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"The soundtrack of Christopher Gunning's period perfect music and, of course, Piaf's songs is sublime."

Full review in Hollywood Reporter

The musical companion to Marion Cotillard’s astonishing performance as French icon Edith Piaf is as enchanting and entertaining as Piaf herself, although mercifully with all tyrannical tendencies removed. A mini-retrospective of the original recordings, from the boozy Milord to her calling card, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, it acts as a masterclass for Piaf virgins, all digitally remastered to show off the vivaciousness and theatricality that made her a star.

Christopher Gunning’s evocative score comes as a welcome bridge between these and songs mostly created for the film: Jil Aigrot’s singing on the numbers where recordings were either too old or simply didn’t exist, as in Edith’s busking, is truly astounding, and as much of a fitting tribute to a musical legend as the film itself.

Review in Empire Magazine

The Soundtrack is Heavenly
"What touched me most about the movie was the incredible soundtrack. In addition to her strong voice and wonderful interpretation, the orchestral interludes throughout left the whole audience in tears. As soon as I got home, I purchased the soundtrack on iTunes. Christopher Gunning, the composer, has done a masterful job.

" Music-hall numbers crackle with the charge of live performance. Interstitial score delicately incorporates melodies from Piaf standards without upstaging the action or diluting the power of the songs when married with their lyrics."

Full review in Variety

"Le tout saupoudré par le génie de Christopher Gunning"
(The whole powdered by the genius of Christopher Gunning)

Full review in L'Antre de L'Horreur

Regular visitors to this site will have read my review earlier this month of Christopher Gunning's latest score, which makes up part of the soundtrack album to La Vie en Rose. It's always a (too rare) pleasure having the opportunity to review the composer's music, so I was delighted when he contacted me to say he had a new instrumental album coming out.
Skylines, whilst having a few familiar themes thereon, is largely a collection of newly composed instrumentals, which Gunning describes as "much more rhythm based than a lot of my film and TV work. I wanted to have a go at something else!!" Whatever, it is a very nice album indeed, and whilst electronics play a big part, the composer received valuable assistance from Phil Todd(soprano saxophone, alto saxophone), Stan Sulzmann (alto saxophone, Bass flute) and Nicole Tibbels (soprano).
The album starts quietly with "Skyline - Dawn," before introducing the first of a number of rhythmic movers, "Interstate 95." This is followed by a lovely, laid-back, tropical arrangement of "With the Right One," the familiar theme for the Martini adverts. "Street Games" has an expectant opening, before sax leads us in another catchy, rhythmic offering.
"Sweet Child" speaks of innocence and gentility, and is followed by another familiar piece, the flute-lead "Theme for Black Magic," with Ms Tibbels featuring in the bridge. "Fast Dada" is just that, a busy, fast-moving piece of jazz.
"They Dine in Smart Cafes" begins and ends with street noises and is a sax-lead waltz, with a French feel to it. "Rockers" is yet another rhythmic mover, and is followed by the always welcome "The Belgian Detective," the popular theme for TV's Poirot.
"And a Bird Watches..." begins expectantly, before taking flight; and "Pomp" is an optimistic mover. "Desert" is suitably mysterious and a little desolate; whilst " A Sad Tale" opens poignantly, before opening out into a passonate sax-lead theme.
"What's Your Problem?" is an energetic, piano-lead theme, contrasting with "Easy Now!" for laid-back sax and piano. The penultimate track is "Was it Love?" a suitably reflective piece, a little sad, with keyboards and sax; with the sax-lead nocturne "Skyline - Dusk" concluding this entertaining disc.
If you want to hear samples from the album, go to www.christopher-gunning.co.uk/cd_skylines. You can then order your copy online.

(click here for ScreenSounds)

Old favourites such as the Black Magic themes, as well as the Poirot theme are given fresh arrangements, but most of the tracks are new compositions, and often rhythm based, though there are some slower, more reflective entries. It's a very listenable collection indeed.

