Reviewed by Phillip Serna

The Day of the Doctor / The Time of the Doctor
Music by Murray Gold
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Conducted by Ben Foster
Silva Screen Records
24 November 2014
Available to order now from Amazon UK

On November 23rd 2013, Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary with a stunning array of events culminating in the global simulcast of the much-anticipated story, The Day of the Doctor. In time for the 51st anniversary, Silva Screen Records has released an impressive 2-disc set of Murray Gold’s scores to The Day of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor, the swan-song for Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor. Since Doctor Who’s revival in 2005, Murray Gold’s music has grown as synonymous as the TARDIS and the Daleks – becoming as iconic as the experimental, electronic and chamber music from the show’s rich and varied past. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Crouch End Festival Chorus, and conductor/ orchestrator Ben Foster deserve as much praise as Murray Gold for what can only be described as a thoughtful and outstanding entry into the Doctor Who musical canon. The production on this release delivers nothing short of impressive, and on a purely technical level, this release will not disappoint even the most discriminating listener.

Looking backwards as well as forwards, Murray Gold’s score to The Day of the Doctor represents a culmination of the entirety of the revival-era of the show. Surprised by callbacks in the score, in ‘Nice Horse’ the cue opens with woodwind timbres evocative of Geoffrey Burgon as the Zygons are revealed. With greater use of synthetic elements throughout, there are a few calls back to the Radiophonic Workshop era, especially during ‘We are the Doctors’, ‘The Moment has Come’ and the ‘Song for Four’ that closes the story. For aficionados of leitmotivic film scores, Murray Gold delivers a rich thematic world for the Doctor. As war rages over the second city of Arcadia, strains of Gold’s ‘This is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home’ from Series 3 can be heard punctuating the battle by the low brass. In addition to the thematic material representing the 10th and 11th Doctors, John Hurt’s War Doctor is represented by music associated with Christopher Eccleston’s damaged 9th Doctor. The use of U.N.I.T.’s theme from Series 1 is balanced well against music evocative of political espionage films, filled with electronic elements and suspenseful repetitive string ostinati. The theme for the Moment in ‘Who are You’ and ‘The Moment has Come’ incorporates elements from Rose’s piano theme from Series 1 as well as the novel use of reverse delay on piano and clarinet, a technique that Gold used to great effect in the Series 5 stories The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang. The only unsettling or controversial moment in the score is during the pivotal ‘The Moment has Come’ in which the Doctor struggles whether to deploy the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. Here, the music is filled with Middle-Eastern timbres, scales and microtonality punctuated by the icy timbre of the hammered dulcimer. A musical association between the story’s subtext of genocide and real-world violence is likely not intended, but does resonate beyond the score and the world of the fiction. Perhaps this encapsulates the strength of this score where popular music elements, electronic timbres, symphonic timbres, and non-Western timbres coexist in a series whose messages are primarily inclusiveness and pacifism.

While the cues ‘He Was There’, ‘No More’ and ‘The War Room’ are among the most exciting cues on the release, it is unusual that ‘He Was There’ differs from the transmission version omitting the choral elements - an interesting album variation. The closing ‘Song for Four/ Home’ is interesting in that it represents Murray Gold’s original intentions differing significantly from the transmission version of The Day of the Doctor. I, for one, would have enjoyed hearing both versions on this release, perhaps including the transmission version as bonus tracks on the second disk. The absence of Gold’s arrangement of Ron Grainer’s theme that closed The Day of the Doctor, however, is puzzling but understandable if there were licensing issues with Ron Grainer’s theme through his publisher Erle Music/Warner Chappell. It is important to note that the Doctor Who theme, existing in various re-orchestrations by Murray Gold, have not been included in Silva Screen releases of Murray Gold’s scores since Series 5. The omitted opening theme, as realized by Delia Derbyshire, is still available on a variety of recent Silva Screen releases.

Despite these relatively minor criticisms, The Day of the Doctor remains an excellent release, if only slightly imperfect. The Time of the Doctor, however, succeeds a great deal in presenting a very different and cohesive musical narrative - marvelously balanced with the transformation of Gold’s ‘I Am the Doctor’ into a Christmas call-to-arms. The inclusion of sleigh bells, glockenspiel and celeste only enhances this magical Christmas-parable, filled with Ben Foster’s lush and cinematic orchestrations, with a sound mix favouring the low strings. The Time of the Doctor‘s score feels more intimate and personal, mirroring its sensitive and sentimental story. The differences between the constancy of The Time of the Doctor and the bolder experimentalism and scope of The Day of the Doctor makes for a multi-layered experience with its contrast set to 11 – offering many rewards upon repeat listens.

Highly Recommended. Rating 10/11

Dr. Phillip Serna is co-host of the Adventures in Time, Space and Music podcast.

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Written by Stephen Willis

Doctor Who: Series 5
Music written by Murray Gold
Silva Screen
UK release: 8 November 2010

Like the Series 4: The Specials release, this album is also a 2-disc set. The result of this is that it really feels like a soundtrack, like a journey from A to B with a wealth of characters and themes in between, rather than the more “pick ‘n’ mix” approach to the first few releases.

