The music of The Hobbit film series is composed and produced by Howard Shore, who scored all three The Lord of the Rings films. The music for An Unexpected Journey was recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra as it was for The Lord of the Rings. However, the music for The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies was recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
The soundtrack album for An Unexpected Journey received nominations for various awards and peaked in the top ten album charts in multiple countries.
Bilbo's Theme (Dreaming of Bag-End): A variation on the 'Shire theme'; a harmonious motif to represent Bilbo Baggins, the main protagonist.
Bilbo's Adventure: An optimistically ascending melody is a courageous but gentle music depiction of Bilbo’s burgeoning heroism, which grows from small roots in the Shire and can only grow in significance as he travels farther into the wide world to see its wonders.
Bilbo's Theme (Tookish Side): Bilbo’s timid peace loving façade hides a secret wish for excitement and adventure. Here the Shire material after an introspective and mature bridge section arches ever higher in yearning, perhaps for adventure, perhaps for heroism.
Fussy Bilbo (Bilbo's Antics): Appears as Bilbo struggles with the Dwarves' lifestyle and lives out of his comfort zone; represents his "Baggins" side.
Erebor theme: A rising motif using three-horn calls that represents the homeland of the Dwarves.
Arkenstone theme: A choral motif that accompanies the Arkenstone, the most valuable jewel in the Dwarves' possession.
The Woodland Realm theme: a choral motif which accompanies Thranduil and the elves as they greet Thror during the prologue.
Thorin's theme: A hopeful motif representing Thorin Oakenshield, first appearing when Thorin tries to defend Erebor's gate from the dragon Smaug, during the prologue.
The Dwarvish Suffering: A weary and grim gradually rising and falling motif revolves around the exile and subsequent degradation of the fortunes of the Durin’s folk of Erebor and more generally relates to the dwarvish suffering and fate.
The House of Durin: This noble, dignified yet introspective theme is a musical hybrid that combines the attributes of both Thorin’s and Erebor’s themes, creating a longing climbing figure that speaks of the dwarves’ yearning for their home, the loss that the race of Erebor has endured and the unbending nobility of the dwarven race as Thorin’s company attempts to retake their former kingdom.
Ancient Enemies: A thematic identification for the enmity between the dwarves and orcs but also specifically of Thorin and Azog the Orc king of Moria that runs deep indeed.
Smaug's theme: A menacing and discordant theme representing Smaug the Terrible.
Gandalf's theme: A five-note motif that represents Gandalf the Grey; this theme is different than that of Gandalf the White's theme, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Gandalf’s 2nd Theme/The Istari: The order of the Wizards, the Istari, is also depicted by a theme of its own, which in the course of the Hobbit trilogy becomes most strongly attached to Gandalf’s presence and his friendship, a searching lyrical melodic line. It seems to alternate with the more active primary theme as a musical identity for the wizard in the first Hobbit film.
Misty Mountains theme: Represents the Dwarven Company, their Quest to reclaim Erebor, and their crossing of the iconic Misty Mountains. It is also the basis for the "Song of the Lonely Mountain" by Neil Finn. However, it is curiously absent from The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies.
Radagast theme: A quirky theme for Radagast the Brown, representing his perpetual motion.
Radagast’s 2nd Theme: The Brown Wizard also has a secondary idea tied to him, but it is very closely knit into the collection of his other musical sounds. Radagast’s often nervously busy music surrounds an eerie choral and orchestral motif, which contains references to the nervous rising and falling string figures of his music wedded with another long lined melody winding on top of it, creating in the process a new theme.
Dol Guldur/The Necromancer: aggressive and sombre theme that represents the dark fortress of Dol Guldur and the Necromancer within.
Azog's theme: Variation on the 'Descending Third motif' of Mordor, here representing the film's main antagonist Azog the Defiler.
Moon theme: A motif that represents the Dwarves' moon runes, and their secret doors.
Goblin-town theme: A chaotic and brassy theme which appears when the Dwarves get captured by the Goblins.
