Small Island

One of UK’s finest composers of television music in recent years, Martin Phipps (Wallander, North & South, Harry Brown, Sense and Sensibility, The Virgin Queen), delivers yet another gripping and original score for the new BBC One drama series based on the Andrea Levy novel, Small Island. Phipps combines warm writing for orchestra with chamber-sized, intimate music and substantial material inspired by the Jamaican setting of the story (one prominent example is the main theme in 5/8 meter). The composer received an Emmy nomination for his previous project (Sense and Sensibility) together with Small Island’s director, John Alexander. Small Island is an equally strong score: music that generates strong emotions and has an instant poetic charm. This download only release co-incides with the airing of the series on BBC One.