The Road Goes Ever On

Gorgeous book, so happy with the quality and condition!Arrived in good time.Would 100% trust this seller.Thank you!

An excellent second edition of this famous book. Clean, and with very little damage. The Tolkien poems, set to modernistic, yet appropriate music by Donald Swan, are superb....of course. Well packed, and fast delivery.

Had this book years ago at uni, and of course it was leant to someone and never returned. So I am really happy to have it in my hands again.

Although this collection is very much of its time, the ever increasing popularity of the Lord of the Rings gives it a continuing appeal to those who love Tolkien's books and would like bring the songs of the characters in them to life. I bought the book because I remembered playing the songs 30 odd years ago and had a sudden urge to revisit them. I was not disappointed; the tunes fit well with the songs, and are evocative and melodious. Although the pieces ideally need a full size piano keyboard, only minor adaptations are required to play them on a smaller one. Guitar parts are included. The playing difficulty varies, but pianists of about grade 3 standard should be able to have a good stab at this.

Great author.

This book brings us the song cycle in which Donald Swann set seven of JRRT's poems: "The road goes ever on", "Upon the hearth the fire is red", "In the willow-meads of Tasarinan", "In western lands", "Namarie", "I sit beside the fire" and "Errantry". Donald's music for "Namarie" is based on a theme that was given to him by JRRT himself.The book begins with a charming introduction in which Donald explains how he came to compose his cycle. The scores include a piano accompaniment, simple enough to be manageable by amateurs, as well as guitar chords for songs number 1, 2, 4 and 6. A twelve page appendix features detailed commentaries by JRRT himself on "Namarie" and "A Elbereth Gilthoniel", including a wealth of information about their Quenya and Sindarin Elvish texts and explanation of their meaning. The book is beautifully embellished with JRRT's Elvish calligraphy, printed in black and red.To me, Donald's music isn't as compelling as that supplied by Howard Shore for Peter Jackson's Tolkien movies, but it was approved by JRRT himself and isn't without its charms. But even if this book's scores are of little interest to you, it may nevertheless delight you: JRRT's contributions to it are more than substantial enough to earn it a place on any Tolkien lover's shelves.(Please note that this review relates to the book's first edition. If you're not a collector of such, you'd probably be happier seeking out the book's longer, black-jacketed third edition, which included Donald's settings of "Bilbo's last song" and "Luthien Tinuviel" as well as a CD of his music's being performed.)

This is a new 3rd edition of Donald Swann's song cycle based on J.R.R. Tolkien's poems. Old-timers like me still treasure the first two editions (1968 and 1978) because JRRT approved of this work and actually contributed to it! In addition to Swann's musical score, the volume includes some of JRRT's Elvish calligraphy, his discussion of Elvish words not published anywhere else, and his own translations of two Elvish songs from The Lord of the Rings: A! Elbereth Gilthoniel and Namarie (Galadriel's Lament). In addition, this new edition includes a setting to music of Beren's song for Luthien, some of JRRT's most beautiful lines...Finally, the book even comes with the old recording of these songs on compact disk for the first time! Finally, a replacement for the old LP.One amusing detail in this book appears in the song Errantry (also printed in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil). In that song, written long ago, JRRT used the name "Dumbledore." Did R. K. Rowling think no one would notice?The old editions of this book have always been treasures for serious JRRT collectors, and it's great to have the new edition and the recordings on CD. Highly recommended.

I am a fan of everything Tolkien so had to have these songs. The book is beautifully produced. Donald Swan's settings are good, but don't feel quite how I imagine Middle Earth.It is good to get the CD as well.

I assume I'm like most people and skipping over the songs the first time I read Lord of the Rings. But this book really helped me appreciate the beauty of the texts and the fact that Tolkien wrote some of these Melodies himself is extra special. Now I relish the songs and realize that they are an integral part of the story.

Erwartet hatte ich eine aktuelle Auflage mit CD, erhalten habe ich eine gut erhaltene Ausgabe aus den 70ger Jahren. Auch wenn keine CD dabei ist, diese Ausgabe ist einfach schön. Es fühlt sich gut an, diese liebevoll gestaltete Ausgabe in der Hand zu halten und darin zu blättern. Das ist sicher nur etwas für Liebhaber, erklären kann man das nicht.

装丁の素敵な楽譜集です。表紙のみならず、楽譜の周りにも模様が入っているのが、なんともいいです。曲のほうは、素朴で飾り気がないかんじ。でもそれが、ホビットの素朴さにぴったりな気がします。少し残念なのは、音が少々古いことと、”エルベレス・ア・ギニソニエル”がＣＤに入っていなかったことです。ともかく、誰かにピアノで弾いてもらって歌ってみたくなります。

I love this book. The condition is good. There is a tear in the dust cover on the back but condition is still overall good.

トールキンの作品に触発された音楽はたくさんあるわけですが、これは教授の生前に発表され、気にいっていたという歌曲集です。『指輪物語』音楽の一方にエンヤ、反対の極にブラインド・ガーディアン、中間にハワード・ショアの映画音楽、とイメージするとちょっとびっくりするかもしれません。これはばりばりのクラシック、”歌曲”です。シューベルトの旋律を思い浮かべてください。楽譜ですので、合唱したい向きにはぴったり。おまけCDは10曲全曲入り。楽譜が読めなくても安心ですが、なにせ初版1968年です。音質はよくはありません。教授自身は"Namarie"と"A Elbereth Gilthoniel"の逐語訳と発音について執筆しておられます。これで正しい発音を覚えれば黒の乗り手に襲われても安心です。もう一つの売りは教授の手蹟が見られること。テングワール文字はもちろんのこと、英語のアルファベットも中世風で味があります。