John Rutter

John Milford Rutter CBE (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer,

John Rutter
conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.
CBE

Contents
Biography
Compositions
Influences
Reception
List of compositions and arrangements
Extended compositions
Carols
Other anthems
Choral works
Anthems and other compositions
Music with narration
References
Footnotes
Notations
Born John Milford Rutter
Further reading 24 September 1945
External links London, England
Alma mater Highgate School
Clare College,
Biography Cambridge
Born in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutter grew up Occupation Composer, conductor
living over the Globe pub on London's Marylebone Road.[1] He was educated at Known for Founding the
Highgate School where fellow pupils included John Tavener, Howard Shelley, Cambridge Singers,
Brian Chapple and Nicholas Snowman,[2] and as a chorister there took part in composing
the first (1963) recording of Britten's War Requiem under the composer's
Awards National Patron of
baton.[3] He then read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a
Delta Omicron (1985)
member of the choir. While still an undergraduate he had his first compositions
published, including the "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" which he had written aged Website www.johnrutter.com
18.[3] He served as director of music at Clare College from 1975 to 1979 and led (http://www.johnrutter.
the choir to international prominence. com)

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), particularly under his own label Collegium Records. He resides at
Hemingford Abbots in Cambridgeshire and frequently conducts many choirs and orchestras around the world.
In 1980, he was made an honorary Fellow of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, and in 1988 a Fellow of the Guild of Church
Musicians. In 1996, the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon him in recognition of his
contribution to church music. In 2008, he was made an honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple while playing a significant role in
the 2008 Temple Festival.

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.[4]

Rutter also works as an arranger and editor. As a young man he collaborated with Sir David Willcocks on five volumes of the
extraordinarily successful Carols for Choirs anthology series.

He was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity in 1985.[5][6] Rutter is also
a Vice President of the Joyful Company of Singers, President of The Bach Choir, and President of the Association of British
Choral Directors (ABCD).[7]

Compositions
Rutter's compositions are chiefly choral, and include Christmas carols, anthems and extended works such as the Gloria, the
Requiem and the Magnificat.

The world premiere of Rutter's Requiem (1985), and of his authoritative edition of Fauré's Requiem, took place with the Fox
Valley Festival Chorus, in Illinois. In 2002, his setting of Psalm 150, commissioned for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, was
performed at the Jubilee thanksgiving service in St Paul's Cathedral, London. Similarly, he was commissioned to write a new
anthem, "This is the day", for the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, performed at Westminster Abbey
during the service.[8]

Rutter's work is published by Oxford University Press. It has been recorded by many choirs, but he conducts his own recordings
principally on his label Collegium Records.

Influences
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 songwriting. Almost every choral anthem and hymn that he writes has a subsequent
orchestral accompaniment in addition to the standard piano/organ accompaniment, using various different instrumentations such
as strings only, strings and woodwinds or full orchestra with brass and percussion. Many of his works have also been arranged for
concert band with optional chorus.[9]

Despite composing and conducting much religious music, Rutter told the US television programme 60 Minutes in 2003 that he
was not a particularly religious man yet still deeply spiritual and inspired by the spirituality of sacred verses and prayers.[10][11]
The main topics considered in the 60 Minutes programme, which was broadcast a week before Christmas 2003, were Rutter's
popularity with choral groups in the United States, Britain and other parts of the world and his composition Mass of the Children,
written after the sudden death of his son Christopher while a student at Clare College, Cambridge, where Rutter himself had
studied.

In a 2009 interview Rutter discussed his understanding of "genius" and its unique ability to transform lives – whether that genius
is communicated in the form of music or other media. He likened the purity of music to that of mathematics and connected the
two with a reference to the discovery made by the early Greeks that frequencies of harmonic pitches are related by whole-number
ratios.[1]

