The Two Towers and Carlebach

There is a musical refrain appearing throughout Peter Jackson's film "The Two Towers" (the second in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) that is extremely similar to a melody by R Shlomo Carlebach.  Compare the melody that appears in the film at 1 hr 32 mins, with

http://www.mostlymusic.com/in-the-palace-of-the-king.html (click mikdash melech, at 14 seconds).

Oddly enough, the Two Towers tells of kings who rise "mitoch hahafecha" to fight evil. I find the Lord of the Rings full of inspiring moral motifs, such as the need to stop fleeing and join to fight evil, the nature of true nobility and the importance of the courage of one small individual.

Mikdash melech is a verse from Lecha Dodi, one of the most beautiful Jewish liturgical pieces ever composed. I find Lecha Dodi, too, replete with noble and mythic elements and images, of blessing, kingdom, Messiah, awakening, rebuilding. The lines   

קומי צאי מתוך ההפכה

רב לך שבת בעמק הבכה

and

לבשי בגדי תפארתך עמי

have reflected my own feelings about my personal and the national situation on many an occasion when things were low.  What a privilege and joy to sing it every week, and even at times to the Carlebach tune (when I daven at Yakar).

And Frodo's lonely journey into Mordor, has inspired me whenever I feel as if life is one, long, huge mountain to climb...

Comments

[Dr. Natan Ophir]

Thank you for this interesting post. II wonder if Jackson borrowed without permission? Here is an excerpt from my book on Reb Shlomo of a similar situation::

By 1993, Reb Shlomo’s music had become so widespread that often it was forgotten that there was actually a composer. Such was the case with Gary Sinyor, a movie director and script writer, who used Shlomo’s tune for “Asher Bara” in the wedding scene in a British comedy movie, “Leon the Pig Farmer.” This was discovered by Rabbi Pini Dunner who then hired a lawyer, Leon Ruskin and filed a complaint. The producers duly acknowledged their error and paid Shlomo £5,000. R. Dunner described the anecdotal sequel: After the money arrived, I got a phone call from the director Gary Sinyor. He was desperately upset at what had happened and wanted to meet Shlomo to apologize personally. I arranged for my mother to invite Gary and Leon to a dinner party the next time Shlomo came to London in 1993. Thereafter, Shlomo was credited on the video cover. Gary was forever grateful. Later he became a member of my shul, the Saatchi Synagogue.