No CD is available yet of Phipps's score for this great series (which just completed its third series/season). However his agents have made a few cues available for listening at their site:
Also, the series features a great re-recording of the song "Nostalgia", by Emily Barker, which Phipps worked on. The "Wallander Version" of the song is apparently going to be released as an mp3 on August 13 at last. The album version of the song is nice, but different from the TV version.
The BBC seem to be very slow reacting to things like this. I mean, he did win a BAFTA for the music (not that this necessarily means much, I suppose). There are a lot of Beeb shows which I would have thought demanded a release of music, but it rarely happens any more. At one time, labels such as Silva Screen would have been up for things like this, but not so much these days.
Was Phipps involved in the show beyond the first series? Dominic Muldowney did the most recent ones.
To be honest, I wasn't really struck by the music for the BBC episodes, regardless of who wrote it.
The Swedish episodes.....well, now that's a different matter
Was Phipps involved in the show beyond the first series? Dominic Muldowney did the most recent ones.
To be honest, I wasn't really struck by the music for the BBC episodes, regardless of who wrote it.
The Swedish episodes.....well, now that's a different matter
Ah, I hadn't even noticed they changed composers. They still use all the themes Phipps established. Especially the "Evil" theme, which I love. I'm a huge fan of the scores and hope they make their way to CD, hopefully with the broadcast version of the theme song that Phipps arranged.
Was Phipps involved in the show beyond the first series? Dominic Muldowney did the most recent ones.
To be honest, I wasn't really struck by the music for the BBC episodes, regardless of who wrote it.
The Swedish episodes.....well, now that's a different matter
Ah, I hadn't even noticed they changed composers. They still use all the themes Phipps established. Especially the "Evil" theme, which I love. I'm a huge fan of the scores and hope they make their way to CD, hopefully with the broadcast version of the theme song that Phipps arranged.
Meanwhile, you can content yourself with the music to the far superior season one of the Swedish Wallander - both as a viewing experience and for Adam Norden's great music now available you-know-where.
Was Phipps involved in the show beyond the first series? Dominic Muldowney did the most recent ones.
Did he? I was sure I saw Phipps in the credits. (Must have imagined it!)
Unlike Bruce I really, really like the BBC version and think Branagh is super in it. But my favourite of these "Nordic noir" series so far is The Bridge - which held me rapt with attention throughout. Best thing I've seen on tv this year.
Did he? I was sure I saw Phipps in the credits. (Must have imagined it!)
Had to check my BluRays because it wouldn't be the first time I've misremembered something (having been convinced for years that Wally Stott scored Puppet On a Chain rather than Piero Piccioni, for instance )
I'm partly right.
Phipps indeed has scored most of them, with some other composers filling in for him. The full list is:
Sidetracked - Martin Phipps Firewall - Martin Phipps One Step Behind - Martin Phipps
Faceless Killers - Martin Phipps The Man Who Smiled - Ruth Barrett The Fifth Woman - Vince Pope
An Event in Autumn - Martin Phipps The Dogs of Riga - Dominic Muldowney Before The Frost - Martin Phipps
Having re-watched one last night, I still tend towards the opinion that the photography is the real strength of the BBC series, and perhaps for that reason I tend to pay less attention to the music. Having said that, you'd still think that someone in the UK would be interested in releasing it, even if only as a download. Has Phipps tried, I wonder?
Was Phipps involved in the show beyond the first series? Dominic Muldowney did the most recent ones.
Did he? I was sure I saw Phipps in the credits. (Must have imagined it!)
Unlike Bruce I really, really like the BBC version and think Branagh is super in it. But my favourite of these "Nordic noir" series so far is The Bridge - which held me rapt with attention throughout. Best thing I've seen on tv this year.
The Bridge was fantastic. Its leading lady gives an absolutely brilliant performance and I love that they never come right out and tell you her deal.
The Bridge was fantastic. Its leading lady gives an absolutely brilliant performance and I love that they never come right out and tell you her deal.
Indeed. A wonderful character and wonderful performance. Such complex depths to both, with just enough left to the viewer's imagination - one of the strongest tv characters I've seen in some time.
I note they're doing a second series - hope it's not a mistake. It felt that what needed to be said was said in those ten perfect episodes.
I've just started series one of the Branagh version of this show and love it. The music by Martin Phipps is exceptional within the program itself and the piano theme (whatever it may be called) that plays over the end credits is wonderful.
I've just started series one of the Branagh version of this show and love it. The music by Martin Phipps is exceptional within the program itself and the piano theme (whatever it may be called) that plays over the end credits is wonderful.
the theme from the show is a song called "Nostalgia":
The multiple versions actually used in the show were specially recorded for it by Phipps (who orchestrated) and the artist, Emily Barker.
She even rewrote the lyrics for the TV versions, altering Australian names like "Melbourne skies" to "northern skies", etc.
Unfortunately the TV versions are unreleased, as is the score.
The versions she has released on albums and singles don't sound the same.
This is the album version, though oddly the video was shot in a field of rapeseed, where the iconic opening of the first episode is set.
Given the popularity of this series, you'd really have thought that the BBC, in cooperation with a label, would have released this music. Not even Silva Screen interested? Too busy with Doctor Who, I suppose...
Even the Krister Henriksson/ Swedish series got download releases (with Adam Norden's score getting a well deserved CD release from Kritzerland as well). Personally I prefer the music to the Swedish episodes myself, but I'd still buy a release of the BBC scores in a heartbeat.
Given the popularity of this series, you'd really have thought that the BBC, in cooperation with a label, would have released this music. Not even Silva Screen interested? Too busy with Doctor Who, I suppose...
Even the Krister Henriksson/ Swedish series got download releases (with Adam Norden's score getting a well deserved CD release from Kritzerland as well). Personally I prefer the music to the Swedish episodes myself, but I'd still buy a release of the BBC scores in a heartbeat.
It's especially odd as the BBC presumably owns the recordings of the song done for the show, as well as all the score. Shouldn't be that difficult to create an album. I guess the death of CDs makes it not worth the effort.
Only hope is they'll do an album timed to the final series which has been announced for the near future. They've been running every 2 years, 2008, 2010, 2012, which would place series four in 2014 presumably.
This is different than the rendition that plays over the end credits to "Sidetracked." The version I heard was piano, violin, and guitar. No voice.
As she explains at the link, it's a version recorded as an alternate slow rendition for a melancholy scene in series one, which was then used as the end credits in series three. Strangely it just fades out mid-vocal, but she says they never recorded the whole song in this version.
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