Read LOTR aloud: Lothlorien

[dreamflower]

Here is my reading from Chapter VI of FotR: Lothlorien:



transcript behind the cut:

`Do you hear the voice of Nimrodel? ' asked Legolas. 'I will sing you a song of the maiden Nimrodel, who bore the same name as the stream beside which she lived lung ago. It is a fair song in our woodland tongue; but this is how it runs in the Westron Speech, as some in Rivendell now sing it.' In a soft voice hardly to be heard amid the rustle of the leaves above them he began:

An Elven-maid there was of old,
A shining star by day:
Her mantle white was hemmed with gold,
Her shoes of silver-grey.

A star was bound upon her brows,
A light was on her hair
As sun upon the golden boughs
In LÛrien the fair.

Her hair was long, her limbs were white,
And fair she was and free;
And in the wind she went as light
As leaf of linden-tree.

Beside the falls of Nimrodel,
By water clear and cool,
Her voice as falling silver fell
Into the shining pool.

Where now she wanders none can tell,
In sunlight or in shade;
For lost of yore was Nimrodel
And in the mountains strayed.

The elven-ship in haven grey
Beneath the mountain-lee
Awaited her for many a day
Beside the roaring sea.

A wind by night in Northern lands
Arose, and loud it cried,
And drove the ship from elven-strands
Across the streaming tide.

When dawn came dim the land was lost,
The mountains sinking grey
Beyond the heaving waves that tossed
Their plumes of blinding spray.

Amroth beheld the fading shore
Now low beyond the swell,
And cursed the faithless ship that bore
Him far from Nimrodel.

Of old he was an Elven-king,
A lord of tree and glen,
When golden were the boughs in spring
In fair LothlÛrien.

From helm to sea they saw him leap,
As arrow from the string,
And dive into the water deep,
As mew upon the wing.

The wind was in his flowing hair,
The foam about him shone;
Afar they saw him strong and fair
Go riding like a swan.

But from the West has come no word,
And on the Hither Shore
No tidings Elven-folk have heard
Of Amroth evermore.

The tune that I am using is from an old folk song, "The Trees They Do Grow High". You can hear a MIDI of the song here.

Comments

[shirebound]

That's great! Thank you for singing to us. *beams*

[dreamflower]

Thank you, dear! It was fun-- I've always imagined that song to that particular tune.

[addie71.livejournal.com]

Oh, you sang that very nicely. I like the tune you picked.

[dreamflower]

Thank you! Ever since I first heard that song-- which I just love-- I have thought that the tune would go with this passage! I'm thrilled I had a chance to try it out.

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

Very lovely song.

[dreamflower]

Thank you!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

awww...wonderful singing!

[dreamflower]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

This is just lovely. You performed this very well and I enjoyed listening to it.

[dreamflower]

Thank you muchly, dear! I practiced a lot!

[lbilover.livejournal.com]

That was really beautiful, Barbara. Such a perfect tune to go with that song!! Thank you very, very much! :))

[dreamflower]

Thank you! I've always thought that tune suited that song! And I had great fun with it-- you know I don't mind doing the songs!

[hildigard-brown.livejournal.com]

That was absolutely lovely, dear! The tune fit Tolkien's words perfectly, and you sang so softly and sweetly that I could imagine the music of the water underlying your voice. Fabulous!!