Context

Wild Isles – Woodland

Wild Isles is a 2023 BBC documentary, narrated by Sir David Attenborough celebrating the wonders of British wildlife. English composer, George Fenton (b. 1949) wrote the music for the programme and said, “The overall pleasure for me, and I think for the audience, is realising the scale and variety of wildlife we’ve got in the UK. There’s one highlight which was really fun to write for, which is in the ‘Woodlands’ episode. We all know trees talk to each other, but there is an extraordinary sequence about how mushrooms not only communicate with each other, but help out others and that trees use the communication lines of mushrooms! It was great to score.” (interview: Classicalmusic.com)

Woodland by George Fenton

Listen For

As you listen, think about how you feel when walking through a woodland. Does this music reflect that?

Watch the first 3 minutes of the video and then continue listening, making your own observations, if you wish.

  • 24 second Wild Isles theme played at the start.
  • Calm, still atmosphere at the beginning of Woodland, created through a steady tempo, sustained strings and lyrical oboe melody.
  • The melody starts with a rising perfect fourth interval, (a serene, calm interval) and feels almost improvisatory as it unfolds.
  • 1:00 notice the layered string parts playing longer note values, with woodwind melodies interweaving.
  • 1:43 – solo violin plays a short dotted rhythm melody perhaps mirroring bird-song.
  • At 1:57 we hear the French horn playing a descending perfect 5th fragment, followed by the oboe at 2:06 playing a simple scalic phrase.
  • From 2:23 – ascending scalic idea building to a climactic moment through use of melodic sequence and addition of brass.
  • Listen for the return of the oboe (2:50) over gentle, static strings.

As you continue listening, think about different aspects of a woodland and how these might be portrayed in the music? Can you find the mushroom sequence that the composer talked about?

Things To Consider

  • What aspects would you include in your own woodland composition – leaves rustling underfoot, birdsong, majestic oak trees? Why not go for a forest walk to get some inspiration!
  • Think about: instrumentation, texture, melody, rhythm, tempo, pitch and harmony/tonality.