Alan Titchmarsh And Debbie Wiseman In Conversation

As if on cue, Jack Frost has appeared at RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate, creating a magical scene over the landscape, on one of the coldest days of the year.

As I stroll through the spectacular gardens preparing for the Royal Horticultural Society's Glow Trails, the kaleidoscope of colour, the autumnal leaves, and the Glow Trails' preparations captivate me.

I am meeting Alan Titchmarsh, celebrity gardener, novelist, and author, and Debbie Wiseman, composer of TV and film scores, most recently for the second series of Wolf Hall for the BBC. She also composed two Gospel Alleluias featured at the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Having collaborated together on The Glorious Garden, they teamed up again to produce a new work for Christmas, Jack Frost - A Winter Story.

Wiseman explains that Classic FM was looking for something new for Christmas, and "we wanted to work on another collaboration together."

"I reached out to Alan and asked, 'Is there anything we could do for Christmas?' He came up with the idea of a Jack Frost theme."

Last night Debbie Wiseman & Alan Titchmarsh soared into the Official UK Classical Album Chart at Number One!A few days later, Wiseman tells me, a fantastically inspiring little story appeared in her email inbox. She immediately printed it off, took it to the piano, and began to improvise a few ideas.


“The words were lovely, and the music flowed; it was incredibly natural.”

As the piece started to take shape, Wiseman and Titchmarsh set about trying to get partners to come on board with the project. Finding a record label, an orchestra, and singers proved to be easy.

Of course it was and the landscape is the cold, icy fifties Yorkshire Dales, where we had deep snow and went skating on the pond. It was a chance to relive a childhood that I loved through music

Titchmarsh, living up to my expectations, is ebullient and enthusiastic. He immediately interjects, telling me, "We couldn't get over how so many people instantly said, 'Yes.' They took to the idea."

The Classic FM presenter was a little apprehensive at first, as, despite having written for a living for over 40 years, it was the first time he had attempted to write lyrics.

“I’ve written for poetry but never for music, and Debbie worked her magic on it,” he says.

I sense an obvious chemistry between the two, and I enquire if they enjoyed working together on the recording.

I don’t need an answer. I sense the energy and feel a resounding "Oh yes!" in Titchmarsh's Yorkshire lilt.

They oversaw the music recording session on Zoom with Gottfried Rabl conducting the Vienna Synchron Orchestra, and then met up at School Farm Studios in Essex to record the narration, the soprano vocals and the choir of Old Buckenham Hall School under their choirmaster David Mitchell.

“We mixed it all up and ended up writing a couple of new carols for the album; Alan wrote the lyrics for Tell Me Star and The Stable Carol”, Wiseman says.

“We sent Tell Me Star to Cerys Matthews as she has a lovely childlike quality in her voice, and we thought it would suit the song very well. Within an hour she had emailed back saying, ‘I am in’".

Matthews began rehearsing in her kitchen and noticed her 12-year-old son, Red, who is a choirboy, joining in. This led Matthews to ask if Wiseman would mind hearing the harmonies with the two of them singing.

“Cerys sent over a demo, and it was just magical; their voices blended so beautifully, as you would expect from mother and son,” Wiseman says, affectionately noting that “it was the first time they had sung together, and with Red being only 12, I guess his voice may break soon, so it could be the last time they could sing together in this way. It was a real treat. You can hear that bond between them on the recording.”

I mention the abundance of Christmas music available on the market, and I was about to enquire if they were hesitant to add new repertoire. However, Titchmarsh foresees my question and reassures me that Wiseman is a skilled tunesmith, so he is confident that it will work.

It was, he mentions, also something where his words would be set over music.

“Crumbs,” he characteristically intones, “It's a significant challenge and more exciting.

"Sometimes we can be a bit snooty about melody, but I like how the great British public loves tunes and themes, and Debbie is the complete mistress of that."

