Visions was the result of a most unusual invitation: to write a piece combining solo violin, string ensemble (to which I added a harp), and the boy choristers of the Temple Church choir. The occasion was a concert at the Temple Church in London forming part of the 2016 Menuhin Competition, at which two past winners of that renowned violin competition were to perform. My assigned soloist was the dazzling 19-year-old Canadian violinist Kerson Leong. Having immediately decided to accept, my thoughts soon turned to the historic associations of the Temple Church with the Knights Templar—the church takes its name from the Temple at Jerusalem, and the round shape of its most ancient part is a deliberate echo of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. ‘Jerusalem’ is of course more than the name of a middle-eastern city: it stands as a symbol both of God’s people and of a utopian ideal of heavenly peace and seraphic bliss in store for redeemed humanity. The Requiem by John Rutter is a musical setting of an adaptation of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, completed in 1985. The piece is a very lyrical choral piece with an orchestral accompaniment. The piece contains many dissonant chords which are very popular in modern choral music. The Requiem was first performed on 13 October 1985 at Lovers' Lane United Methodist Church, Dallas, Texas (Director of Music: Allen Pote) by the Sanctuary Choir and orchestra. Movements 1, 2, 4, and 7 were first performed on the 14th of March 1985 at Fremont Presbyterian Church, Sacramento, California (Minister of Music: Mel Olson) by the Sanctuary Choir and ensemble. Both performances were conducted by the composer. "The Lord is my Shepherd" was originally written in 1976 as a separate anthem This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. I my Best-Beloved’s am (1999), was written for the BBC Singers and first performed by them at a concert in Canterbury Cathedral on the theme of the seven sacraments. Rutter was assigned the theme of marriage, and found the text by combining the Latin nuptial responses (sung by the tenors and basses) with a lovely and little-known poem by the Jacobean Francis Quarles (sung by sopranos and altos). I will sing with the Spirit

A violin concerto with a choir in it? John Rutter’s Visions probably isn’t quite a concerto – he doesn’t call it that – but the solo part is certainly extensive, often recalling Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending in shape and atmosphere. It is outstandingly played by the young Canadian violinist Kerson Leong. His largely rhapsodic contributions are intertwined and juxtaposed with those of the Temple Church Boys’ Choir, who sing biblical texts related to Jerusalem, mainly in unison and with gleaming tonal quality. The tone of Visions is often lingeringly elegiac, and may well surprise those who associate Rutter primarily with facile tunefulness and chirpy carols. The coupling is a new recording of the Requiem Rutter first took into the studio 30 years ago. Although his timings for individual movements haven’t altered a jot across the decades, the new version is preferable – the recording has greater clarity and amplitude, and both the singing and playing have a touch more incisiveness and assurance.The sensually expressive choral singing in the Lux aeterna caps an authoritative interpretation.” BBC Music MagazineInformation for programme note writers Programme notes for a number of John’s compositions: major works and shorter pieces Birthday Madrigals

Coupled withMotets –Ave verum corpus; Tantum ergo; Ave Maria;Maria, mater gratiae. Cantique de Jean Racine,Op 11 (orch Rutter). Messe basse He conducted the first performance on 13 October 1985 at Lovers' Lane United Methodist Church, Dallas, Texas, where the director of Music Allen Pote prepared the Sanctuary Choir and orchestra. The soprano soloist was Karen Shafer. Movements 1, 2, 4, and 7 had been performed on 14 March 1985 at Fremont Presbyterian Church, Sacramento, California, by the Sanctuary Choir and ensemble, prepared by Mel Olson and also conducted by the composer. [3]The Requiem was published in 1986 by Oxford University Press, with a singable English text also for the Latin passages. [1] Music [ edit ]

Birthday Madrigals was written by John Rutter in 1995 to celebrate the 75 th birthday of the great jazz pianist George Shearing, a devotee of choral music and a personal friend of the composer. The texts of the five poems come from the era of the Elizabethan madrigal, and two are by Shakespeare. The style of the music is influenced by jazz but is fundamentally derived from the tradition of the English madrigal itself and its descendant, the part-song. Fancies Sometimes composers divide an item of the liturgical text into two or more movements; because of the length of its text, the Dies iræ is the most frequently divided section of the text (as with Mozart, for instance). The Introit and Kyrie, being immediately adjacent in the actual Roman Catholic liturgy, are often composed as one movement. Nott, Charles C. (1902). The Seven Great Hymns of the Mediaeval Church. New York: Edwin S. Gorham. p. 45 . Retrieved 6 July 2010. nott seven great hymns. The first movement consists of the Introit from the Tridentine Requiem Mass (Requiem aeternam) and the Kyrie. This is Rutter at his most emotionally mature, painting on a large-scale musical canvas.” GramophoneSee also: Category:Requiems A portion of the manuscript of Mozart's Requiem, K 626 (1791), showing his heading for the first movement. Find sources: "Music for the Requiem Mass"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( December 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) A much-loved LP version, documenting the excellence of the King’s College Choir at its mid-1960s peak, and still sounding well. Robert Chilcott and John Carol Case are the excellent soloists. Written in 1997, this piece was originally intended as the finale to a longer work, sets a familiar passage from Ecclesiastes in a song-like style, taking its character from the ‘time of peace’ referred to in the final line of the text. Two Festival Anthems