The Starlit Jewel

The Stalit Jewel, cd cover

The Starlit Jewel is a recording of songs with poems by J.R.R. Tolkien and music by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The album exists in three different versions:

1. a privately produced cassette in two copies from 1991 entitled The Rivendell Suite
2. A tape from 1996, entitled The Starlit Jewel
3. A cd from 2000, entitled The Starlit Jewel

History

In 1969, Marion Zimmer Bradley set seven of Tolkien's poems to music and called them "The Rivendell Suite." In 1991, Margaret Davis and Kristoph Klover were asked by Bradley's secretary to arrange, perform, and record "The Rivendell Suite" on cassette as a birthday present for Marion Bradley. They recorded:

"...six of Marion's settings, plus three of Kristoph's, and Marion was very pleased with the results. Only two copies were ever made of that original cassette. Then, Kristoph and I got to thinking how it might be a good idea to set some more of the songs and see if we could get permission from the Tolkien Estate to release the recording commercially."

― Interview with Margaret Davis for Strange Horizons, 19 November 2001

Eventually, the project was authorized by the Tolkien Estate and they were granted a license to produce 1,000 cassettes, released in 1996. The title was changed to "The Starlit Jewel", since the Tolkien Estate had forbidden them to use the title "The Rivendell Suite".

In 1999, they were granted a new license to produce 2,000 cds. The cd album was released in 2000, together with The Starlit Jewel Songbook.

Track listing

Track listing of the cd album:

1. "Elvish Lullabye" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music ?)
2. "Song of the Eldar in Exile" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music Marion Zimmer Bradley and Margaret Davis)
3. "Hobbit Walking Song" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music Marion Zimmer Bradley and Margaret Davis)
4. "Merry Old Inn" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music Kristoph Klover)
5. "Children's Song From Dale" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music ?)
6. "In Western Lands" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music ?)
7. "Galadriel's Lament" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music Marion Zimmer Bradley and Margaret Davis)
8. "Troll Song" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music ?)
9. "Lament for Boromir" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music ?)
10. "Bath Song" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music ?)
11. "In Durin's Day" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music Kristoph Klover)
12. "Lay of Nimrodel" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music Margaret Davis)
13. "When Spring Unfolds" (words J.R.R. Tolkien, music ?)

External links

• Official web site
• Interview with Margaret Davis for Strange Horizons, 19 November 2001
• Review by Paula DiSante on the Mythopoeic Society web site