While studying in the early '80s, burgeoning English composer Rachel Portman scored the films of fellow students, an experience that cemented her devotion to film and television. She has written music that floats free from narrative demands, such as her 2020 meditation on the natural world, ask the river, but much of Portman's career has been in service to story lines unfolding on the screen. Her predominantly orchestral scores create an instant ambiance and heighten memorable characters, whether in period dramas like Emma or gritty contemporary narratives like Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher.