Vaughan-Williams' music was once described as "cow pat music," and although I think the commentator got it seriously wrong in that case, but for Debbie Wiseman's score, cow pat music sounds about right to me. I have to resist the urge to call it My Uncle Silage. Of course, this is not nearly so grandiose as Vaughan-Williams, but the inspiration from British folk music and a musical depiction of an idyllic rural England that never really existed is certainly all there. Wiseman weds this style to something resembling Patrick Doyle's elegant Sense & Sensibility, although there's a stronger undercurrent of sly humour here than the crystalline classicism of Doyle's, plus a more low key feeling. That is not to say the music doesn't move, Wiseman keeps the ball rolling most admirably and the momentum rarely sags.
The highlight is undoubtedly The Wedding, which sums up most of the important thematic ideas into a longer cue and makes for a nice centrepiece for the albums closing quarter. Wiseman keeps the ensemble fairly modest, but it's still a decent sized chamber orchestra of strings, woodwinds and harp, occasionally complimented by a wry trumpet solo. The thematic material is more low key than striking, but the different motifs become clearer as the album progresses and by the end are memorable enough. This is not, as you can probably guess, challenging music in any way at all. It would seem damnation through faint praise to call it pleasant background music, but it's not the kind of album that requires a great deal of thought, simply a genial frame of mind that can be swept along in the tuneful, good natured musical world. Undemanding, but charming.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 60:55