8 - Castrovalva

Composer: Paddy Kingsland
Director: Fiona Cumming

What's the score?
Owing to a late substitution of scripts, Castrovalva went into production nearly four months after The Visitation, the other story in this season scored by Paddy Kingsland. It's not clear to me which of the two stories Kingsland actually scored first: a 2010 interview for the Adventures in Time, Space and Music podcast suggests that he did them in broadcast order, while a 2003 interview for the DVD release of The Visitation suggests (more by implication than by anything Kingsland himself says) that he did them in production order.
Whatever the case, of the two, Castrovalva's score feels like more of a step forward. Although Kingsland's recognisable style provides some continuity here with Logopolis, The Visitation has more in common musically with Logopolis (and with other Kingsland scores) than Castrovalva does.

In keeping with Castrovalva's restful reputation, this score is quite relaxed and soothing - it's the calm after Logopolis' storm. Even the big dramatic moments are comparatively laid-back. Soft, simple synth tones and uncomplicated flute sounds are the order of the day. The electric guitar takes charge in moments of excitement; in between, it bides its time with quiet slides. Even the structure of the score is relaxed, with lengthy cues and long gaps between them. This is a marked contrast with what Peter Grimwade asked Kingsland to provide for Logopolis, and also with the other DW stories directed by Fiona Cumming.

Musical notes

• Before the opening credits roll, there's a cut-down reprise of the regeneration scene from Part Four of Logopolis. Kingsland modifies his cue from that scene to take account of the re-editing; he also peps up the regeneration itself and drops the "oo-wee-oo" from the end.
• The Master has a signature sound in Part One, a sort of bad-tempered electric outburst that plays over shots of his TARDIS hovering over the Pharos complex and of the interior of his TARDIS. The rhythm of the cue, but not the bad-tempered sound, is used again when the Master is unmasked in Part Four.
• The discovery of the Doctor's new cricketing clothes is greeted with a noble, pastoral march that one imagines the MCC would be proud to make use of.
• This week's "oo-wee-oo" moment arrives in Part Two, while Nyssa is trying to help the Doctor by unscrewing the Zero Room doors. It plays just as one of the doors falls across the Doctor and briefly brings him back to his senses.
• Our first sight of the Dwellings of Simplicity on Castrovalva in Part Two is greeted with a plain, gentle piping tune. This theme recurs during the rest of the story, with increasingly twisted variations as the topography of the Dwellings falls in on itself; the plain theme is heard once more at the end of Part Four as the Doctor returns to his own dwelling, the TARDIS.
• Shots of the Portreeve's tapestry are accompanied by a twinkly theme that's a subtle variation on part of the Dwellings theme.
• Although the guitar theme that plays while the Doctor and his friends try to escape from Castrovalva in Parts Three and Four has its merits, my favourite part of this score is the cue that's heard during the procession with the Zero Cabinet to the Portreeve's house in Part Four. It's probably a little excessive for the scene, but it does have a very nice quiet bass echo as the Doctor drags Shardovan off to one side.

Vox pop
The long, well developed cues make this a more coherent listening experience than most DW scores, and restful though it may be, it's not without incident. Lighter and more upbeat, it's a fine counterpart to Logopolis' gloomy score; importantly, it also offers plenty of support to the visuals of the story. On any given day I'd have to flip a coin to say whether this or Logopolis is my favourite Paddy Kingsland score.

Availability

• The BBC DVD release includes the full isolated score as an audio option.