THE flow of water and its role in our culture and heritage has inspired composer Harry Williamson to co-write a unique symphony based on his father Henry's 1927 novel Tarka the Otter.

Mr Williamson, who composed the Tarka symphony with former Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips, has dedicated the composition to North Devon – renowned for generations as "Tarka country" and now the UK's first new-style UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – and the Mornington Peninsula Biosphere Reserve in Victoria, Australia.

Click below to listen to the Tarka symphony

Mr Williamson will be in Devon next month filming for an Australian collaborative project entitled Precious Music, Precious Water, featuring the world premiere live performance of Tarka in 2010.

The Tarka symphony, in three movements, follows the life cycle of an otter and the flow of water through the "country of the two rivers", the North Devon landscape.

Mr Williamson said: "This collaborative project is a tribute to the outstanding natural beauty of these two very different biospheres.

"My main aim is to draw people's attention to the inestimable value of such areas. My father's magical descriptions of the natural world have opened the eyes of so many to the beauty of England's Westcountry.

"I hope our music continues to inspire more generations of people around the world."

Andy Bell, North Devon's Biosphere Reserve co-ordinator, said: "Rivers link the countryside to the coast and sea. The borders of North Devon's Biosphere Reserve are largely defined by river catchments and Harry's work reminds us of all the importance of water and its role in our culture and heritage.

"We hope that the Tarka symphony can be heard in the Biosphere Reserve in the very near future."