Carol of the Magi

If you have a tame cellist at your disposal, this lyrical Carol of the Magi - pure Rutter - is sure to be appreciated. You will need strong tenor and bass lines since the spotlight is on the men. The music begins in E flat, moves up to F and then G before dropping into radiant E major for the final verse. Apart from these modulations and some flattened leading-notes, there are few chromatic notes here: the essentially diatonic language helps the music to be within the scope of many choirs.

Autorentext
John Rutter studied music at Clare College, Cambridge and first came to notice as a composer and arranger of Christmas carols and other choral pieces during those early years; today his compositions, including such concert-length works as Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, The Gift of Life, and Visions are performed around the world. John edits the Oxford Choral Classics series, and, with Sir David Willcocks, co-edited four volumes of Carols for Choirs. In 1983 he formed his own choir The Cambridge Singers, with whom he has made numerous recordings on the Collegium Records label, and he appears regularly in several countries as a guest conductor and choral ambassador. John holds a Lambeth Doctorate in Music, and was awarded a CBE for services to music in 2007.

Zusammenfassung
for SATB, optional baritone solo, cello, and organ or string orchestraThis is a tuneful epiphany carol, setting a text by the composer. Underpinned by a beautiful cello solo, the vocal lines are rich and flowing, and the organ supports the choir with warm harmonies. The cello part is published separately and an accompaniment for strings is available on hire.