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.
Song of the Lonely Mountain
Howard Shore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leave us standing upon the heights
What was before, we see once more
Is our kingdom a distant light
Fiery mountain beneath the moon
The words unspoken, we'll be there soon
For home a song that echoes on
Some folk we never forget
Some kind we never forgive
Haven't seen the back of us yet
We'll fight as long as we live
All eyes on the hidden door
To the Lonely Mountain borne
We'll ride in the gathering storm
Until we get our long-forgotten gold
We lay under the Misty Mountains cold
In slumbers deep and dreams of gold
We must awake, our lives to make
And in the darkness a torch we hold
From long ago when lanterns burned
Till this day our hearts have yearned
Her fate unknown the Arkenstone
What was stolen must be returned
We must awake and make the day
To find a song for heart and soul
Some folk we never forget
Some kind we never forgive
Haven't seen the end of it yet
We'll fight as long as we live
All eyes on the hidden door
To the Lonely Mountain borne
We'll ride in the gathering storm
Until we get our long-forgotten gold
Far away from Misty Mountains cold
The Song of the Lonely Mountain by Howard Shore is a powerful and emotional song that is featured in the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The song begins by painting a vivid picture of the misty mountains, which rise high above the characters in the story as they stand looking up towards them. The lyrics suggest that the mountain holds a special significance to the characters, as they see it as a distant light and their kingdom. The lyrics then shift to a fiery mountain beneath the moon where the characters are headed, guided only by a song that echoes on. The imagery in the lyrics is powerful and paints a picture of an epic journey full of danger and uncertainty.
As the song continues, it becomes clear that the characters are on a mission to reclaim something that was stolen from them long ago. The lyrics mention a hidden door and the Lonely Mountain which is where they will find their long-forgotten gold. They are determined to fight for what is theirs and until they succeed, they won't stop. The song also touches on the idea of revenge and the fact that some people will never be forgotten or forgiven for their actions.
Overall, the Song of the Lonely Mountain is a powerful and moving piece of music that perfectly conveys the emotions and feelings of the characters in the story. It captures the vastness and grandeur of the world that they inhabit, as well as the danger and uncertainty that they face on their journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Far over the Misty Mountains rise
We travel beyond the mountains covered in mist
Leave us standing upon the heights
We stand high above the ground
What was before, we see once more
The past comes to life before our eyes
Is our kingdom a distant light
Our land is far away and barely visible
Fiery mountain beneath the moon
A volcano glows beneath the night sky
The words unspoken, we'll be there soon
Without speaking, we will arrive shortly
For home a song that echoes on
We sing a song of home that resonates
And all who find us will know the tune
Anyone who joins us will learn the song
Some folk we never forget
There are people we always remember
Some kind we never forgive
We hold a grudge against certain types of people
Haven't seen the back of us yet
Our story is not over
We'll fight as long as we live
We will continue to fight for what we believe in
All eyes on the hidden door
We focus on the secret entrance
To the Lonely Mountain borne
We travel towards the mountain alone
We'll ride in the gathering storm
We go forward despite the coming danger
Until we get our long-forgotten gold
We will not stop until we find our treasured possession
We lay under the Misty Mountains cold
We rested under the cold mountains
In slumbers deep and dreams of gold
We slept and dreamt of our lost treasure
We must awake, our lives to make
We need to wake up and take action
And in the darkness a torch we hold
We carry a flame to guide us in the darkness
From long ago when lanterns burned
The story began with the light of lamps
Till this day our hearts have yearned
We still long for what we have lost
Her fate unknown the Arkenstone
The Arkenstone's destiny is uncertain
What was stolen must be returned
We need to recover what was taken from us
We must awake and make the day
We need to wake up and take action
To find a song for heart and soul
We need to discover a tune that speaks to us
Far away from Misty Mountains cold
We are distant from the cold mountains
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: NEIL FINN, JANET RODDICK, STEVE ROCHE, DAVID DONALDSON, DAVID LONG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind