Uploaded July 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The heroic protagonist of the World of Men in The Desolation of Smaug, Bard, is a complex character with hidden motivations. This descendant of the noble line however has fallen to hard times and is a smuggler and a bargeman and the composer hones initially in on this quality of the character.
Bard’s theme begins moody, mysterious and suspenseful as we the audience or the dwarves or the hobbit do not know his true intentions and thus his melody is at first unassuming and subtle, rhythmically plodding almost in the same shadowy area as the Politicians of Lake-town theme, but slowly through The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies Bard becomes a hero and Shore accordingly reveals the proud burnished quality of the theme when it bravely calls on the brass as the Bowman rushes to protect his family and the people of Lake-town.
The heroic protagonist of the World of Men in The Desolation of Smaug, Bard, is a complex character with hidden motivations. This descendant of the noble line however has fallen to hard times and is a smuggler and a bargeman and the composer hones initially in on this quality of the character.
Bard’s theme begins moody, mysterious and suspenseful as we the audience or the dwarves or the hobbit do not know his true intentions and thus his melody is at first unassuming and subtle, rhythmically plodding almost in the same shadowy area as the Politicians of Lake-town theme, but slowly through The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies Bard becomes a hero and Shore accordingly reveals the proud burnished quality of the theme when it bravely calls on the brass as the Bowman rushes to protect his family and the people of Lake-town.
