What the listener will think of this CD will depend partly on what he or she thinks of
Rutter's musical rendition of sentimentalist religion. It's nicely executed here -- as nicely as on
Rutter's own recordings with his handpicked choir -- by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, under
Timothy Brown. And the two outer works on the album are recent compositions that provide full efflorescences of his style. The Mass of the Children neatly pairs a children's choir with tropes
Rutter has selected for the brevis version of the Latin mass (there is no Credo): the children, or adult soloists, are given texts drawn from English poetry or old prayer books. Hearing the children chime in with
William Blake's poem "The Lamb" will either charm the pants off you or cloy thoroughly, depending on your perspective, but you won't sleep through it. The Wedding Canticle that closes the album was written by
Rutter for
Brown, who may thus be trusted as an interpreter of
Rutter's music. The balance between the choir and the unusual accompanimental group of flute and guitar is very sensitive.
This release may likewise be a good choice even for those unimpressed by the
Rutter phenomenon. The reason is the song cycle Shadows, which occupies the central eight tracks. This early work (from 1979) is nonreligious, although it does draw on texts, mostly from the sixteenth century, that speak of how life is transitory and brief. Perhaps
Rutter's best quality is his knowledge of English poetry and his way of finding simple, distinctive musical ways of expressing old poems. Sample his setting of the Sonnet by Samuel Daniels, track 8; it's a wonderful musical representation of troubled sleep. Here again
Rutter handles an unusual combination skillfully; the pair of baritone voice and guitar poses unique challenges of register, but their partnership in
Rutter's hands is smooth and harmonious. The sound, recorded in a small English school chapel and in a country church, is unusually good, which is another requirement for satisfying performances of
Rutter.