O R I G I N A L T E L E V I S I O N S O U N D T R A C K

O R I G I N A L M U S I C C O M P O S E D & C O N D U C T E D B Y D E B B I E W I S E M A N

P E R F O R M E D B Y T H E L O C R I A N E N S E M B L E O F L O N D O N

I. Wolf HallII. BeginningsIII. Prophecies And DreamsIV. Devil’s SpitV. Monstrous Ser vantVI. Forg ive MeVII. The ScholarVIII. Master Of PhantomsIX. Anna ReginaX. St ill I Love HimXI. The Smallest ComplimentXII. The Unicorn’s HornXIII. Whom The Lord LovesXIV. Aust in Fr iarsXV. CrowsXVI. Angel WingsXVII. Just WordsXVIII. Entirely Beloved

Wo l f H a l l

The score for Wolf Hall represents my sixth collaboration with the inspiring and wonderfully creative composer, Debbie Wiseman. As in the past, we were able to begin speaking about the score at an unusually early stage. Working with my editor and long-time collaborator, David Blackmore, I was able to have three sessions with Debbie during pre-production. This allowed her to sketch out the main themes before a frame had been shot. This helped during the subsequent shoot in so many ways. It allowed David to assemble our footage using temporary versions of what would be Debbie’s actual score, rather than using the work of other composers as is normally the case. And it allowed the DOP, (Gavin Finney), and myself to have the key themes in our heads as we shot the serial, a huge advantage as one seeks to settle on style and pace.

Debbie chose to create a score that acknowledged, rather than slavishly adhered to, the compositional style and orchestration of the Henrician Age. The spare, distinctive sound of the string quintet - beautifully augmented by the cor anglais - conveys so effectively the veiled persona of Hilary Mantel’s revisionist hero, Thomas Cromwell - as masterfully played by Mark Rylance. Her ‘Cromwell’s Theme’ is a glorious leitmotif for the evocation of a world set half a millennium ago and yet fresh and politically resonant, as if it were today.

A n o t e f r o m t h e d i r e c t o r , P e t e r K o s m i n s k y

Special thanks to Peter Kosminsky for the inspiration.

Peter Straughan for the extraordinary adaptation.

David Blackmore, the editor, for his dedication and talent, and assistant editor Deborah Kavanagh for her constant assistance.

Steve Price, my music recordist, for his incredible skill and instinctive understanding of my music, and assistant Jez Murphy for his unflappable support.

The wonderful musicians who played on this score – every one of them brought their individuality and personality to the performances.

And finally, the person with whom this all began, the brilliant Hilary Mantel.

It has been a huge privilege to have been given the opportunity by Peter Kosminsky to compose the original score for the BBC’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s WOLF HALL. Tudor court music and the instruments of that period provided some initial inspiration, but the first thing that Peter asked me to do was to write a theme for Thomas Cromwell, and a theme for Anne Boleyn, and these two themes dominate the score in various different guises.

As I know that lovers of film music often enjoy hearing about the process of composition, I’ve also included on the album a few solo piano tracks which show how these themes first appeared in my head, before the orchestration. Peter enjoys hearing the music played initially on solo piano, and so I would play him the themes in this simplest form before developing them further to create the score.

This has been a unique experience. It’s the first project for some time where I’ve used a small group of players, featuring a string quintet rather than a full string section, and it was a decision taken in order to attempt to depict the world of Thomas Cromwell in a way that wasn’t slavishly “Tudor” in instrumentation or musical style, but rather to convey immediacy and a sense of being “in the moment” with Cromwell - as Hilary Mantel says, our past is their present. A lush, full symphony orchestra, for instance, would have felt at odds with the way Peter, in his unmistakable style, had shot the series – not sweet or romanticised in any way, but raw, unperfumed and meticulously authentic.

I’ve enjoyed every minute of writing for this incredible group of musicians and I hope you enjoy the results.

A n o t e f r o m t h e c o m p o s e r , D e b b i e W i s e m a n

The Locrian String Quintet

Skaila Kanga - harpGeorge Hadjineophytou - mandolin

Petra Hajduchova - harpsichord

Jakob Lindberg - theorbo

Debbie Wiseman

I. Wolf HallII. BeginningsIII. Prophecies And DreamsIV. Devil’s SpitV. Monstrous Ser vantVI. Forg ive MeVII. The ScholarVIII. Master Of PhantomsIX. Anna ReginaX. St ill I Love HimXI. The Smallest ComplimentXII. The Unicorn’s HornXIII. Whom The Lord LovesXIV. Aust in Fr iarsXV. CrowsXVI. Angel WingsXVII. Just WordsXVIII. Entirely Beloved

Wo l f H a l l CreditsOriginal music composed, orchestrated

and conducted by Debbie Wiseman

Performed by The Locrian Ensemble of London

Recorder: Martin Feinstein Cor Anglais: Phil Harmer

Mandolin: George Hadjineophytou Harp: Skaila Kanga

Harpsichord: Petra Hajduchova and David Wright Lute: Jacob Heringman

Theorbo: Jakob Lindberg Vielle: Charlie Brown

Percussion: Frank Ricotti Female Ethnic Voice: Belinda Sykes

Violin I: Perry Montague-Mason Violin II: Charlie Brown

Viola: Philip Dukes Cello: Justin Pearson

Double Bass: Chris Laurence and Richard Pryce Piano solos: Debbie Wiseman

Baritone voice/choir f ixed by Don Greig

Music recorded and mixed by Steve Price Assistant engineer: Jez Murphy

Recorded and mixed at Angel Studios, London Music Copyist: Tony Wharmby

Album mastered by Mike Brown at Original Sound

Executive producers for Silva Screen Records ltd: Reynold D’Silva and David Stoner

Release co-ordination: Pete Compton Artwork & design: Stuart Ford

Music published by BBC Worldwide Ltd.

SILCD1472

Ⓟ 2015 BBC Worldwide Ltd. © 2015 BBC Worldwide Ltd. Under exclusive licence to Silva Screen Records Ltd.