Shore has also composed a few concert works including one opera, The Fly, based on the plot of Cronenberg's 1986 film premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on July 2, 2008, a short piece Fanfare for the Wanamaker Organ and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and a short overture for the Swiss 21st Century Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his three Academy Awards, Shore has also won three Golden Globe Awards and four Grammy Awards.
Howard Shore was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the son of Bernice (née Ash) and Mac Shore. Shore is Jewish. He started studying music at the age of 8 or 9. He learned a multitude of instruments and began playing in bands at the ages of 13 and 14. When Shore was 13, he met and became good friends with a young Lorne Michaels in summer camp, and this friendship would later be influential in his career. By 17, he decided he wanted to pursue music in his adult life too. He studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston after graduating from Forest Hill Collegiate Institute.
From 1969 to 1972, Shore was a member of the jazz fusion band Lighthouse. In 1970, he became the music director for Lorne Michaels and Hart Pomerantz's short-lived TV program The Hart & Lorne Terrific Hour. Shore wrote the music for Canadian magician Doug Henning's magic musical Spellbound in 1974 and, from 1975 to 1980, he was the musical director for Lorne Michaels' influential late-night NBC comedy show Saturday Night Live, appearing in many musical sketches, including Howard Shore and His All-Nurse Band, and dressed as a beekeeper for a John Belushi/Dan Aykroyd performance of the Slim Harpo classic "I'm a King Bee". Shore also suggested the name for The Blues Brothers to Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
Since 2004, he has toured the world conducting local orchestras in the performance of his new symphonic arrangement of his highly acclaimed Lord of the Rings scores. The new work is entitled The Lord of the Rings: Symphony in Six Movements. There are two movements for each of the movies, and an intermission between the second and third (or first and second film titles) movements. The concert presentation of the symphony also includes projected still images of sketches by John Howe and Alan Lee relating the music being performed to scenes from the films. Recently, however, Shore has been busy with other projects, leaving other conductors including Markus Huber, Ludwig Wicki, Alexander Mickelthwaite, and John Mauceri to lead the orchestras.
April 24, 2008 marked the North American Live to Projection debut of Fellowship of the Ring, with the score performed live by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ludwig Wicki. Wicki also conducted the Filene Center Orchestra at the Wolf Trap Farm Park in Vienna, Virginia on May 21 and 22, 2008 in the U.S. premiere of the Fellowship of the Ring Live to Projection.
September 16, 2010 Shore conducted the RSO Vienna (Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra) which performed "In Dreams from The Fellowship of the Ring" at Hollywood in Vienna in Vienna, Austria. Shore was commissioned by Macy's to write a Fanfare for the Store's 150th anniversary featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Wanamaker Organ, the world's largest playing pipe organ. The work was debuted in the Grand Court of Macy's Philadelphia Store on September 27, 2008 in a concert that drew reviews from most of the major East Coast newspapers.
Shore's opera The Fly had its world premiere performance at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on July 2, 2008 and its United States premiere at Los Angeles Opera on September 7, 2008. The production was directed by David Cronenberg and conducted by Plácido Domingo. The Fly had a new production mounted by Theatre Trier in Germany in 2014 staged by Sebastian Welker and conducted by Joongbae Jee.
Shore was commissioned by the Beijing Music Festival to write Ruin and Memory, a piano concerto, for renowned pianist Lang Lang. The world premiere was on October 11, 2010 performed by Lang Lang, The China Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Long Yu. His second concerto, Mythic Gardens, premiered April 27, 2012 with Sophie Shao on cello solo, The American Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Leon Botstein.
Shore's song cycle A Palace Upon the Ruins premiered in 2014 at the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival and at the La Jolla SummerFest featuring mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano. A Palace Upon the Ruins is a song cycle of six songs with words by Elizabeth Cotnoir.
Sea to Sea was commissioned by New Brunswick Youth Orchestra in celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation and premiered on July 2, 2017 in Moncton, New Brunswick with soloist Measha Brueggergosman and Antonio Delgado conducting. Sea to Sea has lyrics by Elizabeth Cotnoir.
The song cycle L’Aube premiered October 19 & 20, 2017 in Toronto at Roy Thompson Hall conducted by Peter Oundjian and performed by soloist Susan Platts and commissioning orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. L’Aube consists of five songs with text by Elizabeth Cotnoir.
The Forest a guitar concerto composed for Miloš Karadaglić will premiere in Ottawa on May 1 & 2, 2019 with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Alexander Shelley conducting.
In addition to writing the original theme song for Saturday Night Live, as well as the closing theme, Shore also co-wrote the theme song for Late Night with Conan O'Brien with John Lurie. The theme was carried over to The Tonight Show when O'Brien succeeded Jay Leno as host.
Shore narrated a one-hour CBC Radio documentary/soundscape on music in thriller/suspense film genres also including references to radio dramas and other media. The episode was called "Unsettling Scores" and premiered on the program called Inside the Music.
Shore is married to Elizabeth Cotnoir, a writer, producer and documentary filmmaker. He has a daughter, Mae.[35] He is the uncle of film composer Ryan Shore.
As of 2004, Shore lives in Tuxedo Park, New York.
May It Be
Howard Shore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh! How far you are from home
Mornie utulie
Mornie alantie
A promise lives within you now
May it be the shadow's call
Will fly away
May it be your journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun
Mornie utulie (darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantie (darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now
A promise lives within you now
The song "May It Be" is a soothing and uplifting melody composed by Howard Shore, featured in the film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." The lyrics tell a story of hope and perseverance, as well as the importance of having belief within oneself. It starts by painting the picture of an evening star shining upon someone, signifying the presence of something greater and significant in one's life.
Despite the darkness that falls, the lyrics encourage the listener to stay true to themselves and to keep moving forward on their journey, even if it feels lonely and they are far from home. The chorus expresses hope and reassurance that one can overcome any obstacles and rise above the darkness. The words "Mornie utulie" and "Mornie alantie" seem to be in Elvish, conveying a deeper, more mystical level of meaning.
The lyrics also evoke a sense of unity and power, as they suggest that there is a promise that lives within each one of us, and that we can tap into it whenever we feel lost or alone. Overall, "May It Be" is a beautifully crafted song that speaks to the human spirit, reminding us that we all have the strength and resilience to face life's challenges and emerge victorious.
Line by Line Meaning
May it be an evening star
I hope that an evening star shines down upon you for guidance.
Shines down upon you
I hope that the star serves as a light to guide you through the darkness.
May it be when darkness falls
May you remain steadfast even in the darkest of times.
Your heart will be true
May your heart remain pure and guided even when things get tough.
You walk a lonely road
You may feel alone on your journey, but you must keep going.
Oh! How far you are from home
You are far from where you came from, but you must trust in yourself to find your way.
Mornie utulie
Darkness has come, but you must keep going.
Believe and you will find your way
You must have faith in yourself and trust that you will find the way forward.
Mornie alantie
Darkness has fallen, but you must continue on your journey.
A promise lives within you now
There is a promise inside of you that must be kept, a promise to find your way and succeed in your journey.
May it be the shadow's call
May you overcome the darkness that calls out to you.
Will fly away
Believe that the darkness will vanish.
May it be your journey on
May you continue forward on your journey.
To light the day
May you bring light to the world and succeed in your journey despite its difficulties.
When the night is overcome
When the darkness no longer holds power over you.
You may rise to find the sun
You will emerge victorious and find the light of the world once more.
Lyrics © DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Howard Shore, Eithne Ni Bhraonain, Nicholas John Ryan, Roma Shane Ryan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind