At the end of September Sir John Rutter featured in the news as he celebrated his 80th birthday. As a highly acclaimed composer of choral music over more than 60 years it was right that his special birthday should be celebrated. In East Anglia we can be justly proud of his strong links to Cambridgeshire, as he studied Music at Clare College, at Cambridge, was later the director of their choir and now lives in Hemingford Abbots. Many of you reading this will have been uplifted and inspired by hearing his beautiful compositions and may even have sung some of his works.
About 20 years ago, when my late husband and I were living in Littleport, a member of our congregation was a porter at Clare College, and he and his wife took us to a special evening when the College choir sang in the chapel and we were then treated to a meal in the College dining room.
I became aware of John Rutter’s strong connection to the College but the evening took a more sombre turn when we left the college to return to our car and waited by a pedestrian crossing outside the College to cross the road. Our host said ” This is the crossing where John Rutter’s son was killed when he was a 19-year-old student”. I had been unaware of this and it made me think so much about the composer, who has inspired so many with his music but has suffered such loss on a personal level. Since then, he has been able to write a ” Mass of the Children”, a work following on from his time of grief
If you are able to, take some quiet moments to worship and pray and have access to YouTube I can highly recommend using one of Sir John’s works as an inspiration, such as,
For the beauty of the Earth
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Shepherds Pipe carol
The Lord is my Shepherd, from his Requiem
Gloria
…To name a few of the shorter works.
Sir John describes himself as ” not a very religious person” but in choosing to write almost exclusively choral music, I believe he has used his God given gift to inspire and help others to grow closer to God in worship, and, as he has moved through life he has had to deal with extraordinary pain which makes his journey a very poignant one.
Prayer – We thank you Lord for those who have used their God given gifts to inspire and help us to worship you. May we never take for granted their dedication and may we seek to worship you in spirit and in truth.