Uploaded June 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
'Beneath the Skin of England' can be found on the collection album "Shadow Box" - https://smarturl.it/shadow-box
A couple of years ago I was asked to write a song based on Susanna Clarke's award-winning novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. The BBC had commissioned a TV adaptation of the story, and a friend who was connected to the production team suggested that if I wrote a song, they would pitch it to the director and producer for use as the theme.
So the following day I wandered down the valley to my local bookshop in Stroud, where I found the book on the ‘recommended’ fiction shelves at the back of the store. My initial thought was “you’ve got to be kidding”, as my hand struggled to fit around the spine and take it off the shelf for closer inspection. Being over 1000 pages long and printed in one of the smallest fonts I’d ever struggled to see, I have to say I was initially quite reluctant to commit myself to such an undertaking. But I bit the bullet and bought the book...
…and very quickly my life was entirely taken over by the story of the two magicians, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. With such superb story-telling and evocative imagery, there was no shortage of inspiration for a song.
Shortly after finishing the book, I sat down at my piano. After some time, a chord progression emerged, along with a melody; then came the lyrics; then came the ideas for the arrangement. I recorded the sound of different bells in my house and around town (this will make sense if you have been watching the series or have read the book); I asked my friend Misha Law (Truffleshack, Other Mother) to lend her violin skills; Dom Coyote provided backing vocals; and… voilà, my demo of ‘Beneath the Skin of England’ was complete. I sent it off and crossed my fingers...
…but perhaps I should have tried a spell instead. As is often the way with ideas we throw out there, it didn’t end up being used. The score had already been written and, sadly, there was no room for my song.
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'Beneath the Skin of England' can be found on the collection album "Shadow Box" - https://smarturl.it/shadow-box
A couple of years ago I was asked to write a song based on Susanna Clarke's award-winning novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. The BBC had commissioned a TV adaptation of the story, and a friend who was connected to the production team suggested that if I wrote a song, they would pitch it to the director and producer for use as the theme.
So the following day I wandered down the valley to my local bookshop in Stroud, where I found the book on the ‘recommended’ fiction shelves at the back of the store. My initial thought was “you’ve got to be kidding”, as my hand struggled to fit around the spine and take it off the shelf for closer inspection. Being over 1000 pages long and printed in one of the smallest fonts I’d ever struggled to see, I have to say I was initially quite reluctant to commit myself to such an undertaking. But I bit the bullet and bought the book...
…and very quickly my life was entirely taken over by the story of the two magicians, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. With such superb story-telling and evocative imagery, there was no shortage of inspiration for a song.
Shortly after finishing the book, I sat down at my piano. After some time, a chord progression emerged, along with a melody; then came the lyrics; then came the ideas for the arrangement. I recorded the sound of different bells in my house and around town (this will make sense if you have been watching the series or have read the book); I asked my friend Misha Law (Truffleshack, Other Mother) to lend her violin skills; Dom Coyote provided backing vocals; and… voilà, my demo of ‘Beneath the Skin of England’ was complete. I sent it off and crossed my fingers...
…but perhaps I should have tried a spell instead. As is often the way with ideas we throw out there, it didn’t end up being used. The score had already been written and, sadly, there was no room for my song.
=================================================
STAY IN TOUCH
emilybarker.com
facebook.com/emilybarkerhalo
twitter.com/emilybarkerhalo
instagram.com/emilybarkerhalo
Subscribe more videos: http://smarturl.it/halo-youtube
Tour dates: http://smarturl.it/ebytlive
