Unashamedly romantic with an expressive use of dissonance & sophisticated atmosphere: the music of the remarkably youthful Christopher Churcher on Resonus Classics

Moonrise: music by Christopher Churcher; Somerville College Choir, Oxford, Will Dawes; Resonus Classics
Reviewed 12 May 2026

Music by the 22-year-old Christopher Churcher revealing a sophisticated handling of his choral forces allied to a distinctive romantic impulse that gives the music a particular quality with his Pride Motets at the centre of the recital

Moonrise on Resonus Classics features the music of 22-year-old composer Christopher Churcher recorded by the choir of Somerville College conducted by Will Dawes. The music brings together his earliest composition at age 17 to recent works written for the choir during his undergraduate studies at Oxford with his Pride Motets, commissioned for Somerville College’s LGBTQ+ Pride services at the centre of the disc. He is the recipient of the NCEM Young Composers Award (2023) and the winner of the Bach Choir Carol Competition (2022).

Wonder, setting Emily Dickinson, is one of his earliest pieces on the disc and was originally written for the Sir David Willcocks Carol Competition. Gentle at first, what is most notable is Churcher’s expressive use of lush harmonies.

Wintersongs is a group of three settings of traditional carol texts. Churcher describes them as ‘an exercise in restorative nostalgia’, returning to familiar texts. There is no rose features clear harmonies with an expressive use of dissonance and the feel of an English part-song. Away in a manger displays Churcher’s melodic gift, allied to lush harmonies whilst In the bleak mid winter is darker with more occluded harmonies yet a memorable melody.

Nesciens Mater, which uses divided lower voices, begins with the lower voices dark and intense with opaque harmonies, and developing in intensity when the upper voices enter creating striking textures with a finely expressive use of dissonance, creating something powerful and concentrated.

Everything is Going to be All Right, which sets a poem by Derek Mahon (1941-2020), was written during Churcher’s residency at JAM on the Marsh in 2023. Using choir and piano (Mar Umbert Kimura), Churcher reflects the upbeat nature of Mahon’s words with a big tune that with its piano support comes over rather as a sophisticated worship song, yet this is something I think many choirs would enjoy singing.

Churcher’s Pride Motets were commissioned for Somerville College Choir’s 2023 Pride Contemplation. my love sets a remarkable sonnet by 16th century poet Richard Barnfield with its explicit use of a male loved one. Churcher’s use of the piano here gives is a distinctly contemporary character. The lyrical flow of the piece with its expressive use of dissonance creates a distinctive sense Churcher’s romantic impulse, with a big baritone solo at the powerful climax. my beautiful uses text taken from Jesus at the gay bar by Jay Hulme (born 1996). Here the unaccompanied choir combines lyrical phrases with a mumbled choral accompaniment utilising a rich harmonic language. Finally, my heart sets e.e.cummings, where bell like motifs in the piano complement the gentle intimate choir supported by sustained not clusters. Again, the piece has an unashamedly romantic build up. From my perspective a gay man in his 70s, the music is nowhere near as edgy as I would have imagined. But what Churcher does is open up the queer experience and express it in unashamedly romantic terms.

Moonrise (setting Sara Teasdale) begins with some magical piano writing and a fine soprano solo that seems to hover between jazz and the influence of James MacMillan. With the addition of the full choir we get a big romantic flow and rich harmonies. The James MacMillan influence seems to grow in O nata lux with a very fine baritone solo and a use of tingling dissonances. The disc ends with Echo setting Christina Rossetti. A rather touching unaccompanied piece with a lyrical impulse combined with expressive dissonances.

The music on this disc, encompassing just five years in this young composer’s life is nothing short of remarkable. His handling of his forces is masterly and in all the pieces there are some completely magical textures. Unashamedly romantic, the harmonies can be edgy, but the results veer on the side of grateful even though Churcher’s range of texts is admirably challenging. The performances from Will Dawes and Somerville College Choir are admirable and highly sympathetic.

Somerville College Choir with Will Dawes and Christopher Churcher (Photo: Hugh Warwick)

Christopher Churcher (born 2004) – Wonder
Christopher Churcher – Wintersongs
Christopher Churcher – Nesciens Mater
Christopher Churcher – Everything is Going to be Alright
Christopher Churcher – Pride Motets
Christopher Churcher – Moonrise
Christopher Churcher – O Nata Lux
Christopher Churcher – Echo
Choir of Somerville College, Oxford
Mar Umbert Kimura (piano)
Will Dawes (conductor)
Recorded in Somerville College Chapel, 30 June – 2 July 2025
RESONUS CLASSICS RES10380 1CD [64.55]