Johan de Meij's first symphony The Lord of the Rings is based on the trilogy of that name by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book has fascinated many millions of readers since its publication in 1955. The symphony consists of five separate movements, each illustrating a personage or an important episode from the book. The fourth movement describes the laborious journey of the Fellowship of the Ring, headed by the wizard Gandalf, through the dark tunnels of the Mines of Moria. The slow walking cadenza and the fear are clearly audible in the monotonous rhythm of the low brass, piano and percussion. After a wild pursuit by hostile creatures, the Orks, Gandalf is engaged in battle witha horrible monster, the Balrog, and crashes from the subterranean bridge of Khazad-Dum in a fathomless abyss. To the melancholy tones of a Marcia funebre, the bewildered Companions trudge on, looking for the only way out of the Mines, the East Gate of Moria.