Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is the second and final season of the critically acclaimed Wolf Hall historical drama series. Based on the hit book series by the late Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light follows King Henry VIII’s fixer, Thomas Cromwell, through the last four years of his life. Directed by Peter Kosminsky and written by Peter Straughan, the latest season of the series takes audiences on a journey up through Cromwell’s eventual execution.

The series may deal with real-life events like Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne of Cleves, but it does so in a way designed to make everything feel relatable to modern audiences. A big part of accomplishing this was through a musical score by Debbie Wiseman, who broke with Tudor-era musical tradition to craft compositions that spoke to Thomas Cromwell’s mental state in the series. In addition to writing music for kings on screen, Wiseman also composed music for the real-life coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

ScreenRant spoke with Debbie Wiseman about her work on Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. The composer explained how she tried to bring audiences into Thomas Cromwell’s mind through music and what it was like to return to the world of Wolf Hall. Plus, she talked about the pressures and joys of writing music for King Charles III.

How Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light’s Historical Drama Was Made For Modern Audiences

“It’s Not Pretending To Be Written In The 1700s”

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light may be telling an old story, but it aims to do so in a way that is relatable for contemporary viewers. Debbie Wiseman’s musical score was a big help in that respect, which was always the goal. “It was very much a decision with Peter Kosminsky, the director,” Debbie Wiseman said, “to make the score sound, even though we’re in Tudor times, contemporary.”

That’s because, for the characters at heart of Wolf Hall, it is a contemporary story. “They’re living this incredible drama and intrigue and brutality in the present,” Wiseman said, “and [author Hilary Mantel] wanted the whole production to feel that it wasn’t looking at it through a stained glass window … we’re looking at these stories as if they’re in the present, and that very much directed the feel of the score and the style of it.”

Mantel did use some Tudor instruments–”There’s a lute, a recorder, a harpsichord, a theorbo, which is like a giant lute”--but they were chosen more for color than for the bulk of the score. In her words, “The heart and soul of the score really is a string quartet, percussion, harp, an oboe, and cor anglais (English horn). These are contemporary instruments, and the music’s written in a modern, contemporary way. It’s not pretending to be written in the 1700s. It’s written today, and these characters are experiencing this now.”

“The whole feel of the series was directed through that one phrase: ‘Our past is their present.’”

Debbie Wiseman Explains Writing Music For Thomas Cromwell

“Everything, Musically, Comes Through Cromwell’s Inner Thoughts”

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is about Thomas Cromwell, so it’s only fitting that his experience drives the sound of the music. “Everything, musically, comes through Cromwell’s inner thoughts and his inner emotions,” Wiseman said. “In a sense, that sort of frees you, because we weren’t thinking about the time or the location–we were thinking about what’s going on in Cromwell’s head … it was getting the tone of that, the quality of that, the intensity, the fragility, and the brutality. And at times, you didn’t know what was going on in his mind.”

“That’s what was so fascinating about Cromwell. He’s such [an] enigma.”

“And,” Wiseman continued, “Mark Rylance’s performance is so subtle and so understated that, at times, you just don’t know what’s going on behind those incredible eyes. The music, in a way, is helping the audience understand the complexity of whatever it is that’s going on … Cromwell is in every scene–everything is seen from his point of view–so it was quite natural for the music to follow that direction in the same way.”

How Debbie Wiseman Found The Sound Of An Execution

“The Music Has A Calmness To It”

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is a dramatic telling of real events, so it’s not much of a spoiler to say that Thomas Cromwell was executed. Finding the right way to depict that on screen, though, took a lot of consideration. For Wiseman, she found the voice of a single soprano named Grace Davidson to be the perfect touch. “Having that solo voice against the brutality of what’s going on screen… we found that hugely powerful, that you weren’t scoring it in an overtly dramatic way [and] pushing the audience to feel that this is an incredible traumatic moment. It’s simply Cromwell, who was quite calm at that moment. His destiny was decided for him, so he was calm, and the music has a calmness to it.”

Cromwell’s execution was not the only place where the human voice had an opportunity to shine. “[Peter Kosminsky] and I were talking about the fact that The Mirror and the Light needed a different color … and the idea of using a voice–a solo soprano–singing very ethereal phrases seemed to perfectly sum up the fragility of what was going on.”

How The Mirror And The Light Honors Hilary Mantel’s Legacy

“Everybody Knew That She Would’ve Loved Seeing This”

Hilary Mantel, author of the Wolf Hall books, sadly ed away in 2022, before the new season was filmed. “Everybody was desperately sad,” Wiseman said, “because eveybody knew that she would’ve loved seeing this come to life–the final part of the trilogy. And it was very much done with her memory in everyone’s mind, thinking about, ‘Would she approve? Would she like this?’”

“[With] every frame, everything, from the music to the costume to the lighting–’Would she approve?’”

And Mantel’s work, in Wiseman’s mind, was very much worth honoring, especially because of how it invited audience into Cromwell’s experience. “It became real,” Wiseman said, “Suddenly, you could imagine these characters in a way that you never have done before. It’s not just reading a history book. It’s not just learning a part of history. You are there with those characters … and that was also in everybody's mind– [that] we don't want to get this wrong. And so there was a lot of pressure to do it justice.”

Debbie Wiseman On Composing For A King

“It Was A Massive Honor”

Wiseman wrote plenty of music for scenes including Henry VIII in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light–but it’s hard to imagine anything could compare to composing for the real deal. Wiseman was asked to write music for the coronation of King Charles III upon request by the then king-to-be himself. “It was a massive honor,” she said, continuing, “I got a call just before the Christmas before the coronation, saying that the King would like me to set the two gospel Hallelujahs for the coronation.”

“I was imagining Westminster Abbey a bit like you do when you write a film score … but this time there was no film.”

“It was quite an uplifting moment of the ceremony,” Wiseman said, “so I [had] that in mind. I wrote the two gospel Hallelujahs for the Westminster Abbey choir and organist, and then, in January, I got another call saying that, actually, the King would like a gospel choir to sing the second Hallelujah. He [knew] who he wanted to perform at the coronation, and it was the same choir that performed at Harry and Megan’s wedding. [I was asked,] could I rethink the second Hallelujah for a gospel choir?”

“This is where working in film and TV really helps, because you are used to reinventing something, changing it, and trying different things.” Wiseman coached the choir through the piece, preparing them to play for “an audience of a billion” and happily discovered that “they dedicated themselves to making it their own and performing on the day.” “I was so proud of them,” she continued. “I was in the Abbey on the day, and it was amazing. It really is a memory I’ll never forget.”

Thankfully, the King approved. “Afterwards, there was a reception for the composers,” Wiseman said, “and I did speak with him, and he was absolutely delighted with the whole ceremony. 12 composers were commissioned. He wanted to showcase, I think, the best of British music, not only with composers, but with the performers and the singers. There were some amazing performances on that day. Everybody rose to the challenge, and I think we all felt very, very proud to have been a part of it.”

Check back for our interview with writer Peter Straughan.

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is streaming on PBS.