The Hobbit & The Lord of The Rings Film Music Collection brings together for the very first time, music from all three 'Lord Of The Rings' films alongside the three 'Hobbit' films in a spectacular 2CD set performed by The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Howard Shore's monumental music for 'The Lord Of The Rings' has been honored with three Academy Awards and tours the world constantly to sell-out audiences with live projection of the film. The detail applied to the composition of the music to the Tolkien canon is legend itself.

Elaborate vistas are created utilizing a wealth of instrumentation from musical genres across the world and are woven together by the composer to create the author's unique world in sound. From 'The Prophecy' to 'The Last Goodbye', this is a journey through truly cinematic film composing

From The Hobbit, we delve into An Unexpected Journey first with the varied opening track, 'Old Friends.' A quietly fun, gentle skip and bounce of a track, it is backed by both the traveling sway of 'Misty Mountains' and 'Over Hill,' before we launch into 'A Thunder Battle.' The flute-based 'Dreaming Of Bag End' is next and the movie score selection is rounded out here with the sweeping 'Song Of The Lonely Mountain.'

Next up we have a selection of songs from The Desolation of Smaug, the first being the stern 'The Quest for Erebor,' which then bleeds perfectly into the piped, mostly joyful 'Feast of Starlight.' 'Protector of The Common Folk' is next, and is followed by one of the true highlights of this entire 2CD set, 'Kingsfoil,' which in turn is backed by 'I See Fire.'

Last in the series is The Battle of The Five Armies, which begins with the fanfare of 'Sons Of Durin,' before heading into the hardened 'Courage and Wisdom.' The flute, harpsichord, and general wood wind vibe is collectively brought together on 'There And Back Again,' before the first disc is brought to a close with both 'Ironfoot' and beautiful, majestic 'The Last Goodbye.'

The second disc of selections from The Lord of The Rings, begins with music from The Fellowship of The Ring's 'The Prophecy.' A true work of music art, it builds, rises and soars majestically on the wings of a most angelic choir. Next up is 'Concerning Hobbits,' a beautiful Celtic flute-inspired track, before the long 'The Shadow of The Past' / 'A Knife In The Dark.' The brutal war cries of 'The Bridge of Khazad Dum' is next and is backed by both 'The Fellowship' and the whispering wood instruments of 'May It Be.'

From The Two Towers we begin with the powerful 'The Riders of Rohan,' which is followed by the softer, gentler, vocalized 'Evenstar.' The combined romp of 'Forth Eorlingas' / 'Isengard Unleashed' is next, with the film wrapped by 'Gollum's Song.' As we head to the final film, The Return of The King, the first track is the dual 'Hope and Memory' / 'Minas Tirith,' which is backed by the stoic 'The White Tree,' before the film, and the entire 2CD collection is brought to a close with the female-voiced, string-backed 'Twilight And Shadow,' the battle-ready chants of 'The Fields of Pelennor' and then, finally, the stringed beauty of 'Into The west.'

In closing, this The Hobbit & The Lord of The Rings Film Music Collection is an excellent overall selection of music from the Peter Jackson set of films. The sound is brilliant and crisp, the performances are solid and vibrant from The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.