Abstract
When music is discussed in Tolkien studies, the primary focus is the songs and, typically, their non-musical content. However, appearances of instrumental music and its performance are often critical to the narrative. This talk focuses on Tolkien’s construction and use of music. Its descriptions were growing more economical as he developed as a writer and his musical references became simpler.
Tolkien has often been accused of being almost illiterate musically, yet a more careful reading of his letters shows that he merely saw himself as a musical amateur. In Oxford he could not avoid learning about the Early Music movement, extremely popular in post-WWI Britain; he certainly knew some of its important figures. In the early legendarium, his instrumentarium varied greatly and his choice of instruments shows not only the knowledge of their names (to be expected from a philologist) but also their use in medieval sources. Later the instrumentarium as well as his musical descriptions contract. This was a deliberate choice that forced songs into the foreground.
Recommended Citation
Retakh, Alexander
(2024)
"From Ghitterns to Harps: How Tolkien’s Music Became Generic,"
Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 19:
Iss.
1, Article 8.
Available at:
https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol19/iss1/8