John Milford Rutter CBE Born in London, 24 September 1945, The
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John Milford Rutter CBE Born in London, 24th September 1945, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutter grew up living over the Globe pub on London's Marylebone Road. He was educated at Highgate School where fellow pupils included John Tavener, Howard Shelley, Brian Chapple and Nicholas Snowman, and as a chorister there took part in the first (1963) recording of Britten's War Requiem under the composer's baton. When Rutter began his degree in music at Clare College, Cambridge, he was already an experienced composer. At 18 he wrote his famous Shepherd’s Pipe Carol. David Willcocks, who was running the music department at King’s College, looked over Rutter's manuscripts and said, "Would you be interested in seeing some of these published?" Rutter said, "I was truly gobsmacked.” I know it is not Christmas but I think we should hear the first piece that he had published. Shepherd’s Pipe Carol In 1974, Rutter visited Nebraska, USA, to conduct the premiere of his cantata Gloria. Gloria 1st Movement and 3rd Movement Between 1975 and 1979 he returned to Clare College where, as director of music, he made a tremendous impact, raising choral standards to the level of the more famous King’s College. This piece was written for King’s College Choir in 1987. What sweeter music Yet by now his own music had really begun to take off and he was also increasingly in demand as a conductor and a composer. The following piece was commissioned by a choir in America. For the beauty of the earth Rutter's music is eclectic, showing the influences of the French and English choral traditions of the early 20th century, as well as of light music and American classic song writing. Almost every choral anthem and hymn that he writes, in addition to the standard piano or organ accompaniment, has a subsequent orchestral accompaniment as well, using varied instrumentation. The following is an example of his adaptation of modern music. Beatles Concerto 1st Movement As a further example of his versatility we now have two short pieces from his Childhood Lyrics Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Sing a song of sixpence In 1981, Rutter founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, which he conducts and with which he has made many recordings of sacred choral repertoire (including his own works). He resides at Hemingford Abbots in Cambridgeshire and frequently conducts many choirs and orchestras around the world. He is internationally popular, especially in America. From 1985 to 1992, Rutter suffered severely from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome), which restricted his output; after 1985 he stopped writing music on commission, as he was unable to guarantee meeting deadlines, but he did continue composing albeit intermittently. It was during this time that he wrote his Requiem in memory of his father. Requiem: Pie Jesu Sanctus Agnus Dei The Lord is my shepherd In 2003, Rutter composed the Mass of the Children after the sudden death of his son Christopher who was run over by a car when leaving choir practice, while a student at Clare College, Cambridge, where Rutter himself had studied When composing, Rutter will often work from mid-morning until midnight with only a break for dinner. He thrives on discipline and feels that the most vital aspect of any new piece is to come up with a first-rate idea, which then becomes a vital springboard for the piece as a whole. He prefers to make revisions and corrections as he goes along rather than revisit and make any changes after a piece has appeared in print. Nowadays, John Rutter is often invited to compose music for special occasions, most memorably for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, which featured his beautiful anthem, This Is The Day. This is the day John Rutter’s music also featured in the recent wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle when the choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor sang The Lord Bless you and keep you. The Lord bless you and keep you In 1996 the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon John Rutter in recognition of his contribution to church music. He was also honoured in the 2007 Queen’s New Year Honours List, receiving a CBE for services to music. I would like to finish with a selection of pieces from his CD entitled Distant Land, which is a selection of orchestral pieces. Distant Land Blow, Blow, thou Winter Wind Candlelight I have a Bonnet trimmed with Blue Waltz Dashing Away U3A Music Appreciation Group meeting on Thursday 28th June 2018 at Hazeldene, Church Street, St Marys. Programme of music by John Rutter SHEPHERD’S PIPE CAROL 2’ 55” Cambridge Singers with City of London Sinfonia GLORIA First Movement 4’ 45” Third Movement 5’ 25” Cambridge Singers, Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble and City of London Sinfonia. WHAT SWEETER MUSIC Cambridge Singers with City of London Sinfonia 4’ 20” FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH 3’ 40” Cambridge Singers with City of London Sinfonia BEATLES CONCERTO First Movement 8’ 00” Royal Philharmonic Orchestra MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN 1’ 45” SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE 1’ 40” From Five Childhood Lyrics Cambridge Singers with City of London Sinfonia REQUIEM Pie Jesu (Soprano Solo Caroline Ashton) 4’ 10” Sanctus 2’ 20” Agnes Dei 6’ 05” The Lord is my Shepherd (Oboe Solo Quentin Poole) 5’ 10” Cambridge Singers with City of London Sinfonia THIS IS THE DAY 4’ 50” The Choir of Westminster Abbey The Choir of Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel, St James’s Palace Organ played by Robert Quinney THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU 2’ 35” The Choir of St Georges’ Chapel, Windsor Organ played by Luke Bond DISTANT LAND Orchestral Pieces Distant Land 6’ 10” Blow, blow, thou Winter Wind 3’ 55” Candlelight 4’ 00” I have a Bonnet trimmed with Blue 2’ 40” Waltz 3’ 05” Dashing Away 2’ 40” Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Total: Approx. 85 minutes Each piece played was composed by John Rutter and, with the exception of the two pieces played at the Royal Weddings, each piece was also conducted by John Rutter .