Birthday bash honors Rutter

Posted March 8, 2006

 

John Rutter turned 60 last year and earned a well-deserved a world-wide celebration of his life in music. One might ask, who is John Rutter? If you have heard of a little band of musicians out of England called the Beatles, you should know about John Rutter of England.

At about the time the Beatles hit their stride with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the 1960s, Rutter was on his rise to choral greatness. The Beatles revolutionized popular music as we know it today and Rutter did the same with choral music. In 1977 Rutter composed his Beatles Concerto full of tuneful Lennon/McCartney songs.

 

Rutter, born in 1945, almost missed the boat to becoming Britain's most successful composer. His parents wanted to send him to sing in the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir school, but he turned the offer down. He went instead to Highgate School and became a friend of fellow student/composer John Tavener who put him on to composing in the 1950s.

 

Cambridge Singers Strike
New Path in Church Music 

While here he wrote Nativity Carol. He chose to attend Clare College at Cambridge and soon became its director of music. From this point on in his life his music and singing group called the Cambridge Singers became the cutting edge of new music for the church.

 

Rutter's music is happy music, melodious and not too difficult for ordinary church choirs to tackle. All across England and the United States his music caught on with church choirs. Rutter currently has two CDs on the best seller list in England occupying spot 1 and 9.

 

St. Charles Singers and Rutter Enjoy Partnership

This choral music master has had an intimate relationship with the St. Charles Singers. Rutter has conducted the St. Charles Singers on five occasions, recorded the ensemble at England's Cambridge University, and hosted them at home. "He's been a great friend to the St. Charles Singers," group director Jeffrey Hunt said.

 

Rutter was not present at the concert Saturday evening but he personally provided the group with the music to one of his newest works, the Wedding Canticle, to premiere in the United States. The core work in this concert of a dozen Rutter works was his 1985 Requiem, a work noted for its most cheerful and uplifting nature.

 

Saturday evening's concert was played to a capacity crowd. Hunt carefully chose selections that showed off Rutter to best advantage. While Rutter's music is carefully crafted and beautifully arranged, it can at times seem much the same, in league with another English music icon, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

 

Hunt programmed to show a diverse John Rutter. The first set of two tunes O Clap Your Hands and the Wedding Canticle with organ and choir were standouts in an evening of great music making. Three cheers for the singers and organist Ellen Coman.

 

Much of the successful sound created by the musicians can be credited to the placement of the orchestra and singers. The sweet spot in a church like the Baker is forward of the altar area. In this way the music is not blended into one blurred mass before reaching the audience. Hunt, realized this moving his musicians forward to interact with the audience. The last song of the concert The Lord Bless You and Keep You had the singers performing from the outside aisles of the pews creating surround sound of such exquisite quality it took the breath away!

 

Like Listening to the Pied Piper 

When you listen to Rutter's music and notice how much of it has traces of famous British composers and a sort of Broadway musical shell, you would be right. That after all is job 1 and it SELLS. Listening to Rutter is like listening to the Pied Piper His music is most seductive. Keep adjectives that describe Rutter's music are "folksy," "friendly," "cheerful," "energetic," "expansive," "melodic," "pastoral," "playful," "uncomplicated," and "easy listening."

 

The St. Charles Singers have lots of singing technique but this technique does not overshadow the music itself. They may be only 35 voices, but at full voice they sound like a hundred. The choir is not grouped by sections, and this gives a most delightful sound mix. The choir performed at many of the great cathedrals in England in 2002 even singing in Ely Cathedral. The group will sing this summer in French cathedrals.

 

Besides Set One, The Miller of Dee and The Keel Row were most energetically sung. The Requiem was done after intermission. Both Latin and English was used and made for connecting the past to the present. Hunt's Metropolis Chamber Orchestra was packed Saturday night to the brim with fine musicians. Stephen Hartman, harp; Jonathan Saylor, bassoon; Susan Saylor, flute and Steve Houser, cello, were standout players.

 

So, in summation, what style music does Rutter produce, since there is so much disagreement on his music's worth? Perhaps the best answer is "Eclectic" and leave it at that.

 

New on CD 

I Know Where I'm Going

St. Charles Singers with the Metropolis Chamber Orchestra

Jeffrey Hunt conductor

Choral Music of John Rutter and American and British Folk Songs 

Proteus 4027, available from Townhouse Books and Cafe

 105 N. Second Ave., St. Charles

Also available on amazon.com

 

This is the most recent release of music by the St. Charles Singers and showcases 20 songs that are sure to delight. Lots of wonderful Rutter, Grainger and Holst. The Rutter The Keel Row and The Urchins' Dance which was performed on Saturday evening' concert is also on the disc.

 

I Know Where I'm Going shows off the considerable musical talents of Jeffrey Hunt's band of musicians. Highly recommended.

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