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Classical Tranquillity
John Rutter (conductor)
Manchester Camerata (orchestra)
CD: £7.00
Tracks
Description
CD booklet
Reviews
Click on a track for an audio sample:
Description
John Rutter writes . . .
Tranquillity is a state of mind. You might be more likely to describe a favourite countryside scene rather than a person as ‘tranquil’, but you are really describing the effect it has on you. You feel calm, serene, still, at peace, relaxed, untroubled, chilled-out . . . perhaps we have so many different words for this state of mind because it is so important, and yet so elusive in an often noisy, frantic world.
Music has an extraordinary power to evoke tranquillity – as is revealed in the eleven pieces I have chosen to make up this collection. Ten of them happen to be among my personal favourites, drawn from the music of seven composers, plus the treasure trove of anonymous folk music, and I have added an orchestral version of my choral setting of Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace, a text formerly believed to be by St Francis of Assisi.
Track list
- She moved through the fair
- Daydream
- On hearing the first cuckoo in spring
- Pavane pour une infante défunte
- Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace
- The Railway Children
- Bist du bei mir
- Menuet
- Clair de lune
- Where'er you walk
- Sheep may safely graze
Download CD BookletJohn Rutter: Classical Tranquillity Review by James Manheim
John Rutter is better known as a composer and conductor of choral music than for secular instrumental music. Here, he steps into a less-familiar role as conductor of the instrumental Manchester Camerata and as arranger of most of the music on this album. That said, this budget-priced release is very much a John Rutter production, featuring his characteristic tone of warm sentiment. The pieces are well-known classical tunes except for one of Rutter’s own Five Meditations for orchestra, and the arrangements smooth them down to a pleasant string wash with light coloration from the winds. Rutter intensifies the promised classical tranquillity in his capacity as conductor, slightly braking the tempo in order to provide room for an extra bit of string expressiveness. Crossover audiences in Britain, where Rutter music of any kind makes listeners roll over and put their paws in the air, will be primed for this album, but others might sample his treatment of Debussy‘s Clair de lune, from the Suite Bergamasque to test their reactions. Many listeners will find this release, which made classical best-seller lists in early 2024, the ideal tonic for a difficult commute home. It is an exemplary “stress eliminator” to use the words with which a Dallas classical radio station touted its offerings on billboards a while ago.
