John Rutter

John Rutter’s glorious stream of Christmas miniatures has made him, for many, an essential ingredient in the festive season. The composer and conductor wrote what is probably his most popular piece, “Shepherd’s Pipe Carol,” while still an 18-year-old undergraduate at Cambridge—and he has never looked back. “Once I started writing carols, somehow it seemed difficult to stop,” Rutter tells Apple Music. “I’ve been doing it ever since.” Realizing that he had a “backlog” of them led him to I Sing of a Maiden, an EP of five new pieces recorded in July 2021. “I’m asked, ‘Do you still enjoy Christmas?’ And actually, I sincerely do,” says Rutter. “Christmas carols are a resilient form of art—folk art, as I’ve often suggested—that have attracted some extraordinarily fine composers. They were adding their little tile to a centuries-old mosaic of devotion, praise, joy, prayer, and celebration. It all makes up that extraordinary season of the year that we call Christmas.”

John Rutter has selected some of his favorite church anthems from previous releases of his music to put together the collection Be Thou My Vision. Most of these have full orchestral accompaniment, as Rutter prefers these versions over those with just organ, but there are also a few a cappella anthems thrown in as well, which sound just as lush and graceful as the orchestral ones. The brief, a cappella God be in my head uses a sixteenth century text and hints at the music used in churches from the same period. It is Rutter's smooth and rich, yet not complex, writing that has made his music popular with audiences and amateur performers alike. Of course, this recording features his own Cambridge Singers, with the City of London Sinfonia, all under his baton and sounding highly polished. The lack of pretense or condescension in his music is also appealing. Some of the texts he uses could have much more grandiose settings, and have had by other English composers, but Rutter always goes for a more simple elegance, usually with a serene calmness, also. O clap your hands and For the beauty of the earth use jazzy rhythms to give them a little more energy than the other works here. The compilation contains many of his more popular anthems, such as A Gaelic Blessing, All things bright and beautiful, and I will life up mine eyes from his Requiem. It's a fine sampling of his non-Christmas church music.

This generously programmed disc provides excellent value and outstanding performances of both major and lesser-known masterpieces of French choral music. The Fauré Requiem has been recorded many times, and several excellent versions of the original orchestration are available on disc. This one is among them, owing to John Eliot Gardiner's experience and perfectionist mastery of details overlooked by less-successful choral conductors. The real bonus here is the inclusion of the popular but very difficult Debussy and Ravel chansons, and the rarely heard but eminently worthy little part songs by Saint-Saëns. These pieces are a lesson in how to achieve maximum effect with the simplest materials.

The Beatles were not only hugely influential on the world of popular music. The creative genius of John Lennon and Paul McCartney inspired many classical musicians to create their own arrangements of these iconic songs. This 2-CD set is the ultimate classical Beatles collection, featuring a selection of arrangements. The first CD consists of arrangements for classical guitar (surely the most appropriate of all classical instruments!) including Cuban composer Leo Brouwer’s suite for guitar and strings From Yesterday to Penny Lane. The second CD, Fron Male Voice Choir newly-recorded performance of Yesterday and Hey Jude, and a rousing finale of Let It Be by Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops. One of the highlights of the set is The Beatles Concerto, an arrangement for two pianos and orchestra featuring eight Beatles songs, by the celebrated English composer John Rutter. Also included is Beatlecracker Suite, a fascinating arrangement of Lennon and McCartney songs in the style of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite – a true lost classic composed in 1965 at the very height of ‘Beatlemania’.

One of Germany’s best-loved classical performers joins forces with a legendary close- harmony group for a winter-themed album to bring warmth to the dark months of the year: Albrecht Mayer & The King’s Singers. The pairing of probably the world’s most famous and accomplished oboist, Albrecht Mayer with the UK’s celebrated vocal ensemble is a heavenly musical partnership, and the interplay of colours, melodies and harmonies between these performers enchant and delight with Baroque, classical and seasonal favourites. The album has a Yuletide theme with tracks such as ‘Let It Snow’, ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’.

As exclusive Chandos artists, the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge here presents its second release. The first CD, of choral music by Howells (CHAN10587), was released to rave reviews in March this year. Choir and Organ wrote: ‘There is musicianship here of a rare and moving kind.’ This new release of popular choral classics should meet with a similar reception while at the same time appealing to a wider audience.