Sound Meets Canvas: Jonathan Boreham’s Composition for ‘The Girl in the Moon’

At Mill Tye Gallery, we’re always fascinated by the interplay between different creative forms — when one artist's vision inspires another, something truly magical can happen. We're thrilled to share a new piece of music by Jonathan Boreham, created in response to 'The Girl in the Moon', a painting by Chris Bennett.

This evocative composition is now available to experience on our Mill Tye YouTube Playlist:🎧 Listen here

Chris Bennett ‘The Girl in the Moon’

Jonathan Boreham is a locally-based sound artist and sound designer, known for his innovative use of found sounds, synthesizers, and improvisation. Drawing from futurist and Dadaist influences, his work blurs the line between the visual and the sonic — creating rich soundscapes that mirror the emotional tone and texture of visual art.

For this piece, Jonathan immersed himself in the atmosphere of Chris Bennett’s The Girl in the Moon, aiming to capture the mood of a cold winter night sky — mysterious, expansive, and quietly profound. The score weaves together the warmth of layered choir parts, the chime of bells and metallic textures, and the cold, drifting tones of synth pads. It's a deeply atmospheric piece, full of movement, mystery, and emotion.

To achieve this layered sound, Jonathan transformed the main room downstairs into a makeshift recording studio, capturing wind chimes and bells with five microphones and two recorders. The composition leans into delay and reverb, building a sense of spaciousness and dreamlike motion, paying subtle homage to electronic pioneers Karlheinz Stockhausen and Isao Tomita.

We’d also like to give a special mention to the very talented synth programmer spidericemidas, whose technical input helped shape the otherworldly tone of the final track.

This collaborative moment between sound and image is a perfect lead-up to our forthcoming exhibition, which opens Saturday 3rd May. We invite you to step into this immersive world, where music and painting speak to one another in haunting harmony.

Stay tuned for more about the exhibition — and in the meantime, take a few minutes to drift under the moonlight with Jonathan’s stunning soundtrack.

Chris Bennett's exhibition ‘The Girl in the Moon’ is on display at Mill Tye Gallery from Saturday 3rd May to Bank Holiday Monday 26th May. (Please check gallery opening hours)

Free Admission.

Set by the idyllic River Stour in Great Cornard, just outside the centre of the historic market town of Sudbury, Mill Tye Gallery and Arts Centre is located in a historic mill building in the heart of Gainsborough territory, and has spectacular views across the river Stour to the water meadows beyond. On the ‘Gainsborough Trail’ from Sudbury, it offers a unique destination to be enjoyed by art lovers and visitors alike.

Mill Tye Gallery and Arts Centre is located at 3 Cornard Mills, Mill Tye, Great Cornard, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 0GW. Opening Times: Thursday to Sunday 10:30am to 4pm.

Parking at the Mill

Visitors to the gallery will find free parking is available in the car park located before the level crossing. The gallery is a short walk, down by the Mill Pond.