Rutter Magnificat

“.. An especially attractive work…” CD Review (USA)

“… delightfully light-hearted, bubbly and immediately attractive…” Gramophone

“… it’s hard to imagine a finer, more versatile choir…” CD Review (USA)

“Here is a veritable feast for fans of John Rutter’s music. Magnificat for chorus, soprano soloist, and orchestra, is, in the words of Rutter,”an extended Magnificat” – that is, each section of the text is presented as a separate movement, and in this case, additional texts are interpolated.  Rutter adds settings of an English poem, Of a Rose, the Sanctus (from the Ordinary of the Mass), and Sancta Maria, a prayer used at feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These sections are seamlessly integrated into the familiar ‘Magnificat’ passage from St Luke’s gospel. Rutter’s usual canny sense of tunefulness and rhythmic vitality, flavoured with splashes of pop harmony, accomplishes the composer’s purpose – to convey Mary’s prayer as a celebratory occasion, not a somber one.  Nevertheless, the music always conveys a reverence and respect for the text’s liturgical import…” CD Review (USA)