Reception
Rutter's music is very popular, particularly in the US.[10][12] In the UK many hold him in high regard, as illustrated by the
following quotation from a review in the London Evening Standard (25 September 2005): "For the infectiousness of his melodic
invention and consummate craftsmanship, Rutter has few peers". Sue Lawley referred to Rutter as "the most celebrated and
successful composer of carols alive today"[13] and Sean Rafferty heralded Rutter as "a creator of not just carols, but wonderfully
great things for the human voice."[14] One British composer, David Arditti, did not regard him as a sufficiently "serious"
composer, saying that Rutter is "hard to take seriously, because of the way in which his sheer technical facility or versatility leads
to a superficial, unstable crossover style which is neither quite classical nor pop, and which tends towards mawkish sentimentality
in his sugarily-harmonised and orchestrated melodies."[15] The Guardian remarked that "it is as a writer of carols that he has
really made his mark ... His larger-scale works – particularly the Gloria (1974), Requiem (1985) and Magnificat (1990) – are also
well established in the choral repertoire."[16] David Willcocks considered Rutter "the most gifted composer of his generation."[17]

List of compositions and arrangements

Extended compositions
Suite for Strings (1973)
Gloria (1974)
The Beatles Concerto (1977)
Bang! (opera, 1975)
Suite Antique (1979)
Requiem (1985)
Magnificat (1990)
Te Deum (1990)
Mass of the Children (2003)
The Gift of Life: Six Canticles of Creation (2015)
Visions (2016)

Carols
"All Bells in Paradise" (Original composition)
"Angels' Carol" (Original composition)
"Angel Tidings" (Arrangement)
"Born on Earth" (Arrangement)
"Candlelight Carol" (Original composition)
"Carol of the Children" (Original composition)
"Carol of the Magi" (Original composition)
"Cantique de Noël" (Arrangement)
"Child in a Manger" (Arrangement of Gaelic melody 'Bunessan', original words)
"Christmas Lullaby"
"Christmas Night" (Arrangement, the title song on the Cambridge Singers's first album)
"Deck the Hall" (Arrangement)
"The Donkey Carol" (not to be confused with the song "The Friendly Beasts" arranged by John Davis that also
goes by the nickname Donkey Carol)
"Dormi Jesu"
"Jesus Child"
"Joy to the World" (Arrangement)
"Love Came Down at Christmas" (Arrangement)
"Mary's Lullaby"
"Nativity Carol" (1st line: "Born in a Stable so Bare") (Original composition)
"Personent Hodie" (Arrangement)
 "Rocking" (Arrangement and translation of Czech carol called "Hajej, nynej, Ježíšku")
"Rejoice and Be Merry"
"Shepherd's Pipe Carol"
"Silent Night" (Arrangement)
"Star Carol"
"Suzi's Carol" (Original composition)
"There is a Flower" (Original composition)
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" (Arrangement)
"The Very Best Time of Year"
"Up Good Christen Folk"
"We Will"
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (Arrangement)
"Wexford Carol" (Arrangement)
"What Sweeter Music"
"Wild Wood Carol"

Other anthems
"All Things Bright and Beautiful", setting the hymn
"Banquet Fugue"
"Born on Earth", arrangement of the song
"For the beauty of the earth", setting the hymn
"I Wonder as I Wander", arrangement of the Christmas carol
"Look at the World"

