Bear McCreary Interview: Rings of Power and Hidden Message in Halbrand's Theme

It goes without saying that music is as key a component to telling a story as any other. Music bolsters film and television by making the scenes on screen feel almost tangible, adding an all-important tone-setting quality that is impossible to overlook. When it came time to bring the world of J.R.R. Tolkien to the small screen with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the team at Prime Video obviously wanted a powerhouse composer in their corner. Enter Bear McCreary.

At a recent For Your Consideration event, which saw the Rings of Power cast and creatives in conversation with Felicia Day, McCreary finished out the presentation by appearing onstage to talk about the creation of some of the series' themes. While it was impossible for him to dive into all of them — his list of the number of themes he thought he might need before composing came out to 17 — he did get the chance to explore a few with the audience, explaining his reasoning for each.

He demonstrated Nori's (Markella Kavanaugh) theme, calling her a "pure" and "innocent" character, and explaining that he wanted the theme to reflect those same ideas he had when he thought about her. Along similar lines of thought — though very different in sound — was the theme for Khazad-Dûm, the home of the Dwarves. While the theme contains, in McCreary's words, power and nobility, he also included an element of vulnerability that came through in scenes between Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) and his father King Durin (Peter Mullan).

The Secret Connection Behind Sauron and Halbrand's Theme

One of the bigger twists in Season 1 was the reveal that Charlie Vickers' Halbrand was actually Sauron in disguise. Though there was plenty of foreshadowing within the text of the story, McCreary included a little hint in the music as well. After first playing Sauron's theme, which is very circular and unsettling, he then played Halbrand's theme, which is Sauron's theme backwards, with one note changed to avoid making it too obvious. As McCreary put it: "It allows you to subconsciously digest that there's a similarity. I don't expect anyone in here understood that Sauron's theme was a backwards version of Halbrand's theme. I would argue I'm ruining the show for you if that's what you're thinking about." Perceptible or not, that connection is the key to seeing how much music can tell a story all on its own.

McCreary ended the presentation on a high note, with Galadriel herself, Morfydd Clark, joining him onstage as he played Galadriel's theme, which he described as a hero's theme with a touch of sadness to it, the sadness being the key to understanding Galadriel as a character..

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 is streaming now on Prime Video.

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