HARLE'S A HISTORY OF BRITAIN OST RELEASED.

Saxophonist and composer John Harle's soundtrack score to the monumental BBC2 television series A History of Britain has already attracted critical plaudits, not least for its punchy settings of the folk text The Three Ravens and other lyrics from the distant past. Interest in the history programmes, accessibly written and presented by Simon Schama, has been boosted by several related publishing spin-offs and extensive website backup provided by BBC Online. The OST songs are set for release by BBC Music on April 30, with Elvis Costello, Emma Kirkby, Willard White, Sarah Leonard (the voice of Harle's haunting Silent Witness theme music), Lucie Skeaping and boy treble Dominic Burnham among the company of singers.

Songs from a A History of Britain (WMSF 6040-2) offers a collection of art music that does not fall easily into one neat category, its individual tracks inspired by everything from English folksong to jazz and the sort of crossover stylistic mix familiar from Jan Garbarek's collaborations with the Hilliard Ensemble. According to Harle, the variety of musical genres was part of a conscious attempt to move away from the usual pastiche writing associated with ...