Unlike her previous albums Deluge (1997) and Flood (1999), which were primarily composed for theatre and film (including Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut), Untold Things represents Pook’s more personal creative vision.[2] The album blends classical elements with world music influences, incorporating samples from various global traditions, reversed vocals, and ethereal string arrangements.[2][3] It features haunting, atmospheric compositions often described as neoclassical with new age and world fusion elements.[4]
Several tracks originated from or were adapted for projects such as the BBC television series In a Land of Plenty.[2] The album was reissued in 2013 as part of the Real World Gold series, with two bonus tracks: “Adam’s Lullaby” and “Ave Maria”, both featuring vocals by Natacha Atlas.[5]
Background and recording
Classically trained on the viola, Jocelyn Pook drew inspiration from her live performances and collaborations during this period.[2] Encouraged by Real World Records’ ethos of blurring musical boundaries, she combined classical orchestration with samples from traditional recordings worldwide.[2][3] Vocalist Melanie Pappenheim played a significant role, contributing devised vocal lines, including reversed lyrics in tracks like “Saffron”.[2][3] The album was recorded and mixed at Real World Studios in Wiltshire, UK, reflecting Pook’s long association with the label, where she had previously participated in Recording Weeks and worked as a string arranger for Peter Gabriel.[2]
Pook has described the album as reflecting a sense of faith, loss, and yearning, while avoiding explicit religious commentary. Many compositions were reshaped from earlier works for dance, film, or television.[2]
Untold Things received generally positive reviews upon release, with critics praising its innovative fusion of styles while noting its contemplative and sometimes narrow emotional range.[4] A 2001 review of a live performance by the Jocelyn Pook Ensemble, featuring music from the album, appeared in The Guardian. Critic Tom Service described the performances as predominantly slow and melancholic, highlighting the diverse instrumentation but critiquing the overall expressive range as narrow. While acknowledging innovation in individual pieces—such as Melanie Pappenheim’s backward-sung poetry in “Butterfly Song”—Service found the music more reflective than dramatic, requiring patience from listeners.[7] In a 2001 Billboard review, the album was praised for transporting listeners “between worlds, effecting a surreal global classicism,” with particular note of its blend of ethnic vocal samples and live performances.[8]All About Jazz noted that the album “bridges multiple worlds” and highlighted its “air of magic realism” with layered vocals and instrumentation.[5] A retrospective 2013 review in The Independent, coinciding with the album’s reissue, stated that it had “weathered well” since its original release, highlighting its blend of sacred and secular themes enriched by multicultural influences, notably through contributions from vocalists Natacha Atlas and Melanie Pappenheim, as well as superb sound quality enhanced by mastering from Bob Ludwig.[9] A review by Fiona Talkington in Songlines magazine noted that, in retrospect, Pook’s sensitive integration of samples stood out against many subsequent world music albums, giving ‘‘Untold Things’’ a distinctive “warmth and depth” rather than over-produced clinical sounds.[6]
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