We begin with Doctor Who XI – Murray Gold’s brand new rendition of the Doctor Who Theme, for a brand new era of the show. And it is stompingly good! The brass fanfare over the introductory bars took a few people by surprise (myself included), but it’s perfect for the tone and feel of the show in Steven Moffat’s hands, and it matches the opening titles very well, too.

What follows is a selection of tracks from the opening story, The Eleventh Hour. This episode had to introduce a new Doctor, a new companion (at two different ages) and a brand new feel for the show. Even a new TARDIS! Murray Gold brilliantly does the same thing in his music. This episode features some of my favourite tracks from the series; the haunting, sweet little melody for Little Amy, the exuberantly comic Fish Custard, the devastatingly beautiful Can I Come With You?, the magical The Mad Man With A Box, and, of course, I Am The Doctor.

As a theme, I Am The Doctor is excellent; its quirky, syncopated 7/4 beat and wacky, playful woodwind melody is perfect for Matt Smith’s Doctor, while the relentless strings and cyclic horn chords show us a darker side. The “B section”, as featured in The Sun’s Gone Wibbly, is also a fantastic tune, a rousing chorus as the Doctor encourages people to be their best. The theme’s rendering on this album (in its original form on Track 9) is slightly disappointing, because of the intrusively percussive guitar line which didn’t feature in any screened version, but the other versions such as Onwards! and at the end of Amy In The TARDIS more than make up for this. The theme’s frequent use in the series is echoed by its many guises on the album – no complaints from me, though, as it’s a superb composition.

Amy’s Theme does not appear until the beginning of episode 2, The Beast Below. As with Rose’s Theme in Series One, it’s almost as if travelling with the Doctor has unlocked the song in Amy’s heart, as we hear it for the first time here as she floats above the TARDIS gazing at the stars. This creates an emotional connection for the audience, so that, when the theme is developed in later episodes, we are able to simultaneously call back to the beginning of Amy’s journey and look forward to the future of her character arc.

One particular standout track is The Vampires of Venice. It’s very Danny Elfman in its use of the “dark fairytale” sound-world (tremolando strings, fluttering flutes, celesta and “floaty” choir). It’s magical and mysterious, and builds to an epic action sequence with crash cymbals and very loud “Hah!”s from the choir!

There is also some nice material from Amy’s Choice – This is the Dream reminds me slightly of the McCoy era music, such as Dominic Glynn’s score to Survival. The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood begins with a lyrical valley theme, setting the tone at the start of the episode, while the Silurian theme contains hints of the old-style Pertwee era music (Malcolm Clarke’s bizarre electronic sounds of The Sea Devils). Orchestral power builds up with the taste of war and aggression, with a deeply unsettling undertone.

Onto Disc 2! There is some fantastic music in Vincent and the Doctor, in its own world of clarinets, saxophones and mallet percussion, most notably in the beautiful “With Love, Vincent” from the end of the episode, a lilting waltz with a pang of sadness, yet ending on a positive outlook.

Gareth Roberts’ The Lodger was unique, fresh and FUNNY! And so is Murray’s score. The tune for Craig and Sophie (Friends and Neighbours), is lovely, gentle and wistful, while the next two tracks have a distinctly silky clarinet solo, suggesting the strange impact the Doctor has on these ordinary lives.

Most of Disc 2 is dedicated to the series finale, The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang. And quite right, too – the score to these episodes is hugely cinematic, with great scale and depth. Beneath Stonehenge is a track John Williams would be proud of, while the following track, Who Else Is Coming? is simply crazy in its escalating panic and mayhem! The bombastic horns give a sense of drama and danger, and the energetic strings and flourishing woodwinds keep an undercurrent of fear, while complementing Matt Smith’s quirky, edgy performance as the Doctor.

At the climax of the first part come two tracks, Words Win Wars and The Life and Death of Amy Pond, which are based on character themes and have both been given similar treatment. The former is the stirring, rousing reprise of I Am The Doctor played during the Hello, Stonehenge! speech, and the latter is a fully orchestral version of Amy’s Theme, which wouldn’t be out of place in a ballet or opera; it’s as if a moment of time has been frozen, as we watch with pity as the Doctor is dragged into the Pandorica, and the universe seemingly disappears from existence as Rory hopelessly clings onto the dead body of Amy Pond.

For me an underrated track, Roman Paradox is a perfect madcap moment as the Doctor appears in front of Rory at the start of The Big Bang. The Patient Centurion is also excellent, as a poignant reflection on Rory’s devotion to Amy. This cue was used earlier in the series as well, so by now it has a strong emotional connection to the characters involved.

Both The Sad Man With A Box and You And Me, Amy feature variations on The Mad Man With A Box, a secondary, more emotional and mysterious, theme for the Eleventh Doctor. You And Me, Amy is perfectly gentle and touching, as the Doctor resigns himself to his fate and tells little Amelia a final bedtime story. This is surely one of Matt Smith’s finest performances in the series, accompanied by the perfect score.

Overall, this album is superb; it tells a story with such depth and sensitivity, exploring a wide range of genres and sound-worlds. The album finishes with Onwards!, another reprise of I Am The Doctor, which is perfectly placed and executed, finishing on an imperfect cadence, a musical cliffhanger as the TARDIS team fly off, laughing, with promise of more adventures to come.

Stephen Willis is the creator of The Doctor Who Fan Orchestra.

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