Editorial Product Review:

Amazon.com:
Two of John Rutter's most popular large-scale choral works are paired in this bargain-priced CD. Requiem, his first composition written without being commissioned, is a convincing affirmation of Christian doctrine on death and eternal life. It is also a substantial and sincere work that strives to be widely appealing while preserving a spiritual context centered on themes of light and consolation. Highlights include 'Out of the Deep,' its modal tune and harmonies giving it the flavor of a spiritual, and the wonderfully gentle and restful 23rd Psalm. Rutter personalizes his Requiem by adding movements not traditionally part of the Requiem Mass--passages from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, for instance--and this proves to be an effective strategy. Rutter's own, first-class Cambridge Singers are superb, as usual, and soloist Caroline Ashton steals the show with her heavenly Pie Jesu. The Magnificat shows Rutter at his most engaging, thoughtful, and adept. His usual canny sense of tunefulness and rhythmic rightness, flavored with splashes of pop harmony, accomplish his purpose in the Magnificat: to depict Mary's prayer as a celebratory occasion rather than a somber one. --David Vernier









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More related to this product:
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More related to this product:

• John Rutter Collection
• Gloria: The Sacred Music of John Rutter
• The John Rutter Christmas Album
• Faure: Requiem and other choral music
• Faure Requiem Op.48 / Durufle Requiem Op.9
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Disc 1:

1. Requiem Aeternam
2. Out Of The Deep
3. Pie Jesu
4. Sanctus
5. Agnus Dei
6. The Lord Is My Shepherd
7. Lux Aeterna
8. Magnificat anima mea
9. Of a Rose, a lovely Rose
10. Quia fecit mihi magna
11. Et misericordia
12. Fecit potentiam
13. Esurientes
14. Gloria Patri

Customer Rating: - Gorgeous music
This is a wonderfully nuanced & beautiful recording of this work. I don't understand why no one mentions the Lux Aeterna -- Donna Deam's rendering of the solo sounds purely angelic.

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Customer Rating: - Magnificent Magnificat
Our choral society members have found this recording a blessed adjunct to the song learning CDs for private practice. What a heavenly faithful recording, and conducted by the master himself.

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Customer Rating: - Sublime!
I bought this to learn the requiem for a choral performance. It is hauntingly beautiful and I have listened to it again and again.

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Customer Rating: - Cambridge Singers have never been better!
I have listened to many other composers' requiems, but this one beats them all. It is a little unusual to have both English and Latin liturgy in a requiem, but it is entirely appropriate in this case, as it contains the Mass, psalms, and personal prayers to Christ--I thoroughly enjoyed some of the burial service text sang along with the requiem mass. The Cambridge singers are sublime, and Caroline Ashton's voice (soprano) is perfect. Liner notes containing lyrics and translations are included if you do not speak Latin. The "Sanctus" is very unique and much faster-paced than I am used to, with high voices starting and baritones/tenors echoing. If I have anything to dislike about Rutter's requiem, it is the fact that there is no "Dies Irae" text at all; they seem to have been replaced by psalms. However, the excellence of the singers and the great choice of the texts makes up for it very well.