By
Debbie Wiseman
4 min read
By
Debbie Wiseman
I remember the first time I had a piece of my music played on commercial radio. It was my theme from the film, Wilde, and I was hugely excited hearing the presenter introduce the music, and listening to it being played on the radio.
It reminded me that it is radio that helps listeners discover new music. And it is a forum that also champions other forms of classical music such as video game music - a burgeoning industry lately - and, most importantly for me, music specially composed for film and television.
Those forms of music are - at least for those who may be new to the delights of classical music - a perfect introduction to pieces by Mozart and Beethoven, John Williams and Philip Glass. That is how it should be - inclusive and inspiring music for everyone.
So I was thrilled and honoured to be invited to take up the post as the new Composer in Residence for Classic FM. I love the idea of a national radio station having its own "in-house" composer - writing music especially for them and their listeners - and now I have the opportunity to write a brand new album of orchestral music to be released in September 2016.
The unique idea of the album is a 12-movement suite entitled The Musical Zodiac in which each movement is inspired by the characteristics and personalities of the 12 signs of the Zodiac and their associated constellations, and touches on the mythology, legend and folklore that are attached to each sign.
Almost all of my career as a composer I've been writing music for pictures, inspired by the drama, the period, the characters on screen. One of my most recent commissions was the score for Wolf Hall where the music reflected, with a modern slant, the machinations and subterfuge of the Tudor court.
Another was Father Brown where the '50s period setting provoked warm nostalgic music, with just a hint of Ealing comedy.
Now, without that immediate gift of a film - a story -to inspire the music for this new commission, I find myself compelled to write my own drama for each of the 12 movements - a framework that I will endeavour to decorate with numerous layers of musical ornamentation!
Almost everyone has their own favourite type of music, whether it's classical, rock, pop or jazz, but I've never believed that music should be slavishly categorised as belonging to a "genre". – For me, it's either music that appeals to me or music I want to switch off, and very little in between!
However, if I was pressed on the question, my natural instinct - plus my training - would lean me towards classical music as, for me, it has the ability to connect and satisfy in a way that no other music can. It's the complexity and layering of multiple instruments that I find endlessly fascinating.
The breadth and scale of a classical work has the ability to get into my soul like no other - Mozart, Debussy, Ravel, Beethoven, Bruckner, Stravinsky, and so many more have left me in awe and wonderment at their beauty and inventiveness.
Nonetheless, when I was studying music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, my composition teacher, Buxton Orr, encouraged me to be open to all styles of music, as I would never know when they would come in useful.
With that in mind, I have world music, jazz, classical, rock and pop, R & B and early music in my collection – nothing is out of bounds, although some of the hip-hop is a little tricky to sing along to in mixed company. This acquired flexibility between genres has been hugely important and helpful in composing film music, as I've been asked to write for so many different stories and settings and sometimes the most bizarre and unconventional musical combinations are required.
Buxton Orr also encouraged me to write something every day, "even if it's rubbish and you throw it out afterwards, as it keeps the compositional juices flowing". I've carried that advice with me to this day, and it's been invaluable.
With demanding deadlines, it's never an option to suffer from the musical version of writer's block. When aspiring composers ask me for advice about starting a career in music composition, I always pass on Buxton's words, and add my own mantra; that you must, above all, have an overwhelming, all-consuming passion for music-making. Those two elements are vitally important - and non-negotiable!
I was recently invited on to Desert Island Discs, and when I was asked by Kirsty Young which one of my eight favourite discs I would save, I chose one by the French avant-garde composer, Olivier Messiaen - his Turangalila Symphony. Most people may not have come across this composer before, and some who have might say he challenges the listener with his style of writing, but his music paints pictures, sets scenes and tells stories in the most original, striking, colourfully vibrant way.
For me, music is at its best when it literally strikes a chord with the listeners; relates somehow to some part of their own personal story. My ambition for The Musical Zodiac is that everyone will find a little piece of themselves in the movement for their star sign - a melody, a phrase, a musical atmosphere that speaks to them, that connects with their life.
If that happens with even one listener then I will feel that I have succeeded in my task. This will all hopefully come to pass once I have finished the work; but now, I should really start; and with no film to write to, I shall draw my initial inspiration from Oscar Wilde. If anyone wants me over the next little while, I shall be sitting at my piano, looking at the stars.