Bilbo's Heroics: Appears at the end of the film when Bilbo saves Thorin's life.
Warg Scouts' Theme: A 13 note motif that appears in the songs "Warg Scouts" and "Out of the Frying Pan". In The Battle of the Five Armies soundtrack, it is played on the song "Ravenhill."
Trolls motif: A loud theme that plays in the song "Roast Mutton".
Beorn's theme: A deep and brassy theme played several times in the opening tracks.
Mirkwood theme: The theme is built around slow succession. Different variations are played when the Company wanders in the forest.
Thranduil's theme: Wholly majestic theme orchestrated with beautiful strings and ethereal voices, often representing Thranduil.
Legolas's theme: A fast-paced, dance-like theme based on the first line of The Woodland Realm theme but differentiating in tempo.
Tauriel's theme: A powerful and melodic string rhythm appears as a theme several times. Later on, the theme is varied based on the scenario.
Bard's theme: The theme reflects his ambiguity as a character.
The House of Durin: A theme that represents the history of the House of Durin. The theme starts similarly to Thorin's Theme, but plays out differently. It first appears in the scene when Bard recalls the prophecy about the return of the King under the Mountain, and is featured in tracks such as "My Armour is Iron" and "The Hunters". In The Battle of the Five Armies soundtrack, it is played in "Beyond Sorrow and Grief" and "Mithril" and is featured prominently at the beginning of "Sons of Durin."
Kili's Theme: A short theme that is played on a trumpet. It appears at the beginning of "Feast of Starlight." In The Battle of the Five Armies soundtrack, it is played at the beginning of "Shores of the Long Lake" and is played near the end of "Ravenhill."
Tauriel and Kili: A love theme that represents the relationship between the two characters. It appears in "Feast of Starlight", "Kingsfoil", and "Beyond the Forest".
Bolg's Theme: A loud and ominous theme that appears at the end of the extended version of "The Forest River" and appears in "The Hunters." It is very similar to Azog's Theme.
Smaug's Cunning: A motif that appears throughout almost the entire soundtrack. It is loudly heard in "A Liar and a Thief" and "Smaug". In the films its played almost every time a reference to Smaug is mentioned. On The Battle of the Five Armies soundtrack, it is used as a motif to represent Thorin's Dragon Sickness.
Esgaroth Theme: A 10-note theme that represents Lake-Town. It appears prominently in the tracks "Protector of the Common Folk" and "Thrice Welcome".
The Master of Lake-Town's Theme: The theme, played by woodwinds, strings and a clavichord, reflects his high position and his greedy nature.
Alfrid's Theme: A short motif that represents The Master of Lake-Town's slimy assistant, Alfrid. It appears briefly in "Protector of the Common Folk" and it appears in the film version of "The Battle of the Five Armies."
Girion, Lord of Dale/Bard’s Heroism (The Black Arrow): A motif to represent the Last Lord of Dale who injured Smaug, the weapon he used to kill him, and Bard's role as a hero.
Thrain's Theme: Thorin’s father Thrain is first only seen in glimpses in the flashbacks in the first movie but his story is further explored in the extended version of the second film. Shore’s music for Thrain is strongly embedded in the established theme for Erebor but receives a mysterious arpeggio string accompaniment to denote both the mystery and the tragedy of the fallen monarch, held captive and stricken mad in the dungeons of the Necromancer where Gandalf encounters him.
Bilbo Suspense Music (Bilbo the Burglar): This motif is a sneaky driving ostinato figure that follows Bilbo when he takes charge of the situation at a pivotal moment.
The White Gems of Lasgalen: For the White Gems of Lasgalen, “of the Greenleaves”(for Mirkwood was once called Eryn Lasgalen, the Wood of Greenleaves), Shore provides a subtle slurred variant of his theme for Mirkwood, a truncated form of his 6-note elusive motto. If possible this theme is even more eerie and chilling than the Mirkwood theme, illustrating a singular obsession of the elven king that burns cold in his mind, overriding his sense of reason when bargaining with Thorin. This small but discomforting motif appears both in The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies when Thranduil seeks to reclaim these elven jewels and is driven to harsh actions over them, the music a chilling reminder of the dangers of greed, holding grudges and obsession, made all the more disturbing when invading the usually calm and composed elven musical world.
