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 ...
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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...
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