Christopher Gunning: Firelight (1998) / Suite for Violin & Orchestra

ABOUT THE SCORE: A British period drama directed by “Gladiator“ screenwriter William Nicholson, the story concerns a woman who agrees to bear the child of an anonymous English landowner in return for payment to resolve her father’s debts. When the child is born, the woman gives up the child; years later, the woman is hired as a governess to a girl on a remote Sussex estate, whose father is the anonymous landowner. Drama ensues, and underrated British composer Christopher Gunning responds with a gorgeously bittersweet score rooted in the English pastoral tradition, chiefly invoked through Vaughn Williams-esque violin solos performed gorgeously by Mike De Saulles. For those who find themselves arrested by the tragic-yet-bucolic air of British scoring in this vein, “Firelight“ is a must. The painting is “February Fill Dyke“ by english artist Benjamin Williams Leader (1881). As usual, no copyright infringement is intended and I claim no ownership over anything herei