As I begin to write this article, I am sitting on the terrace of the Elim Conference Centre nestled in the Malvern Hills in rural Worcestershire. The sun is shining, the sky is a cerulean blue, and the surrounding area is dotted with sheep on the hillside. I should also mention that the strains of The Angel Carol by Sir John Rutter are going through my head.
This is my third year taking part in the Church of England Guild of Vergers’ annual conference, and it has never disappointed. The theme of this year’s conference is The Ministry of Music. Our keynote speaker has been the world-renowned Sir Dr. John Rutter. We had three other guest speakers, including David Waters, the executive director of BBC’s “Songs of Praise”, but I wanted to focus on Sir John.
Sir John began by telling us that his talk that he was giving was called “Confessions of a Composer”. He did not choose composition as a way of life, but rather, it chose him. He began making up little “ditties,” as he called them, when he was just seven years old. He claimed that he was a terrible pianist, but his teacher encouraged him to sing and make up tunes. When he was just 14 years old, he and his good friend, John Tavernor, composed the new Nigerian African Anthem.
He told us that the Lady Chapel in Ely Cathedral had the finest acoustics anywhere for recording, and this is where he made his first recording. He said that the EMI recording studio in Cambridge was too noisy.
No one recorded before the Cambridge Singers, and he directed them when his friend Thomas Tallis wrote the Tallis Canon. He said the places where you record music are very important, and recording in churches and cathedrals gives the music a sacredness. It is about the history as well, and not just about the acoustics.
When he was 16 years old and still in school, he wrote “The Shepherd’s Pipe Carol” (also known as On the Way to Bethlehem). This was performed at the Royal Albert Hall for a competition where Sir David Wilcox was the adjudicator. Unfortunately, Sir David did not like it, and Sir John lost the competition.
Sir John’s philosophy was that it’s all about “getting things really right, not nearly right.”
In 1927, at Temple Church, Fleet Street, London, the first electronic recording was made of his composition, “Wings of a Dove,” and it was sung by the church choir there.
When he was older and was composing, directing, and recording, he had another meeting with Sir David Wilcox about putting a new Christmas album together. They started going through pieces of music that would be suitable for the album, and Sir David mentioned “The Shepherd’s Pipe Carol” and that it would be a good choice. Sir John reminded him that when he wrote it as a teenager for a competition, Sir David turned it down flat. Sir David’s response was, “Well, maybe you’ve refined it since then!” Sir John had never touched it, and it remained the same. Needless to say, it made it on the album.
Sir John has composed many beautiful pieces over the years, too numerous to mention. Notably, he was commissioned by the Dean of Westminster Abbey to compose a piece for the now Prince and Princess of Wales on their wedding day. It was based on Psalm 118, verse 24: “This is the day that the Lord hath made, rejoice and be glad.”
We took pieces of sheet music with us to the conference, and Sir John was more than happy to sign them for us. Mine was “The Angel Carol” and will hold pride of place in my office.
Sir John is an extremely humble person. During his presentation, he talked about his relationships with other people throughout his life, and always took the focus away from himself. He also has a terrific sense of humour.
He closed his talk by telling us that singing releases the same endorphins as chocolate!
“A church without a choir is like a body without a soul.”
—–Sir Dr. John Rutter
Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord
As I begin to write this article, I am sitting on the terrace of the Elim Conference Centre nestled in the Malvern Hills in rural Worcestershire. The sun is shining, the sky is a cerulean blue, and the surrounding area is dotted with sheep on the hillside. I should also mention that the strains of The Angel Carol by Sir John Rutter are going through my head.
This is my third year taking part in the Church of England Guild of Vergers’ annual conference, and it has never disappointed. The theme of this year’s conference is The Ministry of Music. Our keynote speaker has been the world-renowned Sir Dr. John Rutter. We had three other guest speakers, including David Waters, the executive director of BBC’s “Songs of Praise”, but I wanted to focus on Sir John.
Sir John began by telling us that his talk that he was giving was called “Confessions of a Composer”. He did not choose composition as a way of life, but rather, it chose him. He began making up little “ditties,” as he called them, when he was just seven years old. He claimed that he was a terrible pianist, but his teacher encouraged him to sing and make up tunes. When he was just 14 years old, he and his good friend, John Tavernor, composed the new Nigerian African Anthem.
He told us that the Lady Chapel in Ely Cathedral had the finest acoustics anywhere for recording, and this is where he made his first recording. He said that the EMI recording studio in Cambridge was too noisy.
No one recorded before the Cambridge Singers, and he directed them when his friend Thomas Tallis wrote the Tallis Canon. He said the places where you record music are very important, and recording in churches and cathedrals gives the music a sacredness. It is about the history as well, and not just about the acoustics.
When he was 16 years old and still in school, he wrote “The Shepherd’s Pipe Carol” (also known as On the Way to Bethlehem). This was performed at the Royal Albert Hall for a competition where Sir David Wilcox was the adjudicator. Unfortunately, Sir David did not like it, and Sir John lost the competition.
Sir John’s philosophy was that it’s all about “getting things really right, not nearly right.”
In 1927, at Temple Church, Fleet Street, London, the first electronic recording was made of his composition, “Wings of a Dove,” and it was sung by the church choir there.
When he was older and was composing, directing, and recording, he had another meeting with Sir David Wilcox about putting a new Christmas album together. They started going through pieces of music that would be suitable for the album, and Sir David mentioned “The Shepherd’s Pipe Carol” and that it would be a good choice. Sir John reminded him that when he wrote it as a teenager for a competition, Sir David turned it down flat. Sir David’s response was, “Well, maybe you’ve refined it since then!” Sir John had never touched it, and it remained the same. Needless to say, it made it on the album.
Sir John has composed many beautiful pieces over the years, too numerous to mention. Notably, he was commissioned by the Dean of Westminster Abbey to compose a piece for the now Prince and Princess of Wales on their wedding day. It was based on Psalm 118, verse 24: “This is the day that the Lord hath made, rejoice and be glad.”
We took pieces of sheet music with us to the conference, and Sir John was more than happy to sign them for us. Mine was “The Angel Carol” and will hold pride of place in my office.
Sir John is an extremely humble person. During his presentation, he talked about his relationships with other people throughout his life, and always took the focus away from himself. He also has a terrific sense of humour.
He closed his talk by telling us that singing releases the same endorphins as chocolate!
—–Sir Dr. John Rutter
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