THE BOX OF DELIGHTS

released OUT NOW! 74 minutes | Cd/download (vinyl to follow)

Label silva screen

For many of a certain age, rewatching the BBC’s 1984 take on John Masefield’s book about a boy entrusted with a magical box has become a Christmas tradition, thanks to its seasonal setting and then cutting-edge blend of video effects and animation.

Though Roger Limb, of the Beeb’s Radiophonic Workshop, was responsible for the incidental music, the main theme was actually decades old, its eerie riff on “The First Noel” extracted from a ’60s recording of Victor Hely-Hutchinson’s Carol Symphony (1927). You’d be forgiven for not having realised that, considering how Limb weaves references to HelyHutchinson’s piece throughout. Given the story’s themes (a battle between old magic and new), the way his work mixes ancient and modern – blending flutes and harp glissandos with plangent horn-call synths; electronic heartbeats with melodies you can picture medieval courtiers dancing to – feels very appropriate.

Over 50 cues (21 a minute or less in duration) there is, inevitably, much repetition. And for fans of Doctor Who (for which Limb scored eight stories), the familiarity of his synth sounds could prove a little distracting; you may find yourself halfexpecting Davros to launch into a rant… All the same, spinning this soundtrack could well become as much of a festive fixture as mince pies and mulled wine. Ian Berriman