Debbie Wiseman (b. 1963)
Wolf Hall | The Mirror And The Light, original soundtrack
The Locrian Ensemble of London
rec. 2024, Air Studios, London
Silva Screen Records SILCD1768 [68]

Wolf Hall which appeared in 2015 is a British television series adaptation of two of the late Dame Hilary Mantel’s novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, which are fictionalised accounts of the life of Tudor courtier Thomas Cromwell. We have had to wait ten years until Wolf Hall | The Mirror And The Light, based on The Mirror & the Light, the final novel in the trilogy, took the series to its tragic conclusion. Sadly, Dame Hilary who died in 2022 never saw the TV series to its conclusion. This final series picked up where the first series left off. Opening in the aftermath of Anne Boleyn’s execution, the cunning politician Thomas Cromwell (Sir Mark Rylance) rises to greater heights in the court of King Henry VIII (Damian Lewis). If, like me, you were glued to the screen watching the drama unfold you will remember the atmospheric music by veteran composer Debbie Wiseman.

In discussions with the composer, the director Peter Kosminsky was clear that he did not want Tudor pastiche in the music. This did not stop Wiseman from using some period instruments such as the harp, recorder, mandolin and vielle to great effect. The music reflects the drama of  Dame Hilary’s prose and the atmosphere of the Tudor court but for a contemporary audience. The score is a continuation of leitmotifs  from the first series, though with the addition of new themes as new characters were added to the story.

The Mirror and the Light is told entirely from Cromwell’s point of view, and it is only through the music that we hear his inner voice, private thoughts and emotions. Cromwell is a guarded man, and this has resulted in a score which is introspective and often bleak. Soprano Grace Davidson’s rising and falling motif, which appears throughout the series, sets the tone for the tragedy. Her solo singing which opens the first track Faith and Truth, leaves us in no doubt the nature of what is to come. Recorder player Martin Feinstein has a haunting solo full of almost microtonal falls at the end of phrases in track seven Killing Vein. Other soloists in the group often have exposed lines, notably viola player, Philip Dukes, and mandolin player and guitarist John Parricelli. 

One of the main challenges for screen composers is how to evoke emotion without overpowering what is happening onscreen. This must have been extremely tricky here, as most of the performances and in particular Sir Mark as Cromwell were so incredibly understated. Wiseman’s score is therefore very restrained and subtle, gently supporting the onscreen action. The subtlety of the score never at any time distracts the viewer from the often very detailed dialogue and action taking place on screen. 

Like the story, much of the music is melancholy and poignant, something which the cor anglais, played by Phil Harmer, is particularly adept at evoking. There were, if I recall correctly, some livelier cues for the dance sections but these seem to have been omitted from the CD. Wiseman’s themes are perfectly suited to not only the characters they depict but to the instruments which play the themes. They all appear in their most effective ranges, allowing the minimalist overtones of the score to sound their best.

What struck me in watching the series was the seeming authenticity and detail of the costumes and the fact that so much of the action was filmed in the still existing locations where the original events had taken place. Taking those observations into account, Wiseman’s score, which is missing Tudor authenticity, could have been seen as distracting, but it is not. It helps, perhaps, that Wiseman and Kosminsky are longtime collaborators and what comes across is their shared vision, here beautifully realised. Listening to the music months after seeing the series it recreates images in my mind.

The sound in all tracks is subtlety engineered, with every nuance of the small ensemble atmospherically captured. The booklet is lavishly presented on glossy paper with a respectable number of photographs from the series. Brief notes from both director and composer are helpful.

Paul RW Jackson

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Contents
1. Faith and Truth
2. Salvage
3. The Five Wounds
4. Obedience
5. The Image of the King
6. Broken on the Body
7. Killing Vein
8. Defiance
9. Man of Sorrows
10. A Little Heaven
11. The Mirror and the Light
12. Wolf Hall Suite