Alan's evocative, poetic, and inspiring story and lyrics lent Jack Frost both a magical quality and an ethereal character, and once I put the words on my piano and started to compose the music to accompany Jack Frost, it flowed easily

Titchmarsh admits it was a little scary sending off his script and song lyrics. "However, I knew that what I would get back would be wonderful, but of course, I did not know what it would sound like.”

He need not have worried as he once again discovered the joy that comes when someone sets your words to music.

Titchmarsh doesn't play a musical instrument, but he was a choirboy in the West Yorkshire town of Ilkley, a stone's throw from the spa town of Harrogate, and Debbie says that was a big help.

“Alan's evocative, poetic, and inspiring story and lyrics lent Jack Frost both a magical quality and an ethereal character, and once I put the words on my piano and started to compose the music to accompany Jack Frost, it flowed easily.”

Before I can ask Alan where the inspiration for the story came from, he shares his childhood memories of growing up in the 1950s, a time without central heating and an era when Jack Frost dominated people's lives from November onwards. He recalls waking up in his bedroom and having to scrape the ice off the inside of the window and looking out onto a transformed magical world.

I start to sense the allegory, as Titchmarsh explains that it wasn't until he was interviewed for the Sunday Times that the interviewer asked, "This is your childhood, isn't it?" And you’re that little boy?’.

“Of course it was and the landscape is the cold, icy fifties Yorkshire Dales, where we had deep snow and went skating on the pond. It was a chance to relive a childhood that I loved through music.

"The moment Debbie set it was deeply moving for me."

Wiseman explains that because she has the structure to the story, it’s a bit like composing a film score where you follow the momentum of the film. “In Jack Frost, we follow the story through the characters, and Alan’s words drive the music.

“Where there's a skating scene, the music transforms into a beautiful waltz, where the drama and tension occur, the brass with horns and trumpets are used. Where it is very lyrical and magical, the soprano takes centre stage.

“The words have to talk, and then I can respond musically and create the score that will hopefully underpin the story. We hope the audiences just sit back, listen to the story and the words together, and paint whatever pictures come into their minds as they listen.”

The collaboration between Titchmarsh and Wiseman bears a resemblance to Briggs/Blake, and their work on The Snowman. Even before I can finish my question, Titchmarsh enthusiastically suggests that they might be celebrating two Christmases. Responding to my quizzical look, he says the story lends itself to animation, and I gather the pair are looking at making this family story into a short film.

Suddenly, Titchmarsh reaches for his notebook, where he had sketched his character's appearance some time ago. He was delighted to see that Stuart Manning, the illustrator responsible for the artwork, had mirrored his ideas exactly.

As the chill starts to creep in, I realise that the duo have to meet up with soprano Grace Davidson to rehearse while the gardens are closed for a short while, in readiness for a need to get ready for a preview of the album this evening.

They want everyone to visualise and paint their own pictures; it is all about letting imagination take over. 

“It works for all ages,” Titchmarsh says. “A lady of indeterminate years came up to me and said I listened to the whole thing with my eyes closed, and I saw it.“

Conscious that I have taken a lot of their time up, and as dusk falls and Jack Frost begins to twitch, Titchmarsh, in the idiosyncratic voice of his, suddenly recites a few lines from the script:

"Frozen fingers

Frozen toes

Frozen ears

And frozen nose

Through my window

Bolted tight

Jack Frost came at dead of night."

I briefly close my eyes and think of a mischievous and non-threatening Jack Frost, and I too see the magic.




Jack Frost – A Winter Story
Music composed by Debbie Wiseman
Story, lyrics and narration by Alan Titchmarsh
Piano Solos – Debbie Wiseman
Vienna Synchron Stage Orchestra; Conductor – Gottfried Rabl
Choir feat. children of Old Buckenham Hall School; Choir Master – David Mitchell
Soprano – Grace Davidson
Features a special guest appearance by Cerys Matthews and Red Abbott Matthews
Label: Silva Screen / UK Distributor : Proper Music
Cat. No. CD: SILCD1771 / Digital album: SILED1771
Order your copy here


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