There are 4 albums of Fenton`s scores to the BBC natural history series:
PLANET EARTH, FROZEN PLANET, THE BLUE PLANET performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and DEEP BLUE performed by the Berlin Philharmonc. Those are very traditional large orchestral scores that really show the huge talent of Fenton. I love all 4 releases.
Does anyone know if there is interesting music from those series not yet released?
There is also 'Earth' (what 'Deep Blue' is to 'The Blue Planet', 'Earth' is to 'Planet Earth') which he did with The Berlin Philharmoniker. It has never been released and that's a real shame; there is lots of the great thematic material from 'Planet Earth' reorchestrated here and it sounds fantastic.
A couple of years ago, I went to Birmingham's Symphony Hall for the Sir Anthony Hopkins' (yes, that one) concert and I met George Fenton in the foyer during the interval - I believe he helped Hopkins' prepare the music for the concert hall. Anyway, I asked him about an 'Earth' release and he said he would love for it to happen but that it's very expensive to release recordings by The Berlin Philharmoniker. He wasn't confident it would happen. A shame.
I imagine the 'End Credits' suite has probably been audio-ripped at some point - some highlights in there but the one piece from 'Earth' I long for is the even more urgent and powerful orchestration of 'The Wolf and the Caribou' material released with 'Planet Earth'. It's used in 'Earth' as part of an overture almost and this version also opens 'Planet Earth in Concert'.
Nice to have these scores spotlighted again. Good thread.
Are you folks aware of Fenton's work on the 2004 TV movie Pride? Essentially a cousin to his BBC documentary scores, one that you could call the African version of Planet Earth. Very good stuff, unreleased (of course!), and as a consequence very little info about it to be found anywhere. It looks as if Fenton got an Emmy nomination in 2005 (for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series), though...
There are 4 albums of Fenton`s scores to the BBC natural history series:
PLANET EARTH, FROZEN PLANET, THE BLUE PLANET performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and DEEP BLUE performed by the Berlin Philharmonc. Those are very traditional large orchestral scores that really show the huge talent of Fenton. I love all 4 releases.
Are all those four fully orchestral scores? I was listening to music from a series that features his music a while back and it was disappointed to hear it was quite synth-heavy. It might have been "The Trials of Life". I don't recall for sure. Can someone tell us which documentary scores of his are purely orchestral, and which feature synth content?
Are all those four fully orchestral scores? I was listening to music from a series that features his music a while back and it was disappointed to hear it was quite synth-heavy. It might have been "The Trials of Life". I don't recall for sure. Can someone tell us which documentary scores of his are purely orchestral, and which feature synth content?
Trials of Life was an electronic score. But the others are large orchestral works, and very impressive too. The Blue Planet is my personal favorite...
Deep Blue is a standalone documentary film drawn from footage shot for The Blue Planet. Fenton re-worked some of his Blue Planet cues for the film, but also wrote a lot of new material too.
I like Planet Earth, but it is more legato and "laid back", a bit like Fenton in a "John Barry" mode -- broad, expansive...
