{"id":25694,"date":"2023-03-17T13:04:46","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T12:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=181691"},"modified":"2023-03-17T13:33:43","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T12:33:43","slug":"who-has-written-the-music-for-wild-isles","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/who-has-written-the-music-for-wild-isles\/","title":{"rendered":"Who has written the music for \u2018Wild Isles\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wild Isles is the BBC\u2019s look at the UK\u2019s own natural wonders, and the music for the series is by someone with more than a little experience in natural history scoring\u2026 <\/p>

By Michael Beek\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 17 March 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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After a number of big-budget series focusing on the planet\u2019s most awesome natural spectacles, the BBC\u2019s Wild Isles<\/em> is something of a homecoming. That\u2019s because, for once, audiences won\u2019t be whisked off to the African savannah, the South American rainforest or the depths of the South Pacific, but the woodlands, waters, wildlife and wonders of our very own United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

The five-part series, presented by Sir David Attenborough, was launched last Sunday evening on BBC One and with its spectacular footage of everything from Eagles to Orcas, it\u2019s already proving that you don\u2019t have to travel so far to witness some truly amazing flora and fauna.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a homecoming for the series\u2019 composer, too. George Fenton is a veteran of Natural History scoring, having composed the music for some of the BBC\u2019s very finest documentaries over the last few decades, from The Trials of Life\u00a0<\/em>through to the original series\u2019 of The Blue Planet, Planet Earth <\/em>and Frozen Planet<\/em>. And it was a return the Oscar-nominated composer was all too happy to embrace, not least of all because it meant he\u2019d be working with the BBC Concert Orchestra again, as he told me.<\/p>\n

\u2018I love doing them, because it\u2019s just so different than working on a film, and musically it\u2019s different. I don\u2019t wish that I\u2019d done them all the time \u2013 I\u2019m glad I\u2019ve had a long break from doing them, but I was glad to get back and do one. Not least because in the old days, when I worked on The Blue Planet<\/em> and things, I did all the recording with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and I did this with them as well. It was so nice to see them on a regular basis, for the five episodes, and they\u2019re a terrific orchestra now; they\u2019re really really good, really quick and just marvellous.\u2019<\/p>\n

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George Fenton \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Fenton has written over three hours of music for Wild Isles<\/em>, with the majority of it being orchestral. Though, as he explains, sometimes the natural world needs the odd unnatural sound to help it along\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve used some electronics in certain sections, because one of the challenges of natural history is that virtually nothing is actually moving at the speed it really moves at. You know, everything is either just a little bit slowed down, or very slowed down, or sped up. Sometimes, rhythmically, when you look at things like that it really seems that my response is much more about beats and pulses, and electronic things, than it is to do with an orchestra.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly a joy to have George Fenton back on our screens, writing for the very real drama and occasional humour to be found in the natural world. The last few series, sequels to some of those originally scored by the composer, have featured themes by Hollywood giant Hans Zimmer and a team of talented composers from Bleeding Fingers Music. The blockbuster feel of the likes of Blue Planet II<\/em> and Planet Earth II<\/em> inspired suitably epic music, but with George Fenton at the helm of Wild Isles<\/em>, audiences are treated to original music with just a bit more grace, class and character.<\/p>\n