The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power deals with elves, dwarfs, wizards, and harfoots, it’s quite significant the title scene must reflect these magical qualities. And it does this perfectly and beautifully. The title sequence, which weaves together the entire story of the show with technology and history, is probably the most creative use of creativity.
Although many people have heard the bouncing grains to music before, Alexander King, a game designer, remarked on their similarities to Chladni figures. The phenomenon, known as Cymatics, was named after its founder, German musician and physicist Ernst Chladni. It is made by using lightweight materials (such as sand), with vibrations that flow across a flat surface. In this case, sound is just vibrations of different wavelengths. This makes music and sound waves visible to the eyes.
Anthony Vitagliano, creative director behind The Rings of PowerThe opening credits were later confirmed to be the use cymatics. Plains of Yonder produced the scene and the music was composed by Howard Shore. Why did they choose this scene over all others?
The Shaping of Eä
J.R.R. is known for its important themes. Music is a key theme in Tolkien’s Legendarium. Eru Ilúvatar, the One, created Ainur (similar to a celestial court), who was responsible for the music. Ainulindalë, or Music of the Ainur, is how the material universe was created. Tolkein claims that his world was created by music, not the Big Bang as we know. The Ainur had first to learn harmony to make this happen. In the beginning, Ainur sang individually or in groups, so Eru brought them together to fill the Void and create Eä, the universe. Later, they used singing as a medium to express their feelings.
One signer was always different from the rest. Melkor is the name he was known for, as he wanted to challenge Eru. While his dissonance puzzled his peers, many decided to join him. Eru reprimanded Melkor’s defiance three times: in the first two, his approach was warm, but in the third one, he clarified his understanding of Melkor’s foul intentions.
🙏Thanks for this wonderful breakdown of titles. More info on the inspiration we pulled from Tolkien’s writings for the title along with the full credits of the team who brought it to life. We will soon reveal the behind-the scenes. Cheers! https://t.co/2c7j6Vy0Rx
— Anthony Vitagliano (@a_vitagliano) September 11, 2022
Creation of Arda
After Eä, Arda, the globed world, came into existence with the Secret Fire of Eru, also known as Flame Imperishable. Melkor travelled the Void and all of existence to search for this flame but was unsuccessful as Eru had already made it. That flame brought the Children of Ilúvatar—the races of Elves and Humans—to life and made some Ainur move into Arda, taking humanoid forms. Except for Melkor, these beings were called Valar.
The interesting fact that the Cymatics capture and, therefore, present in The Rings of Power’s title sequence is symmetry, is one of the most fascinating facts. While Arda was created by Ilúvatar, it was Valars who shaped the world as it was in its early history. At the beginning Arda was not spherical but flat with a dome-shaped sky above it. Valar was responsible however for creating Endor and Aman. The former was for the Valar to reside, while the latter was for the Children of Ilúvatar.
Arda is technically a ring that contains land and an island at the center of its sea. Endor forms the ring, while Aman is the isle. This is where you will find the realm of Valinor. It’s also important to know when the Rings of Power took place, Arda was still flat. It only became spherical with the fall of Númenor, carried out by Ilúvatar himself. As of now, the Island of Númenor is still there in the show.
Interpretations of the Opening Title
We know music and flat surfaces are essential to The Rings of Power so it is time to understand what these shapes mean. Music of Ainur is responsible for the constant changing of the sand. The song’s title indicates that it is still being played, which means that Eru’s vision was actually carried out by the song. Additionally, Arda was subject to multiple transformations as shown in the credit scene.
The first frame shows nine circles with eight around the larger one at the centre. It is easy to mistake this for the nine Rings of Power Sauron gave to Humans. If one is larger than the others, it doesn’t add up. Instead, this may be a representation of the Ainulindalë itself, as the Ainur sat with Eru in a circle when creating Eä.
Next, we have the formation of two trees. You will find multiple links in this episode. The most obvious is the Trees of Valinor. It was shown in the first episode of A Shadow of the Past. They brought light to the world before Melkor and Ungoliant, his giant spider lieutenant destroyed them. There are more significant trees in the show: one in Durin’s (Owain Arthur) home in the second episode, and the White Tree of Númenor in the third episode. Both are representative of the relationship between Elves, other races (Dwarves or Men), The shape of the tree also reminds one of the White Tree of Gondor (as seen in Peter Jackson’s trilogy), a descendant of the one in Númenor.
The third frame sees an eight-pointed star, which refers to the House of Feänor, which was responsible for dividing his race. Next, you will see Simarils. This is a star with three circles that spins around it.
We then have Melkor himself, also known as Morgoth in this show. As the title grows darker, a black streak emerges from the golden grains. It is a reflection of his dissonance with the Music of the Ainur, and the darkness that he seeks out on Middle-Earth. Sauron is his successor and stirs Middle-Earth among those with no idea of who he’s.
The One Ring is the last of these images. We see the final representation of concentric shapes with a perfect middle ring after several frames. Sauron’s efforts with the Rings of Power resulted in his One Ring which is the rule of them all.
