Silent Witness: What is the theme song? What are the words to John Harle's Silencium?
Silent Witness returns for its 28th series tonight - and one thing that has remained constant throughout the often gruesome investigations is the haunting theme music.
While Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) and her fellow forensic pathologists uncover the truth behind crimes using scientific techniques - the “silent witness” alluded to in the title, they are always introduced by a yearning, rather melancholy piece, sung in Latin.
This piece is called Silencium, and was written by John Harle. Featuring soprano Sarah Leonard, it was used on Silent Witness from series two onwards. In 2018 an updated version was introduced.
The lyrics are
Testator silens / Costestes e spiritu / Silencium
Angeli silens / Costestes e spiritu / Silencium
Which translates to
Silent Witness / The spirits that also bear testimony / In silence
Silent Angel / The spirits that also bear testimony / In silence
The word “costestes” is unusual and not a word in regular Latin but is derived from ecclesiastical Latin, the version of the language used most in the Catholic Church, which conducted mass in Latin until the 1960s.
Who was Sarah Leonard?
Sarah Leonard was a soprano singer who died on October 31, 2024 from a brain tumour aged 71.
Leonard, who was born in Winchester in 1953, was known for her performances of contemporary works by composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, and Michael Nyman. She was a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and sang with the BBC Singers for five years.