The Song of Galadriel
In the Song of Galadriel Melnyk has created one of the great epics of piano music in our century, a masterpiece of visionary character, filled with haunting and delicate melodies that evoke the mystical world of Tolkien's âLord Of The Ringsâ. Anyone who has read this great work will at once recognize the name of Galadriel, the sacred queen of the Elven-folk. In Tolkien, the race of the Elves, and that of the Dwarves and of the Men of Westernesse, are the last sanctuary of all that man holds noble, good, and glorious. The pageant of their history is a story of heroism and battle against the solemn Enemy who brings oppression and the collapse of the human spirit in his wake.
Although there is no specific âprogramâ within the music, there is a general reference to the worlds of Rivendell and Lothlorien, as well as the representative figures of Galadriel and Aragorn, with music suggestive of the metaphorical content of Tolkien's message. Adding to the difficulty of defining any âprogramâ is the fact that his entire piece is part of a rather large collection of solo piano works called âSongs Out Of Rivendellâ, which all bear the same approximation of relevance to Tolkien's elven-lore and the Faery Realm.
The complete âSong of Galadrielâ is actually made up of two âseparateâ parts: âLegendâ and âSong of Galadrielâ. In 1982, the original core material for this work was commissioned at the request of Mrs. Anna Balan, one of the composer's supporters and a patron of the general arts. It was, at that time, a short 10-minute work of purely melodic nature. Finding the scope of the music too broad and suggestive for such a narrow time span, Melnyk began to build on this basic part (it was to become the final section of the piece) and expanded the music, eventually adding the formerly separate âLegendâ material into the whole. He worked on this piece throughout 1983, and after several additions of material, completed this final version (recorded in its entirety on this L.P.) in 1984.
It is one of the composer's most deeply personal and melodic works so far, and received particularly loving care, for he spent over a year in touching up its smallest details. One can infer that this piece had a specially intense relevance for the composer and pianist. Melnyk himself commented that: âI feel the music as many separate yet interwoven concepts - a) as the actual song sung by Galadriel, and, (b) it is about her song, i.e. the effect of the beauty of her singing, its meaning, and the experience of hearing it, and (c) it is about those things of which she sings, and (d) it IS those things of which she sings. Thus, it is about her sorrow, the heroism, and the Noble Realm of the soul, and at the same time, it IS her sorrow and all those things which Tolkien awakes within us.â
The LP version is the original pressing from 1984.
- Instruments
- Solo Piano
- Musicians
- Lubomyr Melnyk
- Total Playtime
- 56 minutes
- Year
- 1984