Product Description

Available for the first time in 25 years, this book of songs and sheet music, a collaboration between J. R. R. Tolkien and the composer Donald Swann, will delight Tolkien fans everywhere as the book to stand beside their copies of Lord of The Rings, the essays, poems and calendars. Includes a bonus CD containing performances of all the songs. In this song book the composer Donald Swann gives Tolkien characters Bilbo, Treebeard, Sam Gamgee and Tom Bombadil tunes for their ballads of the road. Professor Tolkien approved of this and added a tune of his own, decorated the book in his own hand and added a glossary of Elvish terms and lore that appears nowhere else.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #104809 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

About the Author
J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

Customer Reviews

New edition of a classic JRRT book
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.

a good buy for the Tolkien fan
This is a good addition to a tolkien collection even if you have the original edition as it as some extra information. I bought it really for the CD as I have the original edition but not the LP. Probably not one for the general reader unless you can read music.