Several reviews of Christopher Gunning's work can be found here, in "Music from the Movies"

CHRISTOPHER GUNNING (b.1944): You would have to be a pretty unhappy specimen not to find something to enjoy on this disc. Gunning has a natural eloquence and a readily communicative style, doubtless honed by his extensive work in music for film and television. A Rubbra pupil, he shares with his teacher a gift for harmonic richness (in an unabashedly tonal idiom) combined with a clear, uncluttered directness of expression. One might also detect shades of Holst here and there, especially in the symphony. The fine piano concerto is conventional in form, with two lively outer movements – sometimes recalling neoclassical Stravinsky , or Shostakovich, but not sufficiently to strike one as derivative – bracketing a slow movement which plumbs greater emotional depths in an atmosphere of Busonian harmonic ambiguity and unease. Storm! is first cousin to the one in Peter Grimes, a tone-poem of graphic vividness. The symphony, an unbroken 25-minute expanse, explores different moods and the interplay of themes varies as the music progresses in a free and fairly loose structure, valuing vividness of image over formal strictness in a most appealing essay in the genre.

Olga Dudnik (piano),
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra; Christopher Gunning. Albany TROY 686

For those of us who have followed Christopher Gunning’s music for well over twenty years, this CD will come as no surprise whatsoever. It is immediately accessible, melodic and immensely likeable; when was the last time you could say that about contemporary music?

The Piano Concerto is in three movements, played with great verve by Olga Dudnik. I love how the clarinet opens the First Movement and flows in and out at will. The Second Movement, ‘Lento’, is a superb almost lazy reflective piece which bridges the two movements with dexterity and poise, whilst the final movement brings it all together in a superb exciting and hair raising conclusion.

‘Storm’ is a scenario for Orchestra that conjures up all the majesty and power of the sea. Here percussion, celli and woodwinds weave a wonderful spell, yet the composer uses all aspects of the Symphony orchestra.

The Symphony is in just one movement of some 24 minutes, yet played without break, it never outstays its welcome and I for one would not have minded a second movement. The whole CD and especially The Symphony is the work of a composer in complete command of his craft and one can only hope that more works of this high quality will come from the pen of Christopher Gunning.

This is new music to be listened to, to be savoured and constantly enjoyed. I freely admit to being partial to Christopher Gunning’s scores, yet it is like meeting someone for the first time and you find you have complete rapport and part friends for life. It is music that will stay with you forever and if, perish the thought, I had to find ten (or is it twelve) CDs to chose if I was castaway on a desert island, this no question would be one!

Click for the review on musicfromthemovies.com

"An exhilharating disc, and one which will not disappoint." (MusicWeb International)

"Given Gunning's accomplished musicianship and easily approachable language, thrilling performances by pianist Olga Dudnik, ....and Albany's vivid, voluptuous sonics, this will serve as an admirable introduction to his concert music." (American Record Guide)

Reviewed by: John Williams
In the wasteland that currently is British film music, few composers shine like a beacon in the night like Christopher Gunning. Any film or series with his name on the credits ensures a consistently high standard of writing and perhaps most importantly, an accurate placing of where the music has to go and sometimes that is just as important as the actual music itself.

Rosemary And Thyme is a lightweight feel-good series starring Pam Ferris and Felicity Kendal as two roving gardeners who seem to find murders or mysteries wherever they go. It is pretty undemanding viewing and, for me, the opportunity to listen to the music is more up-front than other series. I am sure this is my fault, but I do find (and this is a failing with British Television in general and not this programme in particular) that if a story can be told in forty-five minutes, then it is padded out to an hour or even longer.

However, to the music, the main theme is obviously based on ‘Scarborough Fair’, yet is freely adapted by Gunning. This is no hardship as the music is delicately played by John Williams on guitar.

Four of the cues contain Pam Ferris and Felicity Kendal in dialogue excerpts, along with sung extracts from different episodes. Unfortunately these are spread at cues 2, 6, 10 and 14 so that they have to be programmed out manually. The remainder of the score though is top flight Christopher Gunning, at times beautifully pastoral as in ‘A Gracious Garden’, but often tense and exciting as in ‘A Time Of Death’, the superb ‘The Memory Of Water’ and ‘Sweet Angelica’ with its solo viola, piano and guitar. In fact, many of the cues are strongly reminiscent of the very best work Gunning wrote for Poirot .

On the surface then a lightweight album for an extremely lightweight series, but this CD is one of the best in recent times and it shows British television can deliver first rate music if they give the work to first rate composers in the first place.

Click for the review on musicfromthemovies.com.

