Rutter: The Gift of Life

Featuring

John Rutter
David Theodore
Alice Gribbin
Helen Ashby
Kate Ashby
Cambridge Singers

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

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Composition History

John Rutter's "The Gift of Life" was commissioned as a retirement gift for Terry Price, the Minister of Music at a church in Dallas.

Composition History

The third movement of "The Gift of Life," "Hymn to the Creator of Light," was originally written in 1992 as an unaccompanied double-choir motet in memory of composer Herbert Howells.

Composition History

John Rutter was invited to contribute an anthem for choir and orchestra, "Give the king thy judgements, O God," to the 800th anniversary commemoration of Magna Carta at Runnymede in 2015.

Recording & Production

This album presents eight recent choral works by John Rutter, including his first extended choral work in over ten years, "The Gift of Life."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Unlike his "Requiem," which reflects on death, John Rutter intended "The Gift of Life" to be a work celebrating life, a theme rarely expressed in music since Haydn's "The Creation."

Compositional Technique

In "Rejoice and sing," John Rutter used a "lop-sided 7/8" rhythm throughout much of the music, inspired by Sir David Willcocks' fondness for quirky rhythms.

Composition History

John Rutter wrote "A flower remembered" for a concert in Japan honoring the victims of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident at Fukushima.