WILD ISLES IN CONCERT
Music composed and conducted by George Fenton
Performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
January 18, 2025
Barbican Hall
London, England
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
WILD ISLES is a five-part BBC nature documentary series about the British Isles and the many wildlife inhabitants that exist within its sprawling ecosystem.
Presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the series contains music by George Fenton, the Oscar-nominated film composer whose career has spanned a number of decades and included the scores for many other BBC nature documentaries such as DEEP BLUE and PLANET EARTH.
PART 2: CONCERT OVERVIEW
WILD ISLES IN CONCERT was performed to a sell-out crowd at the Barbican on a chilly Saturday evening in London.
Highlights from selected episodes were projected on a large screen as Fenton conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Before each piece Fenton would give a brief but illuminating description of what we would be seeing.
It was abundantly clear in the concert that WILD ISLES, as well as the many other BBC-produced documentaries that Fenton has scored in the past, means a great deal to him. He could clearly explain what we were seeing on screen with not only the knowledge of an expert, but also the passion of someone truly concerned about our world and its inhabitants.
PART 3: CONCERT PROGRAM
The evening’s concert was split into two parts with the first part focussing on the grasslands and woodlands, and the second part the oceans and freshwater. The full set list can be seen below:
PART 4: NATIONAL TREASURES
Before commenting about the music performed during the concert, let me first say a few things about the incomparable music Fenton has composed for this series.
Fenton’s music throughout the series expertly runs the gamut of styles and emotions.
Despite this, he doesn’t often Mickey Mouse the action on screen – instead, he reaches for the heart of the characters and the essence of the scene. He then translates that into clear and universally understood musical themes.
His music is of course elevated by the world-class BBC Symphony Orchestra, who, as Fenton described during the concert, are a national treasure.
The very same thing could be said about Fenton himself based on the many achievements of his long and storied career.
PART 5: THE FIRST HALF – GRASSLANDS AND WOODLANDS
1. Overture
2. Pollen
3. Courting Rituals
4. The Rut
5. The Wood Wide Web
6. Woodland Life
7. Red Squirrel
(There were many highlights throughout the evening, so allow me to cherry pick the ones that particularly stood out)
The evening started with “Overture,” a majestic and awe-inspiring piece that later transitioned into serene beauty as the images on screen showed the creatures in the peace of their natural habitats.
“Pollen” was accompanied by a fascinating video showing bees vibrating their bodies close to flowers in order to extract pollen from them. The seesawing orchestral effects created by the orchestra during this particular scene left a lasting impression.
“The Rut,” an exciting clip featuring fallow deer fighting for supremacy, had ferocious music for brass to match.
Fantastic suites of music from “The Wood Wide Web” and “Woodland Life” followed, with the first half of the concert ending with the sensational “Red Squirrel,” a fun and tongue-in-cheek piece full of percussion and Bond-like swagger to accompany the battle between two red squirrels vying for ripe pine cones. In a comedic masterstroke, the piece concluded with the screen closing in to highlight the face of the eventual victor!
PART 6: THE SECOND HALF – OCEANS AND FRESHWATER
1. Shetland Islands
2. Our Oceans
3. River Journey
4. The Day That Went Horribly Wrong
5. Weed Dance
6. Overwintering
7. Finale
“Shetland Islands” opened the second half with some killer – pun intended – music for killer whales that are hunting seals in a posse-like formation. Fenton noted that these whales hunt silently, making them all the more dangerous. The music here was suitably menacing with cello and bass driving the hunt forward.
Fenton then provided a lengthy description about the next piece, “Our Oceans.” He jokingly asked the audience if they had taken notes as he would be asking questions about it later!
“The Day That Went Horribly Wrong” was a piece accompanying the rather uncomfortable scenes of frogs being swallowed whole by slugs. Admitting how “disgusting” this all was before the piece began, Fenton then turned to the audience and mischievously asked us to “enjoy it.” 🙂
To change the mood, Fenton then treated us to the lovely “Weed Dance.” I can’t recall the name of the birds featured in the video clip, but the music was wonderfully romantic in that inimitable Fenton style.
PART 7: A SPECIAL FINALE WITH DAVID AND RICHARD
For “Finale,” Fenton had prepared a very special video highlighting his respect for and working relationships with Sir David and his older brother, Richard Attenborough, who had changed Fenton’s life by giving him the opportunity to score his multi-award-winning film, GANDHI.
The video featured select scenes of Sir David speaking while Fenton’s gorgeous score for IN LOVE AND WAR – a film directed by his brother Richard and scored by Fenton – was played with great sensitivity by the orchestra. I’ve always had a soft spot for his score to IN LOVE AND WAR because of its timeless romanticism and epic feel. Never did I expect to hear it live in concert conducted by Fenton himself!
The video concluded with Sir David affectionately watching a fledging Manx shearwater chick muster the courage to fly away to the strains of Fenton’s soaring and triumphant music.
This was followed by riotous applause and a rousing standing ovation for Fenton and his magnificent orchestra.
National treasures indeed.
PART 8: THE PIGEONS AND THEIR SURPRISE ENCORE
Coming back on stage for one surprise encore, Fenton lamented that WILD ISLES was missing one very important thing: pigeons. He then went on to say that “there are three million of them in London, and they all know where my car is!”
After the laughter died down, Fenton pulled out an ace – his rapturous end title march from VALIANT, a 2005 animated comedy film about the Royal Homing Pigeon Service and their immeasurable contributions to World War II.
The spirited performance by the orchestra was accompanied by actual archive footage of the pigeons and their achievements. I had to chuckle when a clip was shown of the actual pigeons receiving medals which they proudly wore around their necks!
Needless to say, it was a perfect way to end the evening.
PART 9: MEETING GEORGE FENTON
I flew halfway across the world to see Fenton conduct his music and boy, was I not disappointed!
As a huge cherry on top, I was able to briefly meet him outside the stage door just after the concert.
He was incredibly friendly and appreciative, and happily posed for a photo. He also graciously signed the liner jacket for my CD copy of DEEP BLUE.
Thank you so much again Mr. Fenton!
PART 10: OVER TO YOU
Did you also go to this concert? How did you like it?
And what did you think of my report? Feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly in the “Contact Me” section.
