Man, Elf and Dwarf stand as the remaining three members of the Fellowship, now dedicated to tracking Merry and Pippin while
Frodo and Sam tend to the Ring. Though they are reduced in force, their quest is no less noble. And so, this cross-cultural trio
is accompanied by the strongest readings of the Fellowship theme that The Two Towers has to offer. Aptly set in triple meter, the
Fellowship theme begins unharmonized, then passes through a short Dwarvish variation for Gimli's appearance. As the Three
Hunters brave ahead, sovereign brass settings of the Fellowship theme gather energy while strings vehemently drum through
accompaniments. The melody has lost some of its sheen since the first film, but it's not yet ready to admit defeat. "It's not quite as
heroic as in Moria," Shore says. "It still has some energy, but this is only part of the Fellowship, and the quest is not going well."
The Fellowship variations curb their show of strength as the trio pauses on a hill overlooking the vast plains of Rohan. The first
half of the Rohan Fanfare heralds the new land with an air of simplicity, humility and regality. But the writing becomes embittered
as Legolas examines the Uruks' path. The beasts are taking the hobbits to Saruman at
Isengard. As if in opposing answer to the beautiful symmetry of the Fellowship theme,
the score is seized by the thick, inclinatory music of Isengard and Mordor.
Isengard's Five Beat Pattern begins a layered build under mounting brass chords, but is
quickly supplanted by the upwards-racing Skip Beat, which dashes out to introduce the
music of Mordor. Coated in these jagged tones, Sauron's exotic theme enkindles, first in
French horns, then in muted trumpets and the Moroccan rhaita. Saruman steps away
from the vision in his palantír to command his army, and the Isengard theme and Five
Beat Pattern return to the fore. But the White Wizard is now emboldened by a new
musical ally: rasping scraps of Mordor's Descending Third figure commingle with a contorted
Isengard theme. Saruman's ties to Sauron have strengthened since The Fellowship
of the Ring. Whereas figures such as the Threat of Mordor and the Mordor Outline once
wandered near Isengard's material, the Descending Third now directly intermixes with it.
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