“The most striking work here, by far, is Christopher Gunning’s Saxophone Concerto. A pupil of Rubbra and Richard Rodney Bennett, Gunning is best known for his music for the TV Poirot series... He tells us: ‘One summer eveing as I ambled across Hungerford Bridge I heard a saxophone mingling with other city sounds.’ This rich evocation is caught remarkably effectively at the opening... It is a haunting work, ending as magnetically as it opens...” – Gramophone magazine

“Christopher Gunning has written some outstanding music for film and television. He is, in my opinion, one of the UK's strongest cards and it is well past time that he was snapped up by the major studios for grand symphonic scores. His Saxophone Concerto is in a single continuous movement lasting almost twenty minutes. It starts in wisps and elegies rising through allusions to The Lark Ascending via moments that had me thinking of Copland's score for The Tender Land. The score subsides satisfyingly into the same rustlings and warmth that you find in the meditative musings of Vaughan Williams' A London Symphony. Throughout John Harle, forever locked in the memory as the capricious virtuoso player in Michael Nyman's Where the Bee Dances, remains bullion-secure, producing a flow of clarion-tones – with the aureate liquefaction of the best coffee.” – Robert Barnett: Music Web

“After considerable success with his scores for Karaoke and Cold Lazarus, Middlemarch and Yorkshire Glory, Christopher Gunning has turned to the Bill Nicholson film Firelight. Firelight is another tortured, period love story this time featuring fêted young ingénue and Bardot successor Sophie Marceau.Gunning is one of the strongest composers in his field and I fervently want him to be taken up by Hollywood in a big way. His romantic music for the two Potter TV movies Karaoke and Cold Lazarus was a perfect match for the dark hopeless/hopeful tone of those films.The music for Firelight has some atmospheric parallels with the John Barry score for Swept From the Sea. More to the point, the style is a step along the same line as Bernard Herrmann when he chose to write a long-breathing tune - slightly haunted, quietly powerful and singing. There is a touch here also of Nyman's score for Campion's The Piano, not that it is minimalist music. Solo piano and solo violin (often in Lark Ascending mode) are much to the fore. An introspective, possibly claustrophobic score breaking free in Rachmaninovian splendour in tracks 16 and 17. The latter is very close sometimes to Gerald Finzi's Introit and could easily serve as the slow movement of a violin concerto. Overall then a welcomed disc. I hope to hear much more Gunning. The industry should be using him far more.” – Robert Barnett: Music Web

Reviewed by: Mikael Carlsson
One of my favourite composers is the British gentleman Christopher Gunning, who has a wonderful style and deserves a steady place in the spotlight. His scores for Under Suspicion, Cold Lazarus and When The Whales Came are but a few examples of his tremendous talent. I am equally enthusiastic about his latest score, Firelight, a passionate and deeply romantic score recalling some of Georges Delerue's most expansive scoring. This is a melodic work with several strong themes - sensitively performed on solo piano, flute, cello or violin - evoking equally strong emotions. The score also have a sense of mysticism which often transforms into a darker treatment of the thematic material. A couple of jaunty polkas thankfully give the listener a chance to get rid of those goose pimples, but they soon develop again as Gunning's heartbreaking melodies return. I just love this score - one of the finest so far this year!

Reviewed by: Alistair Hewitt
Set in London’s swinging 1960s, Goodbye Gemini (also known in the USA by the more appropriate name of Twinsanity) is an involved story about manipulating brother and sister twins (Judy Geeson and Martin Power) that meet another couple at a party on a houseboat and entice them into their web of a lifestyle. From seemingly innocent beginnings the net tightens towards an evil and bloody conclusion. The score may have been Christopher Gunning’s first venture in the world of film and television music, but it was both an impressive demonstration of the composer’s talents as well as a portent of melodies to follow that have included music for Poirot, Wild Africa, The Big Battalions, Karaoke, Cold Lazarus, Middlemarch, When the Whales Came, Under Suspicion, Firelight and the wonderful Yorkshire Glory, netting him Ivor Novello and BAFTA awards along the way. However, he has never really returned to the fun, semi-jazz style he adopted for Goodbye Gemini, although some of the music with a more wistful style has resurfaced in later works.

