The musical connection between Lyon and the music of *The Lord of the Rings* is nothing new. If you were in the Gerland area on October 24, 2023, the memory is surely still fresh: the Halle Tony-Garnier hosted the film concert for *The Return of the King*. During the screening of Peter Jackson’s film on a giant screen, more than 200 musicians and choristers performed Howard Shore’s Oscar-winning score live, in perfect synchronization with the images.
After this memorable event at Gerland, the show is moving to a new venue. There’s no giant screen or massive auditorium on the agenda, but a much more intimate listening experience: the saga’s iconic themes come to life for an evening illuminated by thousands of candles for *Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings*.
Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings in Lyon
3 January 2027 16:00 + more dates
Chapelle de la Trinité
Four strings for all the themes, from the Shire to Mordor
Conceived to mark the 25th anniversary of the trilogy, this one-hour concert draws on the heart of Howard Shore’s work. The entire concept hinges on the way he composed this epic: those famous leitmotifs—the musical themes associated with each people, each location, or each key object. As a mark of fidelity to the original work, the composer himself approved the program of 13 pieces and the scores adapted for the occasion.
From the very first notes, it’s fun to recognize the themes as they come: the carefree lightness of the Shire in “Concerning Hobbits,” the fiery spirit of the riders in “The Riders of Rohan,” or the martial grandeur of “Minas Tirith.”
On stage, there’s no massive orchestra or singers. Just two violins, a viola, and a cello handle everything. The ensemble even reimagines iconic vocal pieces like “In Dreams”—woven into “The Breaking of the Fellowship”—“Gollum’s Song,” and the poignant “Into the West,” all fully transcribed for strings. The concert kicks off with “Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All” and takes us all the way to “The Grey Havens.”
A Baroque interlude on the Presqu’île
To experience these melodies, head to the 2nd arrondissement, at 31 rue de la Bourse: the Chapelle de la Trinité. Designed by Jesuit friar Étienne Martellange for the Grand Collège, the chapel was inaugurated in 1622 and stands as Lyon’s very first Baroque building.
Deconsecrated in 1920, then designated a historic monument in 1939 before being carefully restored in the 1990s, the chapel offers particularly warm acoustics, well known to chamber music lovers for the clarity it provides to string instruments. In the heart of this historic setting steeped in history, the four musicians offer a gentle way to rediscover these compositions.
