Christian Henson
Christian Henson is a British composer, primarily working on television and film soundtracks. He has also soundtracked video games, and is the co-founder of Spitfire Audio with fellow composer Paul Thomson.[1] Henson has been nominated for a BAFTA[2][3] and an Ivor Novello Award for his music.[4]
Early life
Henson is the eldest son of actors
As a child, Henson acted in the 1980 film
Composing
In the early 1990s, Henson worked on drum and bass and breakbeat music with acts such as LTJ Bukem and the Freestylers.[3]
From 1997 to 2001, he worked as an assistant for composers Anne Dudley, Harry Gregson-Williams, Rupert Gregson-Williams and Patrick Doyle. Henson cannot read music, and taught himself how to orchestrate soundtracks.[10][11]
Awards and nominations
Henson gained a 2007 Ivor Novello Awards nomination for 'Best Original Movie Score' for his work on the 2006 film Severance.[4] He received 2004 World Soundtrack Awards "Soundtrack Composer of the Year" and "Discovery of the Year" nominations for Les fils du vent.[12]
Henson was nominated, along with fellow composers
Spitfire Audio
Henson founded the
On 24 February 2023, Henson announced that he would be stepping away from Spitfire Audio following backlash to a tweet supporting Graham Linehan and J. K. Rowling. It was posted on his personal Twitter account, which he temporarily deactivated afterward.[15] He has since resigned from his position as a director of Spitfire Music Limited, Spitfire Audio UK Limited, and Spitfire Audio Holdings Limited.[16] In October 2023, Henson returned with a new company called The Crow Hill Company.[17]
Personal life
Henson is married to Scottish singer and songwriter Dot Allison. They live in Edinburgh, Scotland.[7][11]
Selected works
Films
- 2002 Cybermutt
- 2002 Biggie & Tupac
- 2004 Chasing Liberty
- 2004 Les fils du vent
- 2005 Animal
- 2006 Severance
- 2006 Opal Dream
- 2006 It's a Boy Girl Thing
- 2007 Scorpion
- 2008 Miss Conception
- 2008 Summer Heat
- 2008 The Secret of Moonacre
- 2008 A Bunch of Amateurs
- 2009 Pandemic
- 2009 Triangle
- 2009 Malice in Wonderland
- 2010 Black Death
- 2010 The Round Up
- 2010 Huge
- 2011 Chalet Girl
- 2011 The Devil's Double
- 2011 Wild Bill
- 2011 Up There
- 2011 Hysteria
- 2012 Grabbers
- 2012 Storage 24
- 2013 Trap for Cinderella
- 2013 Believe
- 2013 Soulmate
- 2014 Terroir
- 2014 Robot Overlords
- 2015 The Go-Between
- 2016 Tommy's Honour
- 2022 This Is Christmas
- 2023 Unwelcome
Television
- 2001–2009 Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
- 2002–2004 Top Gear. Dickey Betts (arr. by Christian Henson)
- 2002 SAS: Are You Tough Enough?
- 2002 Scream Team
- 2002 Full Metal Challenge
- 2003 Wreck Detectives
- 2005 Diameter of the Bomb
- 2008 Lost in Austen
- 2009–2013 Poirot
- 2009 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
- 2011–2016 Fresh Meat
- 2011 Kidnap and Ransom
- 2012 Sinbad
- 2014–present Inside No. 9
- 2016 Wolfblood
- 2016 Tutankhamun
- 2018 Trauma
- 2018 Urban Myths
- 2019 Home
Video games
- 2008 Zubo
- 2013 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
- 2014 Alien: Isolation
References
- ^ "Orchestral manoeuverers: the 'virtual instruments' that allow anyone to be a composer". The Independent. 24 April 2019.
- ^ a b "2015 Games Music | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
- ^ a b c "Christian Henson". ADE.
- ^ a b "Archive | The Ivors | The Ivors Academy | Champions of Music Creators". The Ivors Academy.
- ^ Coveney, Michael (17 December 2019). "Nicky Henson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ Power, Vicki (2 August 2013). "Una Stubbs: My family values". the Guardian.
- ^ a b "Christian Henson's New Social Channels". www.spitfireaudio.com.
- ^ Christian Henson, 10 Golden Rules of Orchestral Programming, via YouTube at 7:04
- ^ #27 HOW TO BREAK INTO WRITING MUSIC FOR FILM & TV PT i - YESTERDAY. YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
- ^ "Christian Henson Interview | Co-Founder of Spitfire Audio". Pop Disciple | Film Music & Music Supervision Interviews | Music in Media News. 18 October 2018.
- ^ a b Spitfire Audio's Christian Henson Interview. YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
- ^ Awards, World Soundtrack. "Discovery of the Year - Awards". World Soundtrack Awards. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "The Flight interview: Alien Isolation, composing for video games". Den of Geek. 4 October 2015.
- ^ "About Spitfire Audio". Independent. 24 April 2019.
- ^ Sandeman, George (8 September 2022). "Composer suspended over tweet backing Rowling's gender views". The Times. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "Christian Leslie HENSON personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Spitfire Audio co-founder Christian Henson returns with new project, The Crow Hill Company". MusicTech. Retrieved 9 February 2024.