The Music

John Rutter

John Rutter, as a choir conductor, mainly composes for adult choirs, but also for children.

We will study two of his works :

1. Mass of the children. This Mass was first performed in 2003, at the Carnegie Hall in New York, conducted by the composer.

To understand the genesis of this work we need to go back 40 years, when the composer himself was a young chorister taking part in the first recording of Benjamin Britten's famous Requiem: this work already blended a variety of musical sources and mingled children's and adults' voices.

Mass of the Children is a Missa Brevis, that is to say a Latin mass without Credo. It includes 5 movements : Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Benedictus, Agnus dei, Final (dona nobis pacem). As in Britten's Requiem, Rutter mixes secular texts with the ordinary of the mass : these renowned poems, written by the English bishop Thomas Ken , give the piece a one-day frame, from dawn to dusk. The other texts fit in the whole piece by presenting the day's events.

As always with Rutter, the orchestration is brilliant and the melodic lines very sophisticated. This is indeed a captivating piece, in which the soloists' and choirs' voices blend well together. It is a magnificent synthesis of the English choral tradition, one of the oldest in the world, which has succeeded in retaining the characteristics of the past while opening up to other musical styles.

Composed for children's choir, mixed choir, soprano and barytone soloists and symphony orchestra (strings, harp, percussion ensemble and wind instruments in pairs).

2. Gloria. This piece was written at the beginning of John Rutter's career when he became interested in sacred music writing, while wishing to keep close to a popular audience. It was commissioned by an American ensemble in Nebraska and first performed in May 1974.

Composed for choir, soprano solo and instrumental ensemble, it requires: 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, percussion ensemble and organ. Structured like a musical symphony, it is divided into 3 parts : an introspective piece dedicated to the soprano solo is inserted between two lively parts. The text is extracted from " The Ordinary of the Mass " and also expresses alternately inflamed, deeply religious and exultant states. Directly inspired by English musical tradition, this brilliant work, mainly turned towards divine worship, is exclusively designed for concert, beyond any liturgical concern.

In rehearsal with the orchestra