Strauss Salome Irish National Opera - Sheil

.. featured some excellent singing ... with a particular highlight being the rapid-fire exchanges amongst the Jews arguing about the nature of God.

Adrian Smith Journal of Music 14/03/2024

 ...dinner-jacketed loudmouths driving Salome to further depths of despair ... It's a tricky scene to clarify, but done to musical and dramatic perfection here -David Nice Arts Desk  18/3/2024

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Dove Flight Opera Collective Ireland - Wyn Davies

The casting is splendid from first to last...Soprano Roisin Walsh and tenor Christopher Bowen both bring comic authority as the couple in search of renewal.

Emer O'Kelly - Irish Independent  10/9/2023

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Rigaki Old Ghosts Irish National Opera - Elaine Kelly

...this was a brave and ambitious undertaking ... Bowen as Joyce was particularly impressive

Adrian Smith - Journal of Music 8/2/2023

the tenor Christopher Bowen is highly credible as Joyce 
Michael Dungan- Irish Times 3/2/2023

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Purcell Great Parent, Hail - The Hibernian Muse Linn Records - Peter Whelan

there’s some elegant sparring and echoing from rival tenors Anthony Gregory and Christopher Bowen in ‘After war’s alarms repeated’.

Alexandra Coghlan - Gramophone  5/7/2022

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Elgar The Dream of Gerontius. Romsey Choral Society - Richard Pearce

the tenor Christopher Bowen singing the part of Gerontius. With the opening line of ‘Jesu Maria - I am near to death’ we were immediately transfixed by a voice full of colour, precision and immersion into the words. This is clearly a role he has sung many times before and we benefited from that.

Martin Seymour - The Hampshire Chronicle 9/7/2022

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Mozart Requiem. Glasgow Cathedral Festival - John Butt
a solid solo quartet [with] a stirring Christopher Bowen (tenor).... basked in the radiant ingenuity of Mozart
Ken Walton - The Scotsman 30/09/2019

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Bach Christmas Oratorio. Academy of Ancient Music, BBC Singers
They were all good, some very good, and with a quite excellent Evangelist. 
Roy Westbrook- Bachtrack  23/12/2018
 

Handel Messiah. Bristol Choral Society
Christopher Bowen (tenor) and Frederick Long (bass) were not only outstanding vocally, but their facial expressions 'invited us' into their world and the text - utterly compelling performances.
Martin Firth- Bristol Post 18/12/2018

Cresswell The Art of Black and White. Rattle Records
What a pleasure it is listening to tenor Christopher Bowen, just a few months after his memorable Evangelist in Auckland Choral's St John Passion. Predictably, he illuminates the 11 songs of Snatches, from Baptised Generations, with the same vocal cut and clarity. Poet Emily Dickinson's words, pointed and pithy, resonate in Cresswell's remarkably lean responses, as the tenor deals out images of despair and dark humour with Brittenesque flair. The five Denis Glover poems of Old Mick don't share the wistful, sepia-tinted nostalgia of composer Douglas Lilburn's iconic Sings Harry. Here, the versatile Bowen balances searing poignancy with occasional chilling outbursts of anger. 
Superb tribute to New Zealand composer, delivered with charisma and charm
William Dart - New Zealand Herald 04/11/2017

 

various A Patchwork Passion. ...the quiet earnestness expressed in the unaccompanied monodic lines passed between Christopher Bowen’s gracefully realised Evangelist and David Shipley...

Curtis Rogers - Classical Source 20/08/2017

Bach St John Passion. Auckland Choral
Could one imagine a more compelling Evangelist than Christopher Bowen? The tenor's recitatives were beautifully paced and incisively pointed, occasioning memorable interchanges with Greco's moving Pilate and some effective contrast with the weary eloquence of Barry Mora's Jesus.
William Dart - New Zealand Herald 06/04/2017
 

Nicolson The Iris Murder. The Hebrides Ensemble
Christopher Bowen, a giant tenor with a meltingly pure voice, played Beaunes with frightening conviction, a kind of calculated mania. 
Ken Walton - The Scotsman 13/06/2016

Elgar Dream of Gerontius. The Orchestra of the North. Salford and Congleton Choral societies. 
The role of Gerontius is perhaps unique in that the protagonist's suffering, hopes and frailties are laid bare in the wonderful orchestral prelude before he has sung a single note, so that in a way his task is not so much to announce himself as to add a new dimension to what has already been revealed. Christopher Bowen managed this with unwavering concentration, succeeding in riveting the audience's attention throughout the work. His vocal control was impressive, and he clearly understood the importance of his role in defining the structure of the work and in creating a convincing sense of forward progression. 
Kelvin Leslie - Congleton Chronicle 14/4/2016 

