Live · Soprano & orchestra
Furnace of Colours
A large-scale symphonic song cycle setting Vernon Watkins, commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
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Commercial recordings, live performances and selected studio realisations.
This page is a curated introduction to Christopher Painter’s music rather than a complete audio archive. The emphasis is on contrasting works and recordings that give an immediate sense of colour, atmosphere, structure and instrumental character.
Featured listening
Four ways into the music
A first selection spanning orchestra, chamber music and contrasting sound worlds.
CD · Trumpet & piano
Caneuon Taliesin
A chamber work based on stories from The Mabinogion, commissioned and recorded for CD by Philippe Schartz.
Listen on SoundCloudLive · Orchestra
Forest of Dreams
An atmospheric orchestral nocturne shaped by forest myths, dream fragments and a constantly shifting harmonic landscape.
Listen on SoundCloudCD · Alto saxophone & piano
Sonata for Alto Saxophone
Commissioned by Lara James and released internationally on Signum Classics.
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Music in performance
Selected archive and concert recordings, retained for their musical and historical value.
Orchestra
Invisible Cities
Live performance by the National Youth Orchestra of Wales.
Orchestra
Bugles Sang
Live performance of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales commission.
Symphonic wind ensemble
The Broken Sea
Live performance of the work commissioned by Timothy and Hilary Reynish.
Chamber music
The Gregynog Suite
Archive live performance recording.
String quartet
Images in the Mist
Live performance recording of the work commissioned by the Richards Quartet.
Commercial / CD recordings
Studio recordings
Professionally recorded performances suitable for listeners encountering the music for the first time.
Studio realisations
Further previews
Computer realisations are clearly identified as such and offered as previews of scores not yet represented by a suitable live recording.
Computer realisation · Brass band
Myrkviðr (Mirkwood)
A large-scale work founded on Norse legend and woodland myths.
Computer realisation · Violin & piano
Daughters of the Sea
A preview of the Fishguard International Festival commission.
Computer realisation · Symphonic wind ensemble
Regatta
An original wind-band work written for Timothy Reynish.
From the early catalogue
An early voice
The retrospective also reaches back to music from the beginning of Christopher Painter’s development as a composer.
Soprano solo & SATB choir
Ave Maria
An early choral work, included here as a glimpse of the musical voice from which the later catalogue developed.
Computer realisation · Orchestra
Symphony No. 1 — First Movement
The opening movement of Painter’s first symphony, written for his B.Mus degree, included here as an early document of his developing orchestral voice.
Audio notes
About the recordings
Some longer works are presented on SoundCloud as multi-movement playlists. Where necessary, continuous MP3 versions can be prepared later for a cleaner listening experience without changing the structure of the site.