmarillion Symphony started with the book in my left hand and with a keyboard in my right. I've come to call this "musical illustrating," as I aimed to paint a picture with music. If you've read The Silmarillion, or even pieces of it, you'll know the imagery is fascinating. It's as though a world has come to life, if only in our imagination. Even our imaginations can have a sort of reality to them, and that reality indeed has a music. 

For The Silmarillion and its imaginative yet tangible world, I believe I've captured its music.