The John Rutter Christmas Album: An Impression

I would make a very bad straight man. I mean, when I get a new mp3 player or mobile phone what are the three albums I load onto it straight away? Well, the sad answer is Dreamgirls: The Original Motion Picture Sountrack, Hairspray: The Musical and The John Rutter Christmas Album. Yes, I fully admit that I am conforming to stereotype when it comes to my choice in listening music, and all three albums are about as gay as you can possibly get, short of a combined Juday Garland/ Barabara Streisand/ Cher medley. However, while the first two are pretty damn obvious, the John Rutter Christmas Album is, arguably, the gayest of the three.

I'm not sure many people are acquainted with Rutter's music, but if you are then you will realise that he really can out-Disney Disney. There is no holding back on the sheer emotional "manipulativeness" of his music; he is quite glad to use a solo oboe to denote sadness, or sleigh bells in abundance to bring forth the Christmas spirit. Every tune is simple but melodic, and even I, who grew up with Christmases in the tropics and the damp festivities of London, listen to the songs and dream of sitting by a roaring fire with egg nog, a decorated Chistmas tree and snow drifts outside.

The album is really two in one. The first thirteen or so songs consist of Christmas carols written by Rutter to traditional or medieval lyrics. The second half consists of his arrangements of well known Christmas carols. Both work really well, and I especially love the second half's slight irreverance of taking Joy To The World and reinterpreting it as a pseudo-Handellian orgy of trumpets. However, if I had to choose I would go with the first half as the one which I am most in love with.

This Christmas, in what I envisage as a one-time only occurence, the Pink Singers will be performing three songs from it: Angels' Carol, Star Carol and Candlelight Carol. All are exquisite, and have Rutter's trademark interplay between the loftier tones of the sopranos and altos, and the earthier tones of the tenors and basses. My favourite of the three, however, has got to be Candlelight Carol with it's beautiful lyrics and it's spine tingling crescendos and decrescendos.

If it were up to me, I would have also loved to have performed Nativity Carol, Christmas Lullaby and the sublime Dormi Jesu. The latter is particularly difficult to perform as it calls for several moments when the music drops away and the choir sings a capella. Keeping the pitch with the changes in pitch and volume is an extremely difficult skill.