Anthems, Hymns and Gloria
Black Dyke’s latest album release ‘Anthems, Hymns and Gloria’ is receiving critical acclaim and well deserved exposure as Classic FM’s album of the week. Released on the Naxos label the CD celebrates the 75th Birthday year of John Rutter by showcasing his work, skilfully arranged and transcribed by Luc Vertommen to exploit the colour of the brass band.
Bookended by the celebratory fanfares of ‘Two Hymns of Praise’ and the joyously rousing three-movement ‘Gloria’, the majority of the recording comprises of Rutter’s shorter occasional pieces, taking in original hymns (the best-known of which is his setting of the familiar words ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’) and a selection of brief devotional pieces. Rutter’s music is unashamedly sentimental and there are moments of sublime beauty, notably in Richard Marshall’s beautifully shaped account of the ‘Pie Jesu’ from Rutter’s ‘Requiem’ and the optimism of ‘Distant Land (A Prayer for Freedom)’, inspired by the freeing of Nelson Mandela.
The highlight, however, is the Gloria, written in 1974 and in which M.D. Professor Nicholas Childs and the band are joined by the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus and organist, Darius Battiwalla. It is difficult not to be uplifted by the sheer spirit and joie-de-vivre of what endures as one of Rutter’s most-loved and enduring creations.
The CD can be purchased at: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8803383--rutter-anthems-hymns-and-gloria-for-brass-band?country=GB¤cy=GBP&gclid=CjwKCAjwq_D7BRADEiwAVMDdHqs4OVqh2NdQR0VFgiD7ovLMxBqrTnqKfk3o2b_NjveNQonx-rsEmxoC3o4QAvD_BwE