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 fifth movement expresses the carefree and optimistic character of the Hobbits in a happy folk dance, the hymn that follows emanates the determination and noblesse of the hobbit folk. The symphony does not end on an exuberant note, but is concluded peacefully and resigned, in keeping with the symbolic mood of the last chapter 'The Grey Havens' in which Frodo andGandalf sail away in a white ship and disappear slowly beyond the horizon.