Christopher's concert music is Inspired by nature, astronomy, surrealism and psychadelia, fusing sinuous, bubbling textures with vast, haunting harmonies. From complex, groovy rhythms to moments of utter simplicity, he enjoys 'taking a walk' through interesting sonic landscapes.
Christopher has been commissioned by Street Orchestra Live, the National Youth Harp Orchestra of Great Britain, Tritium Trio, Klangkraft Orchestra, the Odin Quartet, Heath Quartet, the British Sinfonietta, the And So Forth Opera Company, OperaVision, Helios Opera Company, the Lontano Ensemble, Clariphonics and Fretwork.
For sample scores, get in touch!
ORCHESTRA / LARGE ENSEMBLE
Only Tears / (string orchestra)
Inspired by the 'holy minimalists' of Eastern Europe, anguish meets sparsity in this atmospheric piece. (2015)
vln(2).vla.clo.db
A Bureaucratic Nightmare / (orchestra)
Some hugely extrovert fun, pitting comical terror against a strangely tense idea of peace. (2016)
2(2pic).2(2ca).2(2bcl).2/ssax.asax.tsax.bsax/4.2.3.1/timp.2perc/cel.hrp/str / perf. by the Royal College of Music Orchestra
(3 mins)
Martian Saloon / (concert band)
Whistling, roaring soundscapes meet pseudo-jazz rhythms in Martian Saloon, performed by KEMS Concert Band in 2017 as part of the 'Adopt a Composer' scheme, in association with Radio 3, Sound and Music and Making Music. I spent an amazing year with these musicians workshopping material that evoked otherworldly atmospheres.
Available in flexible concert band format here.
(7 mins)
CHOIR
Take, O Take Those Lips Away / (community choir)
With Take, O Take Those Lips Away, I wanted to capture in time here the poignancy of Shakespeare's famously lovestruck sonnet, combining a sense of the intimate with a sense of the colossal. (2014)
SSAATTBB (limited divisi) / perf. by Constanza Chorus
The Juggler / (community choir)
Taking Rudyard Kipling's poem of the same name, this piece explored quietly rustling textures and ethereal harmonies. (2017)
SSAATTBB / perf. and workshopped over a year by Cantabile Choir
(5 mins)
SMALL ENSEMBLE
Little Eden / (string quartet)
Taking Rudyard Kipling's poem of the same name, this piece explored quietly rustling textures and ethereal harmonies. (2017)
vln(2).vla.clo / perf. by the Odin Quartet
The Den / (micro-opera, for children)
In collaboration with OperaVision and Opera Harmony, 'The Den' is a playful story about two children in lockdown. (2017)
soprano, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, bassoon, cello, synth (2), percussion (3)