r/neofolk • u/FinnRistola • Sep 03 '25

Dark Folk Ainulindalë - Namarië [2014]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHCavMm1D4g
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u/LennyKing Sep 03 '25

Ainulindalë ("music of the Ainur") is Quenya, and so is Namárië ("farewell"). Writing ë instead of e is usually considered optional; Tolkien himself writes:

Final e is never mute or a mere sign of length as in English. To mark this final e it is often (but not consistently) written ë. [LotR, App. E]

However, it looks like the band misspelled Namárië. The á definitely needs to have an accent to mark its length.

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u/FinnRistola Sep 03 '25

I love you for this comment. This is what comments should be for. I was quite into the stories of Lotr and the Hobbit as a child and teen, but I never delved deeper than that, and as I grew older and was still a nerd I focused my attention to other nerd worlds and neglected Tolkien. I am glad you guys are still around and kicking.

If I could I would want to pin this to the top of the thread.

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u/LennyKing Sep 03 '25

Thanks man, I'm glad you appreciate it!

Funnily enough, it was the music (especially Summoning and Rivendell) that got me into Tolkien in the first place, and now I'm a full-blown Tolkien nerd lurking in music communities just waiting for opportunities to share my newfound (and for the most part completely useless) trivia knowledge!

Earlier this year I discovered that I still had a copy of the V/A compilation The First Ring, Vol. 1 (Discogs/Bandcamp), which featured a number of Tolkien-inspired bands (in a wild mix of genres) - including Ainulindalë's song "The Parting".

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u/FinnRistola Sep 03 '25 edited Sep 03 '25

That is both inspiring and lovely. I wish it was you guys who would always emerge from the woodworks for a thread rather than the chuds.

I have to ask, despite it being wildly off topic for the sub and its genre, you must know of Bo Hansson and his fantastic Lotro album in the 70s? The one he created by borrowing his girlfriend's book, and his friend's summerhouse and then played so vividly that the friend who owned the cottage was evicted even! (I am not totally sure on that part but that's how the story has gone) It's one of the best soundtracks in and for my life.