This is probably one of my 5 favorite tracks from all three of the Lord of the Rings soundtracks. It begins with the orchestra and some vocals setting the stage for the flute solo, which then gives way to the Gondor theme played by the brass. Part of the way through, the strings and the percussion enter. The percussion acts as war drums, which is very appropriate considering the point at which the movie is when the song occurs. Much of the piece up to this point has consisted of tension-building chords, which is accentuated by the strings in this section. In addition to this, I see the beginning of the piece up to the entrance of Billy Boyd's fantastic solo as a large crescendo, which, in addition to the chordal tension, gives way all at once for his spotlight. Boyd's solo is a celtic-like folksong that's a bit haunting when considering the circumstances in which his character is in. The strings build in both volume and tension in a chord that is resolved on Boyd's last note. Following this, part of the orchestra returns for a few concluding seconds, which feels somewhat like a sigh of relief.
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What makes Billy's solo even more impressive is that he wrote it himself. Is that a normal flute? It sounds more like an alto flute or some ethnic variant.
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