Requiem for Soprano, Mixed Choir and Orchestra

The music of English composer SIR JOHN RUTTER is especially popular in the UK and the US. A conductor, editor, arranger, and producer, he founded Cambridge Singers, who premiered and recorded many of his works for his own label, Collegium Records. He is the author of large-scale works such as Gloria (1974), Requiem (1985), and Magnificat (1990) for soloists, choir, and orchestra, alongside a vast catalogue of choral music. He is also celebrated for his arrangements and original Christmas songs. In his music, he favors melodic clarity and harmonic purity. His work has earned him recognition and praise as “the most gifted composer of his generation” (David Willcocks) and “the most famous and successful composer of Christmas songs alive today” (Sue Lawley). REQUIEM FOR SOPRANO, MIXED CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA (or chamber ensemble) was completed in 1985. John Rutter dedicated the work to his father, who had died the previous year—the score bears the inscription “In memoriam L. F. R.” In this composition, Rutter combines sections of the traditional Latin Requiem with psalms and biblical texts in English. Four movements (Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 7) were first performed on March 14, 1985, at the Presbyterian Church in Fremont, California, conducted by the composer. The complete work was premiered later that year, on October 13, 1985, at the United Methodist Church “Lovers Lane” in Dallas, Texas, again under his direction. The Requiem was published in 1986 by Oxford University Press, with both English and Latin texts. Like Gabriel Fauré and Maurice Duruflé before him, John Rutter does not follow the traditional sequence of the Latin Mass, instead structuring his Requiem in seven movements. With the steady rhythm of the timpani on a single note, gradually joined by the other instruments and the choir, the first movement, “Requiem aeternam” (Eternal rest) – "Introit" (Introduction) and "Kyrie" (Lord), begins. The second movement, “Out of the Depths” (Psalm 130), sets the English text often used in Anglican funerals, with an extended and expressive cello solo. The third movement, “Pie Jesu”, features the solitary soprano voice offering heartfelt and moving prayers for eternal rest. The central fourth movement, “Sanctus and Benedictus”, is brightly orchestrated with bells, flute, oboe, and timpani, evoking the worship of the six-winged seraphim described in the Old Testament book of Isaiah (6:2–4). Like the opening, the emotional fifth movement, “Agnus Dei” (Lamb of God), begins with the steady rhythm of the timpani. The sixth movement, based on Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my Shepherd”), expresses faith and trust in God, echoing its role in Anglican funeral services. In the final seventh movement, Rutter again includes the soprano solo. The finale combines the text from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (“I heard a voice from heaven”) with the Latin “Lux aeterna” (Eternal Light), bringing the work to a radiant and consoling conclusion.