The Death Theme: Death theme becomes a prominent musical motif in the third film and it appears frequently throughout the final part of the story to signal loss and sorrow. It skirts the Woodland Realm theme as it actively revolves around Thranduil and the elves, the concept of mortality strongly present both in the war that rages in the last film of the trilogy and in the relationship between Kili and Tauriel (this short motif is embedded in their love music as a reminder of its tragic nature) and informs the theme of Dwarvish Suffering as well.
Dain II "Ironfoot"'s theme: A heroic theme played by woodwinds, trumpets, and bagpipes. It appears in "Ironfoot" and "Battle for the Mountain", and it is played in the movie during Dain's arrival to the Lonely Mountain and the beginning of the battle.
Bard's family's theme: A gently rising a falling theme which, after being hinted at in the second movie, is first played in full during "Fire and Water". A heroic rendition of the theme appears during the end of "Battle for the Mountain". It also appears in the extended version of "Ironfoot".
Gundabad theme: A driving, offbeat theme for Mount Gundabad and its forces. It is first played out in "Bred for War", and features prominently at times in "Ravenhill".
War Preparations (Dwarven Warriors): A harsh motif that is played with drums and horns in the tracks "The Ruins of Dale" and "Mithril", representing the militarization of Thorin's company.
Bard's Leadership Theme: A short motif that appears in "Shores of the Long Lakes", "Ironfoot", and "Dragon-Sickness". In the film, it is played when Percy recounts Bard's shooting the dragon.
As with Lord of the Rings, many soloists performed music for the three films. These include Neil Finn who performed the "Song of the Lonely Mountain" in An Unexpected Journey and Richard Armitage as a cast performer. James Nesbitt also performs in the extended edition of An Unexpected Journey.
The soundtrack album for An Unexpected Journey was released on 11 December 2012. It has been released in both Standard Edition and Special Edition, with both coming in a 2-disc format. The Geeks of Doom commented that Shore, who recorded the soundtrack at Abbey Road Studios in London, re-used some of the "magisterial musical motifs" from his music for The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, but that he "uses his established themes to launch into a completely original sonic adventure with turns both optimistic and dark, true to the mutual visions of Jackson and Tolkien".
Standard edition
Special edition
The two-disc special edition contains six bonus tracks and six extended tracks.
The full score was nominated at the 11th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards, and the "Song of the Lonely Mountain" received a nomination for the Houston Film Critics Society Awards. Allmusic's reviewer wrote favourably about the album, but noted that the soundtrack was not as "sweeping and epic as that for [Jackson's] The Lord of the Rings", attributing this to the smaller scale of Bilbo's adventure as compared to the events of The Lord of the Rings. Examiner.com, however, was very positive and observed that The Hobbit soundtrack fitted the style and tone of The Lord of the Rings, writing that the opening for An Unexpected Journey was much better than that of The Fellowship of the Ring. In 2013, the score for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ranked ninth out of one hundred by Classic FM'S top film scores.
The album charted in several countries, reaching the top ten album charts in Korea and the United States. It was also awarded a golden record certification in Canada.
The soundtrack album for The Desolation of Smaug was released on 10 December 2013 in both Standard Edition and Special Edition. The cover of the Special Edition features the design used for the special edition of the soundtrack for An Unexpected Journey on a purple background.
Standard edition
Special edition
The special edition contains one bonus track and twelve extended tracks.
The soundtrack album for The Battle of the Five Armies was released on December 8, 2014. Both a Standard Edition and a Special Edition were released. The score was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as it was for The Desolation of Smaug. For the soundtrack, Billy Boyd, who played Peregrin Took in The Lord of the Rings, wrote and recorded the song "The Last Goodbye".
Standard edition
Special edition
The two-disc special edition contains two bonus tracks and five extended tracks.
