Track-by-Track: Soundtrack Discussion and Analysis

[Encaitare]

Hey, congrats, guys! We made it to TTT! Still interested?

Right. Track One. The opening brass is like a "welcome back". I envision a thick book, leather-bound and inviting with yellowed pages, being opened to its second chapter. And we, the eager readers, fall back once more into the tale. We are immediately reminded of what's going on by the strings' repetition of the Ring theme. (In the movie, I absolutely love the camera panning over the mountains. Awesome shots there.)

The violins continue; the sound is sad and nothing ever seems to resolve completely. At 1:42, we are whisked back to the Bridge of Khazad-Dum. We hear the brassy battle carry out, and the segment has the same conclusion at 2:30 as it did back in track 13 of FotR -- that low string tone. But since here we see things continue from Gandalf's point of view, the music picks up almost immediately with the choir. At 2:32 we hear:

[Quenya]
Mettanna.
Nurunna!


To the end
To the death!

Chanting in Khuzdul begins as the foes descend ever deeper into the former Dwarven realm. Starting at 2:44:

Irkat-lukhud ma
katabrikihu
Ulfat-atam ma
tanakhi uduhu
bin-nât aznân tarsisi

No shaft of light
Can breach it
No breath of air
Comes from it
Only an endless dark rises

Here, it would seem that the trumpets/brass are Gandalf (as we have heard in past tracks), the throbbing drums are the Balrog ("drums, drums in the deep"), and the ongoing chanting simply represents the setting.

At 3:32, the drums cease for a few moments as Gandalf and the Balrog fall over the surface of the water. I particularly like this section -- it sounds almost more epic than what we're previously been hearing. In fact, it reminds me of some of the victorious music we'll hear in RotK, not surprisingly: since they are about to hit the water, it can't bode too well for the Balrog. At this point we hear:

[Quenya]
Mettanna
Nárendur
An mauya mahtie
Mettanna

To the end
Servant of fire
For you must fight
To the end

Thusly the track ends, and for a little while we are kept in the dark as to exactly what will happen.

Only portions of the written lyrics were used in the actual track. Full Quenya lyrics are here and full Khuzdul lyrics are here.

My apologies for posting this so late (it's almost midnight for me, anyway) -- my internet randomly shut down on me this afternoon.