The John Rutter Anniversary Edition celebrates the 70th birthday of one of Britain's leading composers and the 30th anniversary of his choir, The Cambridge Singers. Featuring mainly earlier pieces from the composer's catalogue, this series presents seminal works for mixed chorus in brand new editions and with accompanying notes on both the music and performance, written by the composer himself. The Anniversary Edition provides the most comprehensive and authoritative performance materials (including full scores and parts) for over 30 of the composer's favourite anthems, carols, and songs.
As these pieces emerge, time and time again we will see Rutter assert himself as a composer who has a gift for melody, text setting, and quiet drama. That such a fine musical craftsman should have chosen to work within the ambit of church and concert hall, rather than in film and music theatre, is to the benefit of us all. While that means that the world has been denied Lloyd Webber's Gaelic Blessing and Rutter's Evita, I think that things are the right way round as they are. Jeremy Summerly, Choir & Organ, November 2014