Stewart Copeland: Wild Concerto Stewart Copeland

• Stewart Copeland (b. 1952): White Throated Sparrow (Is Happy On the Glacier):
• 1 Copeland: White Throated Sparrow (Is Happy On the Glacier) 04:24
• Barred Owl and the Frog Brigade:
• 2 Copeland: Barred Owl and the Frog Brigade 04:02
• Blackfoot Albatross (Lands On the Sonoma Coast):
• 3 Copeland: Blackfoot Albatross (Lands On the Sonoma Coast) 03:28
• Galapagos Seal (Meets Blue-Footed Boobies):
• 4 Copeland: Galapagos Seal (Meets Blue-Footed Boobies) 05:03
• Screaming Piha (Trolls the Titi Monkeys of the Andes Basin):
• 5 Copeland: Screaming Piha (Trolls the Titi Monkeys of the Andes Basin) 03:39
• Penguins in the Wind of Antarctica:
• 6 Copeland: Penguins in the Wind of Antarctica 04:12
• Indri and the Asian Barred Owl:
• 7 Copeland: Indri and the Asian Barred Owl 04:08
• Kookaburra and the Marbled Frogmouth (on Cape Tribulation):
• 8 Copeland: Kookaburra and the Marbled Frogmouth (on Cape Tribulation) 04:10
• Hyena Party On the Skeleton Coast:
• 9 Copeland: Hyena Party On the Skeleton Coast 03:17
• Go Away Love (On the African Coast):
• 10 Copeland: Go Away Love (On the African Coast) 04:06
• Guillemot Serenades the Red Deer:
• 11 Copeland: Guillemot Serenades the Red Deer 03:23
• Coltrane Wolves in the Arctic Circle:
• 12 Copeland: Coltrane Wolves in the Arctic Circle 05:01
• Total Runtime 48:53

Info for Stewart Copeland: Wild Concerto

Seven-time Grammy-winning composer and former Police drummer, Stewart Copeland, has created Wild Concerto, a pioneering album which fuses orchestral composition with authentic animal sounds, recorded in the field by celebrated British naturalist, The Listening Planet’s Martyn Stewart, whose archive of over 100,000 recordings has earned him the moniker ‘The David Attenborough of Sound’.

This unique collaboration between nature and music features a diverse array of animals including a guillemot, a hyena, red deer, an Asian barred owlet and a croaking collection of frogs. These natural recordings were the starting point for Wild Concerto, which comprises twelve movements, composed by Stewart Copeland, telling the story of the remarkable migration of the Arctic tern. A tern completes a round trip of up to 44,100 miles every year, as it journeys from pole to pole, beginning in the Arctic breeding grounds, over the Galapagos, to Antarctica for summer, then back via the African coast. On its journey, it engages in a musical dance with Martyn Stewart’s animals in their natural habitats.

Copeland said: “This project is a culmination of everything I’ve learned as a film and opera composer. But instead of sopranos and tenors, I’m working with hyenas, wolves, and a chorus of birds. Their voices bring an unparalleled authenticity to the music.”

The recording process was equally groundbreaking, as Copeland seamlessly blended the sounds of traditional instruments with the music of the animal kingdom. His detailed orchestral score was brought to life by the musicians of the Kingdom Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, who skilfully integrated their parts with the rhythms and melodies of the natural world. Stewart Copeland's Wild Concerto fuses Martyn Stewart's remarkable field recordings with vibrant orchestral textures, crafting a unique soundscape where nature takes the role of the soloist.

Copeland added: 'They all have their own individual, often atonal melodies, but when you put a flute against a red-breasted nuthatch, for example, the synergy is amazing. I picked out sounds that I felt were the soloists, like the wolves, and others that were more atmospheric, like the wild winds of Antarctica, and treated them in a similar way to a trombone or a guitar.'

Copeland aficionados will recognise the signature syncopated drums: Stewart performs on all the songs, adding a colour and character that has made him one of the most acclaimed drummers of all time. The album was produced by Ricky Kej, four-time Grammy winner, including his 2022 project with Stewart Copeland, ‘Divine Tides’ for Best New Age Album.

For Martyn Stewart, who has worked in some of the most remote places on earth in a career spanning almost sixty years, the project represents a surreal journey. He said: “I never thought for a minute, when I was in Alaska, that I’d be in London collaborating with Stewart Copeland.” The album also carries a poignant environmental message. Stewart adds “Many of these species are endangered, and their sounds could vanish in our lifetime. Through the Wild Concerto, their voices are immortalized.”

Copeland’s Wild Concerto stands as both a scientific and artistic record, providing a meeting point for music and natural history – and a manifesto for all to hear.

Stewart Copeland

Stewart Copeland
has spent more than three decades at the forefront of contemporary music as rock star, acclaimed film composer, as well as in the disparate worlds of opera, ballet, world and chamber music.

Recruiting Sting and Andy Summers in 1977, Copeland is renowned as the founder of The Police, a band that became a defining force in rock music from the ‘80s through the present day. His career includes the sale of more than 60 million records worldwide, and numerous awards, including five Grammy awards.

Copeland moved beyond the rock arena in the mid-1980s when he returned to his classical roots with creative pursuits in concert and film music. His most recent concert works include BEN-HUR, A Tale of the Christ which features Copeland as soloist in a live orchestral score for the 1925 silent film; Tyrant's Crush: Concerto for Trapset and Orchestra commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphonoy, Poltroons in Paradise commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; and Gamelan D'Drum, commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the world percussion group D'Drum.

In 2017, The Chicago Opera Theater premiered Copeland’s surreal chamber opera The Invention of Morel, a co-commission with Long Beach Opera based on the novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares. Copeland has also written two operas based on stories by Edgar Allen Poe: The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart. This season, The Sheriff of Luxembourg, Stewart Copeland’s rousing new work for solo percussion and tape, will be premiered by Christoph Sietzen in Cologne and toured in Europe throughout the season.

Recipient of the Hollywood Film Festival's first Outstanding Music in Film Visionary Award, a Grammy nominee for his 2005 CD "Orchestralli," and a 2003 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Copeland has been responsible for some of the film world's most innovative and groundbreaking scores. His numerous film scores include Oliver Stone's "Wall Street," the seminal score for the Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's "Rumble Fish," the score for Bruno Barreto's Oscar-nominated "Four Days in September" and his Emmy nomination for the Showtime pilot and series "Dead Like Me." His work in television includes contributions to "The Equalizer," "Babylon V," and most recently "Desperate Housewives." The rise, subsequent success, and ultimate demise of The Police over an eight-year period were all recorded and kept as a video diary in 8mm film by Copeland. That diary became the film "Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and debuted on the Showtime network.

Never one to rest between projects; Stewart and keyboard virtuoso Jon Kimura Parker recently formed an instrumental quintet with a highly eclectic repertoire including interpretations of music by Stravinsky, The Police, Debussy and Aphex Twin.

Booklet for Stewart Copeland: Wild Concerto