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Views from the Choir Loft

Singing with John Rutter

Andrew Leung · July 13, 2017

CTL John Rutter 1 AST WEEK, I shared a video of Arvo Pärt’s reflection on choral music. This past weekend, I had the privilege to sing under the direction of another great contemporary composer, Sir John Rutter. I was blessed to be invited to serve as a guest singer of the Choir of St. John’s Cathedral, the Anglican cathedral of Hong Kong. We sang Rutter’s colorful settings of Te Deum and Jubilate (O Be Joyful in the Lord) at a Choral Mattins under the direction of the composer himself. It was truly an amazing and unique experience!

I have sung his most well-known pieces, For the Beauty of the Earth and The Lord Bless You and Keep You, many times when I was a young boy in school choirs. Rutter’s pieces are so popular because of their beautiful and simple melodies, and the very straightforward harmonies. However, these two pieces we sang on Sunday are more complex and are full of colors. It was wonderful to see how Mr. Rutter interpret the texts and his own music. He was a very nice and cheerful conductor, and he was constantly sharing stories and telling jokes.

During rehearsal, Mr. Rutter actually asked us to sing our choral anthem, Like As The Hart, for him. He actually knew Howells personally and he spoke very highly of his works. And John sang along with the basses while we go through the piece. To have one of the world’s most famous contemporary composer singing next to me was an unforgettable moment and an extraordinary experience!

CTL-Rutter-Gallery-9 CTL-Rutter-Gallery-8 CTL-Rutter-Gallery-7 CTL-Rutter-Gallery-6 CTL-Rutter-Gallery-5 CTL-Rutter-Gallery-4 CTL-Rutter-Gallery-3 CTL-Rutter-Gallery-2 CTL-Rutter-Gallery-1

Photo Credit: St. John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong

N 2015, John Rutter did an video interview with JW Pepper where he talked about “The Importance of Choir“. He made some very good points about choral singing in the video and he did another similar interview in the beginning of this year with Oxford University Press on “The Power of Choral Singing”:


I thought he made a very good point about “the unity among the choir members”. Choral music can only be sung when singers come together as a choir, as one body. This is very similar to the image of the Church. By contributing our own gifts and talents, we produce beautiful harmonies and give glory to God. As Christ said:

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20)

Whenever we gathered together to sing our prayers, He will be among us.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“A flawless harmonization of Gregorian chant cannot be created by improvisation, no matter the competence and ability of the organist or harmonist.”

— Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (circa 1940)

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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