The album opens with a swinging, evocative 1960s vocal, ‘Tell The World We’re Not In’ from The Peddlers, but, in contrast, the composer’s first cues, ‘Jacki And Julian’ and ‘Houseboat Party No. 1’ have a wonderful laid-back almost romantic feel with flutes and strings giving a Barryesque atmosphere. The composer was also responsible for the music for next stirring pop vocal ‘Nothing’s Good and Nothing’s Free’, sung by Peter Lee Sterling who also wrote the lyrics. A further interesting, smoochy vocal, ‘Forget About The Day’ is included, sung by Jacki Lee (famed for her hit ‘White Horses’).

The score contains many cues, like ‘Woodlands Hotel’ and ‘Houseboat Party No. 2‘, that aptly depict the cool music of the 1960s; music with soul and heart. Other cues like ‘Houseboat Party No. 3’ and ‘Vauxhall Tavern Strip Medley’ are more lively and brassy. Even the moments of horror, such as ‘Ritual Murder’, retain the elements of melody, although with a menacing undertone and it is only ‘Jacki’s Nightmare’ that demonstrates any discord. The album concludes with a pensive reprise of ‘Jacki And Julian’.

At a time when the moody scores for films based on the 1960s swinging scene seemed to be thrown together using the newly found Hammond electronic organ, Christopher Gunning’s score for Goodbye Gemini was like a fresh breeze of crafted music tailored for the film’s suspenseful plot and makes a fascinating album, even after 35 years. For those that like light airy music, Christopher Gunning or just the 1960s this is another must-have Harkit album.

Yes! The goodies just keep on coming! This is the long-overdue reissue of the great soundtrack to cult 70s horror movie Goodbye Gemini (AKA Twinsanity) starring Judy Geeson, Martin Potter and Michael Redgrave. This is lovely stuff and a nice variety of styles too.

Review in "movie Grooves"

The second disc is the most impressive of the two. Chris Gunning's music for Cold Lazarus (companion to Karaoke), the controversial TV serialised play by Dennis Potter, is exuberantly ardent with infusions of Vaughan Williams and Rachmaninov as well as Gunning's own fresh-minted brand of romanticism. This is a highlight of the disc and one which will tempt me to try the complete Potter/Gunning scores available on Silva Screen. The applause seems niggardly in the face of this magnificent music.– Robert Barnett: Music Web

Recently there have been a number of television series that could be referred to as super-documentaries or natural history epics, 'Blue Planet' for example, and 'Walking With Beasts'. We are in for a treat however with the wonderfully colourful and informative, 'Wild Africa'. This latest series from the BBC in Bristol contains, I think, one of the most superior TV scores that I have heard for many years, and in fact I would go as far as to say that it is the most enjoyable and rhythmically melodic soundtrack that I have listened to this year. It is the work of one of Britains most accomplished and gifted composers Christopher Gunning. Many collectors will of course already be aware of the multitalented Mr Gunning through his early film scores such as Hammer films Hands Of The Ripper and his entertaining and inventive music for Poirot plus his haunting soundtrack for the movie When The Whales Came, just three examples of this composers amazing works for cinema and TV. 'Wild Africa' is a mix of styles and sounds that consist of ethnic, choral and orchestral. Sweeping and majestic sounding themes accompany the sights and sounds of the African Savannah, whether it be the frequent season changes, or the running of a cheetah pursuing its prey, the composer has managed to make the film and the music work as one, punctuating and enhancing every frame of film with his musical full stops, exclamation marks and commas. Poignant almost celestial sounding tone poems accompany images of snow-capped mountains, enormous lakes and deserts that seem to extend into infinity. The composer also utilises to great effect the human voice, and there are some outstanding performances within the score by both female and male soloists. The score for the series is as diverse and variegated as it is entertaining, and the range of styles within the work is astonishing and staggering.

The opening theme is in itself a multicoloured affair that contains a haunting string composition that is played in unison with a flawless and beautiful female voice, this is in turn embellished and supported by African voices and drums, the infectious sounding theme is also performed in certain passages by the woodwind section, there is a lull of sorts towards the end of the theme, but this is short-lived, the composition building once again to continue along its way with choir supporting female voice and joining with strings to take the cue to its conclusion. The second cue is also written in the same sort of style, strings and choir again being employed to great effect with the added inclusion of subtle percussion and horns. I try not to draw comparisons with other composers or other scores but I must say that 'Wild Africa' contains music that is comparable to the styles of both John Barry and Ennio Morricone, it has the richness of Barrys string's and faraway lonely sounding horns, with the quality of Morricones choral colours. This however does not mean that the music by Christopher Gunning is not original, on the contrary it is a cleverly constructed and orchestrated work, that interweaves many textures and colours to create a soundtrack that will be pleasing to many collectors of film and TV music, and also to viewers of the series.

