The concert given on
Saturday 25 March 2006
at 7.30 pm
in All Saints Church, The Drive, Hove
 |
John
Rutter at 60 |
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Brighton Orpheus Choir Helen-Jane Howells (soprano) |
and Psalmfest |
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Requiem The Requiem was first performed twenty years ago in October 1985 in Dallas, Texas. It was written the year after the death of John Rutter’s father, and the inscription In memoriam LFR heads the score. The Requiem is set for soprano soloist, choir and a small chamber ensemble. Rutter says it is not strictly a setting of the Requiem Mass as laid down in Catholic liturgy, but instead is made up of a personal selection of texts, some taken from the Requiem Mass and some from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The work forms an arch-like meditation on the themes of life and death: prayers on behalf of all humanity, psalms, personal prayers to Christ, and in the central Sanctus an affirmation of divine glory. The seven sections are Requiem aeternam dona eis, “Out of the deep I have called unto thee, O Lord” (Psalm 130), Pie Jesu (for soprano soloist), the Sanctus and Benedictus combined in one movement, Agnus Dei, “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23), and in the final movement Lux æterna the Latin words from the Missa pro defunctis are preceded by an English text taken from the Burial Service “I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord …” The melody comes from the original plainsong Missa pro defunctis. All seven movements are linked by musical patterns based on the rhythm and melody of the opening words, "Requiem aeternam, dona eis Domine." Echoes of Gregorian chant can also be heard in the melody of Lux aeterna and in the flute solo that provides a moment of reflection after the Agnus Dei. This Requiem has quite a lot in common with that of Gabriel Fauré, both notable in their shape and simplicity. Another common feature is that both include a beautifully melodic setting of the Pie Jesu featuring a solo soprano. In 1983, only two years before composing his own Requiem, Rutter had worked on a new critical edition of Fauré’s score. It is also interesting that, as a chorister at Highgate School in 1963, John Rutter had taken part in the première recording of Britten’s War Requiem under Britten’s direction. In his War Requiem Britten combined the Latin Mass texts with poems in English by Wilfred Owen. Rutter also creates an anthology, using scriptural texts in both Latin and English, rather than secular poetry. Psalmfest The Psalmfest is a more recent work from about 10 years ago. It is composed for soprano and tenor soloists and four-part choir, with chamber ensemble accompaniment. Seven of the nine movements have previously been published separately. Two new movements then unified them into a single choral work exploring a wide range of emotions in rich and varied musical settings. O be joyful in the Lord |
Some CDs of these works
John
Rutter’s Requiem Collegium CSCD504 * * * * * Naxos 8.55713 * * * * * Hyperion CDA 66947 * * * * * EMI Classics CDC 5566052 |
John
Rutter’s Psalmfest * * * * * Collegium CSCD 515 * * * * * Hyperion CDA 67259 * * * * * Universal Classics 472 622-2 |