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On Song Exploder, host Hrishikesh Hirway talks to musicians who take apart their songs and, piece by piece, tell the stories of how they were made. Starting with the most recent episode, we're excited to add Song Exploder as a recurring feature on WIRED.
The British television show Downton Abbey is the most popular drama in PBS history, with over 10 million viewers per episode, and more Emmy nominations than any non-US show ever. The theme music is a signature of the show, but it was originally written as simply a piece of score for the first episode. It wasn't until later that it was condensed and turned into the version that appears in the opening credits. The music was recorded by a chamber orchestra, all at once, so in order to isolate different pieces for Song Exploder, we went back to composer John Lunn's original demo compositions, made with samples in the computer. In this episode, you'll get to hear how those two compare.
"Downton Abbey - The Suite," which is the extended version of the theme and some of its variations used in the show, is available on iTunes.
EPISODE 37: JOHN LUNN Downton Abbey
