John Rutter’s Gloria has been enormously–and justifiably–popular ever since its premiere in the now-ancient year 1974 (it was commissioned by the Voices of Mel Olson, Omaha, Nebraska, and conducted by the composer on his first visit to the U.S.) and following its subsequent recording by Rutter and his Cambridge Singers 10 years later in the early days of the CD. Rutter supplies very interesting information regarding the origin and history of this and the program’s other works in the disc’s liner notes.
This recording combines the voices of the St. Albans Abbey Girls Choir, St. Albans Cathedral Choir, and the cutely-named instrumental group Ensemble DeChorum. The performances are generally very fine–no question as to these singers’ familiarity with and appreciation for Rutter’s music. And it’s hard not to get caught up in the overall excitement–Rutter ideally captures the festive, celebratory nature of these texts while offering plenty of his signature melodies, catchy rhythmic structures, and vibrant orchestration, involving powerfully expressive brass, percussion, and organ in the Gloria and Te Deum.
My only reservation here concerns the sound, which gives sufficient prominence to the orchestra and upper voices of the choir but clouds the detail and cheats the impact of the lower choral voices. In fact the choral balances seem slightly skewed, the ensemble difficult to place as a unified body on the sound-stage. It’s an odd effect, but the ear does adjust–and if you’re not paying the very close attention that I was as a matter of course, you may not notice this at all.
In the Gloria I still prefer Rutter and his Cambridge Singers’ crisp textures, slightly brisker tempos, all-adult singers, and overall warmer sound, but this effort, which includes the rarely heard Magnificat in a terrific performance, is a solid and recommendable alternative to the rather skimpy (44-minute) Collegium recording of the Gloria (although it does include 10 revered Rutter anthems). If you’re a Rutter collector, you will want this for the Magnificat and Te Deum–but Rutter’s own versions, especially of the Gloria, remain top choices as reference recordings. [4/27/2011]
