'Song of Gondor', a Danish song based on a beautiful poem by J.R.R. Tolkien

"The Lord of the Rings" is a literary work in which the rich prose of the British writer J.R.R. Tolkien described impressive places.

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When I read "The Lord of the Rings" books as a teenager, one of the passages that impressed me most regarding locations was the description of the walled city of Minas Tirith (Tower of Guard), the capital of Gondor, the last great kingdom of the Dúnedain, the long-lived, dark-horsed men descended from the ancient inhabitants of the island of Númenor. Peter Jackson did a magnificent job recreating that white city in his films, although I still personally recommend the books, which are much more detailed and include many things that don't appear in the film version masterfully directed by the New Zealand filmmaker.

In Tolkien's work there is a beautiful poem sung by Aragorn about that fortified city. It appears in the second chapter of the first book of "The Two Towers," entitled "The Riders of Rohan." In that poem, the heir of Isildur recalls his past in that city, four decades before the War of the Ring, when he served in the army of Steward Ecthelion II (father of Denethor) under the name Thorongil (Eagle of the Star). Although the poem mentions Gondor and not the city, what it primarily describes is Minas Tirith.

On March 11, 2003, the Danish group The Tolkien Ensemble released their album "At Dawn in Rivendell." It's a fabulous album in English, made in collaboration with British actor Christopher Lee, who knew J.R.R. Tolkien personally and reread his books every year.

The album contains 20 musical versions of poems by J.R.R. Tolkien. The second of these is the poem sung by Aragorn about Minas Tirith, which appears under the title "Song of Gondor." The music was composed by Danish musician Caspar Reiff, composer, guitarist, and one of the founders of The Tolkien Ensemble. Morten Ernst Lassen was the vocalist on this track, as he was on the other tracks on the album sung by Aragorn. You can listen to it here:

This is the original English text of the poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien:

"Gondor! Gondor, between the Mountains and the Sea!
West Wind blew there; the light upon the Silver Tree
Fell like bright rain in gardens of the Kings of old.
O proud walls! White towers! O wingéd crown and throne of gold!
O Gondor, Gondor! Shall Men behold the Silver Tree,
Or West Wind blow again between the Mountains and the Sea?"

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Images: "The Return of the King" (2003), a film directed by Peter Jackson.