Music

Noggin the Nog played well upon the crumhorn and Nooka, his princess, was good on the lute.  Often they had musical evenings in the castle hall.  Olaf the Lofty, the court inventor, did not care for the plain-song and madrigals that pleased Noggin and Nooka.  For him music was meant to tell of great battles and stirring deeds of glory in days gone by, of storms and earthquakes and interesting things like that.  He liked music that thundered and howled, that filled the heart and battered the ears.

So, Olaf, having no use for lute and crumhorn found a disused quarry and there he made his massive instruments.  A battalion of the Royal Guard were ordered to play them and before his Prince and the assembled Nogs, Olaf conducted his Gargantuan Symphony...

The audience did not like it and left early.

So you'll not find any of Olaf's compositions here.  You will, however, find the work of the late Vernon Elliott who composed the music for Noggin the Nog's adventures.  There's two types of music for you to download:  midis that I've written from the musical score, and a number of short samples taken from the original stories.

Midis

The following midis were written by me from the score of the Northlands Suite by Vernon Elliott.  I'm somewhat of a beginner when it comes to written music, so if there's any musical whizzes out there who could improve on these, please get in touch..

Land of Ice

The opening piece of the suite, in 3 distinct parts: "Polar Landscape", "The Ice-Dragon's Lullaby" and "Song of the Nogs". (1 min 56 secs)

Eastern Dance

The second piece is taken from Noggin and Thor Nogson's adventures in the Land of Silver Sand, as told in "The Flying Machine".  (1 min 20 secs)

March of the Kind Giants

Piece 3 of the Suite, a musical tribute to the Giants of "The Firecake".  (1 min 39 secs)

Sky-Flights

Coming Soon - The final piece of the suite opens with "The Birds" and then breaks into "The Flying Machine".

Music Samples

Here's a few short samples of Vernon Elliott's music from the Noggin the Nog stories. The music is sampled at a low rate and in mono, but as it was recorded in 1959-61, the original quality is not that much better.  Besides, I think the aged quality adds to the overall Nog atmosphere.  You'll find all of these pieces of music elsewhere in the site - they should play as some of the main pages download if your browser supports this feature.  Apart from "Polar Landscape" and "Song of the Nogs", the names of the samples are just my own, by the way.  Just click on the cassette icon to download the samples.

Polar Landscape

The theme that played at the beginning of each of the Noggin films, as Oliver Postgate spoke those magical words "In the Lands of the North..." (7 secs)

Trumpet Fanfare

The fanfare played by Noggin's court trumpeters as he greets Ronf in "The Ice Dragon".  (8 secs)

Sledging!

Incidental music as Noggin, Ronf and Thor Nogson's sledge skims over the frozen snow in "The Ice Dragon".  (4 secs)

The Forest of Troldeskow

Dark and menacing incidental music as Noggin, Ronf and Thor Nogson disappear into the mysterious depths of the forest of Troldeskow in "The Ice Dragon".  (8 secs)

The Ice Dragon

The Ice Dragon's theme from "The Ice Dragon".  (5 secs)

Grolliffe's Cave

Incidental music as our heroes enters the Ice Dragon's pillaged cave in "The Ice Dragon".   (7 secs)

Lullaby

The lullaby sung by the little people of the Hot-water Valley at the end of "The Ice Dragon".  (46 secs)

The Land of Silver Sand

Incidental music Noggin and Thor Nogson ride on camel back towards the golden palace in "The Flying Machine".   (9 secs)

The Battle

Incidental music as Grolliffe battles Ahmed el Ahmed's giant genie in "The Flying Machine".   (4 secs)

Victory!

The music of victory as Grolliffe the ice dragon reduces the evil genie to an ice cube in "The Flying Machine".  (11 secs).

Song of the Nogs

The traditional end theme to each story.  (6 secs)