Rutter Magnificat
The Cambridge Singers | City of London Sinfonia | Patricia Forbes (soprano)
John Rutter (conductor)
CD: £7.00
Tracks
Description
CD booklet
Reviews
Click on a track for an audio sample:
Description
John Rutter’s Magnificat for soprano soloist, choir and orchestra was written in 1990, and the première took place in May of that year in Carnegie Hall, New York. The text, based on the prayer ascribed by St Luke to the Virgin Mary on learning that she was to give birth to Christ, is extended by the interpolation of Marian prayers and poems chosen by the composer, to create a celebratory work reminiscent of outdoor processions in honour of the Virgin.
Track list
- Magnificat: Magnificat anima mea
- Magnificat: Of a Rose, a lovely Rose
- Magnificat: Quia fecit mihi magna
- Magnificat: Et misericordia
- Magnificat: Fecit potentiam
- Magnificat: Esurientes
- Magnificat: Gloria Patri
“.. 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)