Shore's music inhales and exhales slowly with the struck Boromir. "I was trying to capture the movement—the breathing, the organic feeling—to make it feel like the music was part of the scene. I used these swells, not too much, but just so that it gave the scene that life." Boromir tries valiantly to defend Merry and Pippin, but in his weakened state is no match for the Orcs. The boys choir softly intones the Noble End theme set to the text of "The Death of Boromir", signifying Boromir's final moments are close at hand. "The boys chorus felt right to me because of the hobbits and the way Boromir looks at them. He's on his knees and it's like they're linked by youth, in a sense. It's just the boys on the melody and the men accompanying." Aragorn leaps in a vain attempt to save Boromir, but though he defeats Lurtz, the Orcs' serving captain, Boromir is beyond his reach. An older version of Aragorn's Heroic theme appears here, similar to the melody used at Weathertop. It's a harsh musical judgment, but an apt one: despite his efforts, Aragorn fails to save Boromir and thus moves a step back from the hero he must eventually become.

Be the first to comment