Erland Cooper | PHOTO: Samuel Davies
By Mia Farley
St Mary’s Parish Church,
Ambleside
Scottish composer Erland Cooper’s latest album, Carve the Runes Then Be Content with Silence, is an experimental classical violin concerto with a unique backstory. In 2021, Cooper erased all traces of the score, leaving only a recording on magnetic tape, which he planted in the soil of Orkney, his childhood home. Four years later, the tape was unearthed and released exactly as it was found, raw and altered by nature. In an interview conducted with Erland Cooper, he talked about how Carve the Runes was a meditation on value and patience, as well as resilience: a way to not simply write about nature, but with it.
The background of the album came into sharper focus, in this concert at St Mary’s Parish Church in Ambleside, presented by Elizabeth Alker and performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, solo violinist Freya Goldmark, and conductor Vinny Parameswaran. We learned that the key figures of the night had all played crucial roles in the creation of Cooper’s work. Alker was one of the three guardians of the album’s master score over the past four years, and Freya Goldmark was the first person besides Cooper to hear the unearthed tape and helped to weave nature’s influences into the score.
- Read: Q&A with composer Erland Cooper about planting his new album in Orkney soil
- Read: Profile of Mark Lyken | the sound artist inspired by the rhythms of the tides, animal life and geological formation
The performance consisted of four pieces, each exploring themes of nature and our connection to it. The first was Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending (1914), a violin concerto inspired by George Meredith’s 19th century poem of the same name. In this piece, the violin evokes both birdsong and the sensation of flight. The orchestra, paired with Freya Goldmark’s stunning solo performance, set the perfect tone for the evening.
The second piece was Movement 6 from Erland Cooper’s 2023 album Folded Landscape. Though brief, it made a powerful impact, especially against the church’s atmospheric backdrop. The music created layered landscapes within the strings and brass, interacting in a way that felt organic and immersive. In the final moments, as all the musicians played in harmony to form a moving soundscape, they suddenly stopped together, bows raised, letting the music reverberate into silence. The piece’s sense of motion was palpable.
- Read: 5 pieces of classical music inspired by birds and birdsong
- Read: Profile of Kathy Hinde | the sound artist who makes mysterious, hypnotic soundscapes out of nature
In one of the interviews, Erland Cooper explained why he had chosen these particular pieces. He spoke about the powerful theme of longing for home that inspired Folded Landscape, as well as And the Swallow (2020) by Caroline Shaw, the piece that followed. Shaw’s celebrated work reflects on the concept of home and the experience of displacement, suggesting that by looking to nature as a teacher, like a swallow when it constructs its nest, one can discover a sense of belonging.
Carve the Runes Then Be Content with Silence, which finished the concert, exceeded my expectations. Listening to the album over the past month, I had been captivated by the moments of wind, distortion, and silences that nature had imprinted on it.But I wasn’t sure if this atmosphere would carry through in a live performance or if it would be closer to the original score. To my surprise, Cooper had skillfully incorporated the natural elements into the live rendition.
George Mackay Brown’s powerful voice echoed through speakers, reciting poetry that spoke to the love of creation and the beauty of mortality. Meanwhile, musicians used their instruments in creative ways to mimic the soft murmur of the wind captured on the recording. Goldmark played with such passion and skill that she seemed to lead not only the orchestra but also the audience. My favourite moment was the “silence” that wasn’t truly silent—it quietly trudged along, carrying a hushed presence. 
The performance will be made available on BBC Radio 3 ‘Unclassified’ after broadcast on the December 1st, 23:30: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0025dct