Modern Era being say, last thirty-forty years but not the last fifty to seventy though. He's as fantastic a composer for the formulaic music he creates-I agree he ranks among the greats of cinematic composition but his claim to fame being so ingrained in pop culture with Star Wars for me means he kinna squeaked-into the realm of 20th century American composers like Copeland. Bernstein, or Gershwin. I dunno, he's more like a Howard Shore or Hans Zimmer for me, not quite reaching the all-star team of 20th century long-haired first-stringers.

Maybe I'm simply prejudiced against the all-consuming cheese-fog of Star Wars, Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, etc. Maybe I'll try the experiment of listening to one of his compositions without the backdrop of a film. No wait, see I did that-In 77' I bought the double LP of the Star Wars soundtrack (yahhh, I was frikkin' 12) and got bored with it-Never get bored listening to Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite or Ravel's Bolero, though!

My guess is that this musical setting was written specifically for the abridged version of the poem featured in the film. You could add extra verses and repeat sections of the music, but it would probably mess up the structure and flow of the original piece. You could probably commission Howard Shore to set the entire poem if have an extra $10-$20k burning a hole through your pocket.

Uhm... Danny Elfman? Howard Shore? Mercifully, they included Hans Zimmer...

Yes, the music is "Concerning Hobbits" by Howard Shore, from LOTR.

Yes it's Howard Shore music, from LOTR