Sir John Rutter’s Grand Birthday Bash at St. Paul’s Cathedral: A Night to Remember!

He is a master of the lively beat and the patriarch of melodic music. He skillfully handles suspensions—sufficiently tense for their resolutions to shine forth like daylight, yet quite tame when compared to the bold harmonic explorations by his peers. His compositions are as quintessentially vital as a multipack of M&S underwear, and as quintessentially British as standing in line.

Spanning from two royal weddings and a coronation to choir practices, school gatherings, and holiday events throughout the UK and North America, British composer John Rutter has been a prominent figure in the English-speaking choral world for over six decades. Now at 80, he stands in a category of his own: a niche national icon, sometimes hailed as “the composer who owns Christmas.”

The concert at St Paul’s Cathedral, led by Rutter conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bach Choir, drew a packed house. The cathedral’s grand dome creates an acoustic environment where even a cough echoes like a shot, yet the audience of various ages remained deeply attentive throughout the extensive program. The dome’s challenging acoustics did not faze Rutter; he adeptly adjusted to its quirks, interspersing slight pauses to let the chords fully resonate and leveraging its profound echo to enhance the conclusion of each piece.

The concert highlighted two major works for chorus and orchestra by Rutter, flanking Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No 5. Here, the rawer facets of Williams’ pastoral modernism were polished to perfection, the strings of the RPO melding luxuriously, with the climaxes grand and crowned with radiant brass. The world premiere of Rutter’s “I’ll Make Me a World” featured the Bach Choir’s impeccable articulation and the RPO’s adeptness at musical versatility, with baritone Jonathan Brown and mezzo Melanie Marshall leading through subtle nods to African American spirituals, blues, and gospel.

Rutter’s 2015 cantata “The Gift of Life,” which sets a variety of religious texts along with some of his own verses, presented a slightly different collection: soft melodies and smart syncopations, orchestral introductions ready for Broadway, and sopranos brightening the upper layers of the texture. It was glossy, foreseeable, and clearly enjoyed by the performers on stage—undeniably the creation of a seasoned artisan.