Advice to Carly Paradis, commissioned composer for a new BBC film version of Lady Chatterley's Lover, aired on BBC One in September 2015

Jed Mercurio's adaptation of Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence includes several scenes in which music is integral to the scenic action, heard by the characters: ballroom dancing in a minor Midlands country house of 1913, followed by a change of style depicting more upbeat dancing after one guest starts to enliven the party mood; and later, some outdoor music in the background of a Northern fairground in 1919.

Carly Paradies, the Canadian film and television composer, never mentioned the title of the project or revealed her clients when she contacted me. But she described the brief with scenic requirements, period, place, domestic or outdoor setting and emotional feeling. I made a range of suggestions, and we discussed possible scorings and ways to link the 'real' sounds with her original (non-diegetic) music depicting various moods.

'you have such amazing knowledge with the music of these times ... I am very lucky to have spoken with you'

Carly Paradis, composer

Imagine my surprise and delight when I happened to see Lady Chatterley's Lover one evening and realized Carly had been working on this very story. Her score is brilliant throughout, making subtle but dramatic use of clarinet colour for - who else? - Mellors the gamekeeper, often seen chopping wood.