Britten War Requiem. Christchurch Symphony Orchestra 
The soloists, Morag Atchison, Jared Holt and Christopher Bowen, were well matched musically, yet brought individual flair to the proceedings. ...Bowen [brought] an elegance of line to Britten's melodies. The tenor and baritone blend of Bowen and Holt respectively was particularly satisfying. 
Philip Norman - The Press 4/10/2015

Handel Alexander's Feast. Aldeburgh Music Club
...tenor Christopher Bowen with fuller voice than is normally expected of a high tenor capable of ascending into the stratosphere but on this occasion restricted to a relatively modest range which he negotiated with skill and dramatic force when needed 
John Sims - AMC 3/12/2014 

Rossini Petite Messe Sollenelle. St Albans Choral 
Christopher Bowen has an unfussy, high tenor voice which I found especially pleasing. The Domine Deus was judged to perfection with its bouncy rhythm yet strong legato line. 
Mary Cook - Herts ad 9/7/2014

Bach CPE Johannes passion. Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
...a lovely accompagnato followed by a tenor solo, a very galant aria vividly sung by Christopher Bowen... The performance was satisfyingly exemplary with Karabits drawing finely shaped performances from his soloists
Robert Hugill - Planet Hugill 16/4/2014 

Handel Messiah. Auckland Choral 
Tenor Christopher Bowen set up a benchmark for his fellow soloists with a beautifully turned recitative and aria. His final, extraordinary flourish of notes would have created a stir among the original 1743 Covent Garden audience. In tandem with mezzo Anna Pierard in O Death, where is thy sting, the two singers brought an almost Purcellian zest to the writing. 
William Dart - New Zealand Herald 18/12/2013

Bach Johannes passion. St Albans Choral Society
Christopher Bowen’s high tenor voice was bright and carried well in the louder passages but was also capable of great compassion. 
Mary Cook - Herts ad 25/4/2013

Mendelssohn Hymn of Praise. Grange Choral Society 
All the succeeding episodes fully conveyed Mendelssohn’s vocal splendour...Soloists in the symphony included the superb, soaring clarity of soprano Abigail Hooper ... and the smoothly controlled voice of tenor Christopher Bowen. 
Mike Marsh - Bournemouth Echo 23/1/2012 

Vaughan Williams A Cambridge Mass. Bath Choral Society
The four soloists, soprano Olivia Robinson, alto Rebecca Lodge, tenor Christopher Bowen and baritone Edward Price, made their contributions with suitable artistry and style.
Peter Lloyd Williams - Bath Chronicle 27/10/2011 

Northcott Hymn to Cybele. BBC Proms 
Bayan Northcott's hair raisingly demanding Hymn to Cybele , complete with a particularly gruesome text stretched even the virtuosity of the BBC Singers, who nonetheless gave as dramatic a reading as one could have wished, with solo contributions from Christopher Bowen and Edward Price that bordered on the heroic.
David Wordsworth - Choir and Organ November 2010 

Bach Christmas Oratorio. Sheffield Oratorio Chorus
...a young tenor Christopher Bowen being the standout soloist when it came to word clarity...His diction was excellent and his high tenor voice musicianly in his arias.
Bernard Lee - Sheffield Telegraph 2/12/2009

Handel Solomon. Dublin Handel Festival
Tenor Christopher Bowen and soprano Roisin O'Grady were polished clear and stylish in their solos.
Michael Dungan - Irish Times 21/4/2009

Homilius Johannes Passion. Camden Chamber Choir 
...a fluent and articulate tenor Evangelist, the New Zealand-born Christopher Bowen, a member of the BBC Singers. 
...the Pilate scene (“Was ist Wahreheit?” — ‘What is truth?”), with Preece and Bowen on magnificent form, provided a high point of an evening that, in its modest way, proved fascinating.
Roderic Dunnett - Church Times 21/3/2008 

Scarlatti Stabat Mater. BBC Proms 
Olivia Robinson and Christopher Bowen gave the music further soul when, rising above the choral mass, their voices asserted an individual humanity. The performance was a soberly stirring experience.
Kenneth Carter - classicalsource.com 04/09/2007 

Gubaidulina Alleluia. Gubaidulina Weekend - BBC symphony orchestra 
One could warm to the skill or dedication of certain performers- the tenor Christopher Bowen in Alleluia.
Ivan Hewitt - The Daily Telegraph 16/01/2007 

Mozart Requiem. Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and City Choir
Bowen's tone is both distinctive and poignant.
Patrick Shepherd - The Press 26/06/2006

Bach St Matthew Passion. Cantores 
Tenor Christopher Bowen, as the Evangelist, had the job of narrating the story of Christ's passion... a familiar enough tale became extraordinarily gripping: real theatre in fact.
Timothy Jones - The Press 16/03/2005

Anon. Play of Daniel. New London Chamber Choir 
Tenor Christopher Bowen, a cutting, withering Daniel. No wonder those poor lions were cowed.
Roderic Dunnett - Church Times 30/07/2004