Choral works
"A Flower Remembered" for soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices ("SATB") or SAA, published with lyrics in both
English and Japanese, composed in 2014 to commemorate the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and
tsunami[18][19]
A Gaelic Blessing for SATB and organ or guitar, commissioned in 1978 by the Chancel Choir of the First United
Methodist Church, Omaha, Nebraska, in honor of minister of music Mel Olson.
Birthday Madrigals for SATB, commissioned in 1995 by Brian Kay and the Cheltenham Bach Choir to celebrate
the 75th birthday of George Shearing
Canticles of America
Carols for Choirs 2 ed. Willcocks and Rutter
Carols for Choirs 3 ed. Willcocks and Rutter
Carols for Choirs 4 ed. Willcocks and Rutter
Dancing Day for SSA with harp or piano
Five Childhood Lyrics
Eight Christmas Carols, Set 1 for mixed voices and piano
Eight Christmas Carols, Set 2 for mixed voices and piano
100 Carols for Choirs ed. Willcocks and Rutter
Twelve Christmas Carols, Set 1 for mixed voices and small orchestra or piano
Twelve Christmas Carols, Set 2 for mixed voices and small orchestra or piano
Child in a manger from Carols for Choirs 3 for SATB and keyboard or orchestra
Christmas Night for SATB and keyboard or strings
Come Down, O Love Divine for double mixed choir and organ
Cradle Song from Carols for Choirs 3 for SATB unaccompanied
Donkey Carol for SATB and piano or orchestra
Flemish Carol from Carols for Choirs 3 for SATB and piano or orchestra
For the Beauty of the Earth for SATB, SA, or TTBB, and piano
Here We Come a-wassailing from Twelve Christmas Carols, Set 1
 The Holly and the Ivy for SATB and piano or orchestra
Gloria for mixed voices with brass, percussion and organ or orchestra.
I Saw Three Ships from Carols for Choirs 3 for SATB and piano or orchestra
"I will sing with the spirit" for SATB and organ, piano or orchestra
Jesus Child for SATB and piano or orchestra
Jesus Child for unison and piano
Joy to the world! for SATB and keyboard or orchestra (2 trumpets, timpani and strings)
King Jesus hath a garden from Carols for Choirs 3 for SATB and piano or flute, harp and strings
"Look at the World" for SATB and Orchestra
"The Lord bless you and keep you"
Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace for SATB or TTBB with organ or harp and strings
Love came down at Christmas for SATB and keyboard or strings
Mary's Lullaby for SATB and piano or orchestra
Nativity Carol for SATB and keyboard or strings
O come, O come, Emmanuel from Twelve Christmas Carols, Set 1 for SATB and keyboard or orchestra
O Lord, thou hast searched me out for SATB chorus, organ and solo cor anglais (or clarinet, or viola)
"Psalmfest"
Quem pastores laudavere for SATB unaccompanied
Quittez, pasteurs for SATB unaccompanied
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? for SATB unaccompanied
Shepherd's Pipe Carol for SATB and piano or orchestra or for SSAA and piano or orchestra
Sing we to this merry company for SATB and orchestra or organ
Star Carol for SATB and piano or orchestra or brass with optional children's voices or for unison and piano
There is a flower (original composition) for SATB unaccompanied
Three Carols from Carols for Choirs 4 for SS and SSA unaccompanied
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day from the cycle of carols, Dancing Day for SSA and harp or piano
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" from Carols for Choirs 2 for SATB and piano or orchestra
Winchester Te Deum For SATB and Piano or Organ
Wexford Carol for SATB unaccompanied
What sweeter music for SATB and organ or strings

Anthems and other compositions

Most of these works are original compositions, including new musical settings of standard texts, whilst others are arrangements
of traditional hymns.

All Creatures of Our God and King

All Things Bright and Beautiful
As the bridegroom to his chosen
Be Thou my vision
The Beatles Concerto
Behold, the Tabernacle of God
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
Canticle of the Heavenly City (commissioned for the dedication of John Piper's Nativity window in the church of
St Mary the Virgin, Iffley)
Children's chorus, opt.
A Choral Amen
A Choral Fanfare
Christ the Lord is risen again
A Clare Benediction
Creation's Alleluia
Distant Land
 The Falcon
Fancies (part of "Eight Childhood Lyrics")
Feel the Spirit
For the Beauty of the Earth
Go forth into the world in peace
God be in my head
Greensleeves
Gregorian Chant
Heavenly Aeroplane
How Firm A Foundation
Hymn to the Creator of Light
I believe in springtime
I will lift up mine eyes
I will sing with the spirit
I will worship the Lord
I Wonder as I Wander
The King of Love my Shepherd Is
Let us go in peace
Look at the World
Look to the Day
The Lord is my light and my salvation
The Lord is my Shepherd: SATB & organ
This is the day the Lord hath made
Loving shepherd of thy sheep
Musica Dei donum
Now thank we all our God
O be joyful in the Lord
O clap your hands
O Praise the Lord of Heaven
Open Thou Mine Eyes
Partita
The Peace of God
Pie Jesu
Praise the Lord, O my soul
Praise ye the Lord
A Prayer of Saint Patrick
A St John's College Prayer (Commissioned for the College's 500th anniversary 2011)
Thanksgiving Prayer
This is the Day (Commissioned for the Royal Wedding 2011)
Thy Perfect love
Toccata in 7
To Everything There is a Season
When Icicles Hang
When the Saints Go Marching In
Wings of the Morning
With Heart and Hands

Music with narration

Setting of The Wind in the Willows for narrator, SATB chorus and chamber orchestra
Brother Heinrich's Christmas
The Reluctant Dragon
References

