Spotlight on John Rutter

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On April 27, 2024, Asheville Symphony Chorus and Asheville Youth Choirs will perform a joint concert spanning centuries and musical styles — the first joint performance in either organization's history. Among luminaries like Beethoven, and Mendelssohn, you'll find a name you may not be familiar with: John Rutter. In fact, there are two Rutter pieces in the concert's program: a bouncy, syncopated arrangement of All Things Bright and Beautiful and the haunting Ukrainian Prayer. 

Rutter is an acclaimed English composer, conductor, and arranger known primarily for his sacred choral works, including  Christmas carols, anthems, and long-form pieces such as his Gloria, Requiem, and Mass of the Children. 

Born in London at the end of World War II, Rutter took to music as a young child, and participated in choruses through his undergraduate years at Clare College at the University of Cambridge.

It was as an undergraduate that he first started publishing his compositions. He'd later direct the music program at Clare College and, under his baton, the college chorus gained international recognition. In 1981, he founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, with whom he has recorded many of his own choral works and the works of other masters.

Rutter's compositions, which draw from a wide variety of choral and song-writing traditions, have become staples of choral repertoire and have been performed around the world. He's particularly popular in the US and in the UK — his music was featured in the last two royal weddings!

The second Rutter piece is one of his most recent compositions. Published in 2022, A Ukrainian Prayer was Rutter's response to the war in Ukraine. "How can a composer respond to a global tragedy?" Rutter asked in a companion video. "The first thing I wanted to do was write some music that would respond in my own way. I hope the meaning of the text will resonate in people's hearts and reach out to the people of Ukraine in their hour of need." 

The text Rutter has set translates literally to: Lord, protect Ukraine. Give us strength, faith, and hope, our Father. Amen. 

He's made the score available for free to anyone and has provided permission to record it without a license. It appears in the Songs of Peace section of ASC and AYC's April program.