If I was to highlight one cue as being outstanding, it would have to be 'Snowcaps On The Equator', again the composre brings together choir and strings to achieve a sound that ahs to be heard to be believed. But to single out one track amonst so many wonderful musical cues would be somewhat unfair as the entire score for this series is outstandingly beautiful. Christopher Gunning's soundtrack not only supports and enhances the images on screen, but it also has a life of its own away from those images and will, I am sure, be listened to and enjoyed buy many for years to come. The score is exciting, dramatic, poignant, exhilararting, romantic, captivating, emotional and, above all, mesmerising. Highly recommended, even if you don't catch the series buy the CD.

Somewhere along the way, the loyalty to a long-running campaign has also dissipated. One of the lengthiest innings featured an unforgettable jingle by composer Chris Gunning: "I was first approached to write some new music for Martini in 1970. My brief was to write a memorable tune that set the agency's lyric in 60 seconds. It was explained to me that several films were proposed which would feature various people having a good time, and that a bottle bearing the logo 'The Right One' would appear from time to time superimposed upon the action. The general style was one of sophisticated enjoyment. I went home and wrote the tune that evening. The next day I did several orchestrations to various time lengths.

"For several years I would compose new arrangements of the same tune in different styles. One version was in the style of Vivaldi, another sounded like a Busby Berkeley musical, another was a bossa nova - and so on. To keep the campaign alive, I frequently added new material at the front, returning to the famous tune and 'The Right One' at the end. After a while we abandoned vocal versions and the music became purely instrumental. Two of my own favourites were a jazz version in 7/4 (with the New York roller-skate waitress) and another which featured an American marching band. There have been two spin-offs: Dancin' Easy reached No. 8 in the pop charts in the 80s and, more recently, there was a French disco version which was very popular." – British Academy

Track 6, Hands Of The Ripper was made in 1971 and scored by Christopher Gunning. The story is about Anna who as an infant witness the murder of her mother by her father, Jack the Ripper. When she grows up, we find her working for Mrs. Golding as a spirit voice during one of Mrs. Golding’s many ‘fake’ séances. One day Anna finds herself in a state of shock following the murder of Mrs. Golding after a session. A psychiatrist who hopes to study and treat Anna later brings her home but...

The main title music for Hands of the Ripper is terrifying with its urgent sounding cello and violins. The more we listen, the louder grows the music, and the more anxious we all become. It all crescendos with bludgeoning
noises recreated on xylophone and amplified by terrifying sounding horns. Afterwards, the music cuts happily to Anna’s theme, a sentimental sappy piece played with flute and harp. The music is happy and carefree, and
suggests of innocence. After a brief moment of silence, the cue jumps to Trance. Here we hear xylophones in the background pondering over a simple 3 note rhythm. The music is dream-like, but very tedious, we wait for something to happen, but nothing does. The trance continues with Anna¹s theme filling the void quickly lulling us into a state of relaxation.

We barely even notice the ponderous rhythm of xylophones in the background becoming more impatient as they spiral up several octaves. Suddenly without warning, violins and horns mark a transition to evil with the same terrifying sounding horns and bludgeoning noises on xylophones. After the murder, Anna’s innocent theme plays once again, but not for long… – Epinions.com

JACKY Love is now / Never will I be Page One POF122, March 1969. A one-off for Larry Page’s label, the A-side is an epic, adventurous track opening with soft, dreamy vocal, building to an explosive bridge. Originally recorded by Jackie with John Scott as a demo for the film ‘Loving Feeling’, the single was arranged by Christopher Gunning as his remarkable professional debut. "...Those dragonflies, summer days, all have gone in a haze of goodbyes..." A spine-tingling, monumental masterpiece. The Jackie Lee-Barbara Moore B-side is an equally brilliant orchestral ballad, with strings swelling behind Jackie’s passionate vocal. It ends too soon though! Producer listed as ‘Finito’, which was the management team of Adrian Rudge and Tony Palmer.