‘Christmas celebration’ - Saturday 15 december 2018
The Maesbury Singers returned once again to the beautiful All Saints Church, Castle Cary to perform their annual Christmas concert.
John Rutter is one of the most successful of all living composers. His rare melodic gift and captivating harmonic flair have combined in a series of unforgettable choral gems that have touched the hearts of millions around the globe. Rutter was only 18 when he composed what would become one of his signature pieces, the Shepherd’s Pipe Carol. Little did he know at the time, but this was just the first in a series of classic carol settings he was destined to compose and arrange. Rutter went on to co-edit several volumes of the classic ‘Carols For Choirs’ series and his name is now virtually synonymous with Christmas time!
The Maesbury Singers performed a selection of Rutter’s best-loved Christmas gems alongside other works by those composers who have worked with Rutter, his musical contemporaries, and his pupils. As the Maesbury Singers’ Christmas concert tradition dictates, the choral pieces were interspersed with readings that range from the serious to the hilarious, as well as carols for the audience.
“I love Christmas,” John Rutter told CBS News in 2003. “It’s the child in me. Maybe I’ve never quite grown up. I still feel just for those few magic days a year, that we have the world as it might be.”