Among the most famous adaptations of LotR is the BBC radio play of 1981, which I personally regard as the best adaptation of that work so far. Because of this, I was very curious to read what Paul Smith's 'Microphones in Middle-earth: Music in the BBC Radio Play' was like.
My curiosity was more than satisfied; and I warmly recommend this article to anyone with an interest in the play, for three reasons.
First, the author is extremely well-qualified to analyse the play's music ‘
from both a musical and a literary point of view', in terms of how it came to be, why it had the particular structural segments, and who performed it, he being an admirer of LotR since 8, a countertenor since 19, and an actor ‘
lucky enough’ to perform adaptations of the play in front of an audience including Brian Sibley, co-adaptor of LotR with Michael Bakewell. (p. 241)
Second, he explored the consequences of the selection of Stephen Oliver by the production team and their belief that the music ‘
must sound essentially English'. (p. 242) His explanation of what music lovers often mean by music that ‘sounds English’ was very good:
the early 20th-century Pastoral School of English composers such as Vaughan Williams..., Finzi, Moeran and Delius, as well as the contemporary setters of pastoral verse (e.g. 'A Shropshire Lad') such as Quilter, Butterworth and Gurney. Much of this music can be characterised by generally quiet dynamics, consonant harmony, simple melodic contours, and often a “rocking” accompaniment in 6/8 or similar compound time signatures. It aims to evoke a particular atmosphere of place – “landscape in music”. (p. 242)
The author then proceeded to explore how Oliver’s compositions for the play
take inspiration from the whole history of English music, from the modal harmonies and polyphonic invention of the Elizabethans and Jacobeans, through the structural devices and floridity of the English Baroque to the English Pastoral School and even the highly individual textures of Britten. (p. 243)
His explanation of how Oliver used this whole history to evoke ‘
particular aspects' of the drama, characters and places of LotR is well worth a read. (pp. 243-250)
Third, the author also explained how the high quality of the performers, both singers and musicians, along with the music itself, not only inspired future performers but helped make the radio play so well-regarded. (pp. 251-252)
I learned a great deal from this article, and warmly recommend it to anyone with any interest in the play.
