Ep 19: Tolkien’s Forgotten Song Cycle, “The Road Goes Ever On”.

What do Hobbits hum and Elves sing? Join me for this week’s assembly as Tolkien’s poetry meets Donald Swann’s piano in a musical walk through Middle-Earth. In this week’s episode of Notes from School, I explore “The Road Goes Ever On”, the enchanting song cycle that sets Tolkien’s poetry to music. Forget the classic LOTR soundtrack briefly and discover how Tolkien would have actually HEARD these songs. I’ll sing you some of each tune from the song cycle and you’ll hear how Donald Swann gave voice to the songs of the Shire, Lothlórien, and beyond. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the episode
• 2:07 Howard Shore’s LOTR and Swann’s hymn links
• 8:10 The origin of the song cycle
• 11:20 How Donald Swann wrote the songs and his link to Tolkien
• 15:09 ‘The Road Goes Ever On’ background and SONG
• 17:20 ‘Upon the Hearth the Fire is Red’ background and SONG
• 20:40 ‘In the Willow-meads of Tasarinan’ background and partial song
• 23:30 ‘In Western Lands’ background and SONG
• 26:07 ‘Namárië” (Galadriel’s Lament)’ snippet and background
• 27:40 ‘I Sit Beside the Fire’ background and SONG
• 30:15 ‘Errantry’ snippet and background
• 31:32 ‘Bilbo’s Last Song’ background
• 33:47 ‘Bilbo’s Last Song’
• 36:58 Goodbyes