Footnotes
1. Macfarlane, Alan. "Interview with John Rutter" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201132/http://www.alanmac
farlane.com/DO/filmshow/rutter1_fast.htm). Archived from the original (http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/DO/filmsh
ow/rutter1_fast.htm) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
2. Hughes, Patrick; Davies, Ian F. Highgate School Register 1833–1988 (7th ed.). Castle Cary Press.
3. "About this Recording" (https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.557130&catNum=557
130&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English). Rutter: Requiem/Anthems. Naxos. 2003.
Retrieved 1 November 2016.
4. "Composer of the Week: John Rutter" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7W4AhL_gzo). BBC Radio 3.
Retrieved 28 September 2014 – via YouTube.
5. "Welcome To Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100127130549/http://
delta-omicron.org/index00.html). Delta Omicron. Archived from the original (http://delta-omicron.org/index00.html)
on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
6. "News" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110725225040/http://delta-omicron.org/news/2008Mar29_NAT_Patron.ht
ml). Delta Omicron. 29 March 2008. Archived from the original (http://www.delta-omicron.org/news/2008Mar29_N
AT_Patron.html) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
7. "About abcd" (https://www.abcd.org.uk/about). Association of British Choral Directors. Retrieved 7 February
2019.
8. "Order of Service" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8479433/Royal-wedding-the-Order-
of-Service-in-full.html). Daily Telegraph. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
9. "Music of John Rutter" (http://www.bandmusicpdf.net/Catalogue8.html). Bandmusicpdf.net. Retrieved 7 February
2019.
10. Leung, Rebecca (11 February 2009). "Spreading Good Cheer" (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/17/60II/
main589173.shtml). CBS News. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
11. White, Michael (14 December 2001). "The carol singers' shining star" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/47270
14/The-carol-singers-shining-star.html). Daily Telegraph.
12. Blackwell, David. "Meet John Rutter: Touching people's hearts" (https://www.rhinegold.co.uk/choir_organ/meet-jo
hn-rutter-touching-peoples-hearts/). Rhinegold. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
13. "John Rutter, Desert Island Discs" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009384s). BBC Radio 4. Retrieved
7 February 2019.
14. "John Rutter, In Tune Highlights" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02tms2c). BBC Radio 3. Retrieved
25 March 2016.
15. "Expansive Poetry Online" (http://www.expansivepoetryonline.com/journal/music112001.html).
Expansivepoetryonline.com. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
16. "Sing a song of Christmas" (https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,3605,414360,00.html). The
Guardian. 22 December 2000. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
17. "John Rutter: a Life" (http://www.classicfm.com/composers/rutter/guides/john-rutter-story). Classic FM. Retrieved
28 September 2014.
18. "A Flower Remembered" (https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W18762_GBAKR1513808). Hyperion
Records. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
19. Rutter, John (2014). A Flower Remembered (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-flower-remembered-978
0193404823?cc=gb&lang=en&). Oxford UP. ISBN 978-0-19-340482-3. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

Notations
Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4
Further reading
Burrows, Helen Jane (1999). "Choral Music and the Church of England 1970–1995: A Study of Selected Works
and Composer-Church Relations". PhD thesis. Norwich: University of East Anglia.
Dakers, Lionel (1978). Making Church Music Work. Oxford and London: Mowbray.
Frank, Alan (1976). "John Rutter's Partita for Orchestra". The Musical Times 117, no. 1598 (April): 309.
Morrison, Richard (1992). "Tis the Season to Be Authentic". The Times (3 November): 29.
Westermeyer, Paul (1994). "John Rutter: Popular Romantic". Christian Century 111, no. 35 (7 December): 1158.

External links
John Rutter Website (http://www.johnrutter.com/)
Rutter at the Oxford University Press website (http://www.oup.co.uk/music/repprom/rutter/)
John Rutter interviewed by Alan Macfarlane, 28 January 2009 (film) (http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/ancestors/r
utter.htm)
John Rutter interviewed by C Music TV, October 2010 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbMyPVZY34c) on
YouTube
John Rutter interviewed by C Music TV, October 2010 (http://www.cmusic.tv/assets/John_Rutter_CMusicTV_Inter
view_121010.pdf) from C Music TV
This is the Day (https://web.archive.org/web/20110917171907/http://www.johnrutter.com/video/this-is-the-day/),
performed at the royal wedding, 2011

Director of Music,
Preceded by Succeeded by
Clare College, Cambridge
Peter Dennison Timothy Brown
1975–79

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