John Rutter's Magnificat could not exactly be called a Christmastide piece, but it does have strong associations with the Virgin Mary, and it has a musical energy and rhythm that has a wonderfully festive spirit. As the composer himself explains:

"The passage from St Luke (Chapter 1, verses 46-55) known as the Magnificat has always been one of the most familiar and well-loved of scriptural texts, not least because of its inclusion as a canticle in the Catholic office of Vespers and in Anglican Evensong. It is a poetic outpouring of praise, joy and trust in God, ascribed by Luke to the Virgin Mary on learning that she was to give birth to the Christ. Musical settings of it abound, though surprisingly few of them since J. S. Bach's give the text extended treatment.

"I had long wished to write an extended Magnificat, but was not sure how to approach it until I found my starting point in the association of the text with the Virgin Mary. In countries such as Spain, Mexico and Puerto Rico, feast days of the Virgin are joyous opportunities for people to take to the streets and celebrate with singing, dancing and processions. These images of outdoor celebration were I think somewhere in my mind as I wrote, although I was not fully conscious of the fact until afterwards. I was conscious of following Bach's example in adding to the liturgical text: the interpolated 'Sanctus' (to the Gregorian chant of the Missa cum jubilo) in the third movement seems to grow out of the preceding thought 'et sanctum nomen eius'. The lovely 15th Century English poem 'Of a Rose' (which forms the second movement) and the prayer 'Sancta Maria' (which the soloist sings to its Gregorian melody in the middle of the Gloria), both strengthen the Marian connection further."

The outburst of joy Rutter talks of is immediately apparent in the opening few bars of the work: the rhythm (similar in feel to Bernstein's 'America' from West Side Story) is infectious in its drive and energy. The second movement features all of the sections of the choir in varying combinations that colour the text beautifully. In the third movement the tenors and basses announce 'For He that is mighty hath magnified me' accompanied by splendid fanfares from the orchestra which eventually subside, and the passage follows to which Rutter refers 'et sanctum nomen eius' (and holy is His name) and then the Gregorian Sanctus. This segues into Et misericordia (and His mercy is on them that fear him) a duet for soprano and choir. The movement also features the soloist repeating the opening text of the piece as a descant: the Magnificat text gains a more personal feel than we heard earlier, and Rutter's choice of solo voice strengthens the associations with the Virgin Mary.

The Fifth movement concerns the Lord's strength and the setting is muscular in its harmony and angular in its melodies. A short and intense fugue ensues, then the text moves to the Lord 'scattering the proud' (Dispersit superbos) which we hear as the choir scatters down the musical scale one part at a time! After the basses, tenors and altos in turn put the mighty 'down from their seat' (Deposuit), the violence of the first half of the movement stops abruptly and Rutter sets the words 'he hath exalted the humble and meek' (et exaltavit humiles) exquisitely. Esurientes (He hath filled the hungry with good things) is a beautiful soprano solo with interjections by the choir. The final movement, the Gloria, is set to the music of the third movement. This is interrupted by a final contemplative moment of the soloist singing the Antiphon at feasts of the Virgin 'Sancta Maria', and the Magnificat concludes with the music from the opening of the entire piece with a rousing Amen.

John Rutter is widely recognised as the leading choral composer of his generation. He is also a distinguished editor and arranger of choral music, as well as a renowned conductor. He was born in London and received his first musical education as a chorister at Highgate School. He went on to study music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he wrote his first published compositions and conducted his first recording while still a student. From 1975 to 1979 he was the Director of Music at Clare College, whose choir he directed in many broadcasts and recordings. After he gave up the Cambridge post to allow more time for composition, he founded the Cambridge Singers as a professional chamber choir dedicated to recording, and he now divides his time between composition and conducting.

Rutter's writing career has embraced both large and small-scale choral works, orchestral and instrumental pieces, a piano concerto, two children's operas, music for television, and specialist writing for such groups as the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and the King's Singers. He is also well known for co-editing four volumes of the Carols for Choirs series with Sir David Willcocks. The first performance of Rutter's Magnificat took place in Carnegie Hall in New York in May 1990.