I know soooo many people who really do not like Rutter. I acctually only know one person who does! Thats my music teacher. He also really likes cheese...

Rutter is nice the first few times, but after years of the same old stuff it really makes you want to SCREAM!

I like the Prelude from Rutter's Suite Antique, which I'm playing on the flute at the moment!

QUOTE (Emma C @ Dec 6 2004, 02:41 PM)

Rutter is nice the first few times, but after years of the same old stuff it really makes you want to SCREAM!

There are a few of his pieces that will last, and lots that are less inspired rewrites of them; all his catchy little carol tunes have beautifully written piano accompaniments; and if he hears criticism he laughs all the way to the bank.

His Gloria can be great fun to sing with the brass and drums and all. There's also that beautiful Gaelic Blessing that gives me goose bumps....but I agree a lot is not particularly inspiring! Give me Britten's Ceremony of Carols, rather!

QUOTE (lafrog @ Dec 6 2004, 08:39 PM)

Give me Britten's Ceremony of Carols, rather!

Is that the set with "This little babe" in, coz if it is, then some of them are good! Not very Christmassy though.
Our band leader likes rutter, and some of the girls from band do. They haven't sang it every year though, so that's maybe why they still like it!

QUOTE (elmo @ Dec 7 2004, 09:58 AM)

QUOTE (lafrog @ Dec 6 2004, 08:39 PM) Give me Britten's Ceremony of Carols, rather! Is that the set with "This little babe" in

yep that's the one!

We've sung some pieces by Rutter in choir but I don't remember which ones. I just remember them being boring. I think his songs, or at least the ones I've heard, are kind of pretty and have good moments to them, but are very very boring, especially is you're the one singing!

Try to get hold of "The very best time of year".
Unbelievably twee/sickly sweet. Sounds like it should be in some 70s TV show with people in hand-knit jumpers, sitting round fake fireplaces, filmed with a halo lense!

QUOTE

Try to get hold of "The very best time of year".

I really don't like that sort of song.
It's one of those really annoying ones that totally misees the point.

I quite like Rutter, but only in small doses... there's much worse music around! (is that really bad grammar or is that just me?!)

QUOTE (Katet @ Dec 6 2004, 01:57 PM)

I know soooo many people who really do not like Rutter. I acctually only know one person who does! Thats my music teacher. He also really likes cheese... Â

Has he met Cheeble? Sounds like they'd get on really well.



Amber
x

PS. Rutter's OK in small doses.

My main choir's concert on Saturday included the Rutter Te Deum. Reasonably stretching stuff and a rather good sing. From my vantage point in the audience, the only thing wrong with it was that I wasn't singing in it - the demon laryngitis caught up with me on Thursday night and hasn't gone yet.......

Cheers

Katyjay

Oh, poor you KatyJay [gives gentle get well hug]. Hope you are better soon.



Amber
x

QUOTE

I like the Prelude from Rutter's Suite Antique, which I'm playing on the flute at the moment!

All of that Suite is really nice! I am supposed to be learning the Waltz from that, I am not sure whether I can play it though!

QUOTE (Amber @ Dec 20 2004, 07:28 PM)

QUOTE (Katet @ Dec 6 2004, 01:57 PM) I know soooo many people who really do not like Rutter. I acctually only know one person who does! Thats my music teacher. He also really likes cheese...   Has he met Cheeble? Sounds like they'd get on really well.

lol!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheese-lovers RULE!!!!

QUOTE

the demon laryngitis caught up with me on Thursday night and hasn't gone yet

I really hope you feel better soon

me too!

I love Rutter to LISTEN to.Some of his harp parts are WICKED!! I have also met him--he is very nice. my fave is tocotta in 7 for organ.

Thanks for all the get well wishes. My speaking voice is coming back now, but singing's still not there yet......

So I'll have to lay off the carols this Christmas Even the Rutter ones.

QUOTE

I love Rutter to LISTEN to.Some of his harp parts are WICKED!! I have also met him--he is very nice. my fave is tocotta in 7 for organ.

I love Rutter too!! One of the choirs I accompany is performing his Christmas Lullaby in a concert tonight. Another favourite is his collection "Dancing Day", six carols with harp, we have done those a few times. Also done many of his other carols and anthems. And I have played Toccata in 7 too.

Toccata in Seven....i'm learning that as well....it's quite difficult...

I hate Rutter because my organ teacher forced me to learn his Toccata in Seven for my grade 6 organ exam. Rubbish piece.

I havent heard much of his choral stuff, so I can't really comment, altho I'm sure if Cheeble (fellow horn player!) likes him (in small doses) then he can't be all bad! Plus its really hard for living composers to not either ; be a sell out success, meaning that "real" musicians dislike the composer for being "main-stream", or be so contemporary and "outside of the box" with their ideas that their music is un-reckonisable as "music".

QUOTE (hornplayer @ Dec 22 2004, 08:17 PM)

I hate Rutter because my organ teacher forced me to learn his Tocatta in Seven for my grade 6 organ exam. Rubbish piece.

Rubbish?! can you please explain futher? its obvious you do not care for the peice,but RUBBISH??!?

I have small hands and the chords were a real struggle for me. Also, my teacher didnt give me the option of choosing my piece in that list, I was forced to learn it, hence not liking it so much. I like it to listen to though, as I understand the effort that goes into getting it up to performance standard.

QUOTE

Toccata in Seven....i'm learning that as well....it's quite difficult...

liebe klavier thinks its a hard piece too, and she has two grade 8s. including piano!

I think its safe to say that its clear Rutter is like Marmite, you either love him or hate him!

QUOTE (hornplayer @ Dec 23 2004, 12:34 PM)

I have small hands and the chords were a real struggle for me. Also, my teacher didnt give me the option of choosing my piece in that list, I was forced to learn it, hence not liking it so much. I like it to listen to though, as I understand the effort that goes into getting it up to performance standard. QUOTE Toccata in Seven....i'm learning that as well....it's quite difficult... liebe klavier thinks its a hard piece too, and she has two grade 8s. including piano! I think its safe to say that its clear Rutter is like Marmite, you either love him or hate him!

I am an exception then. I think he has written some very attractive short pieces, many of which work well in more than one version. I heard the "Shepherd's Pipe" carol this afternoon in an orchestral version with beautiful instrumental parts, substantially different from the piano accompaniment of the version I first heard, which is also extremely well written for the instrument. I have also heard (twice within the last week) his arrangement of "Tomorrow shall be my Dancing Day" with piano playing the harp part, and thought on each occasion that it was very effective. I shall look out for a performance with harp. I have two reservations: I think he has a tendency to repeat himself, and, of course, doesn't always match the quality of his best pieces; and I have been less impressed by his larger scale works. However, in the realm of contemporary church music you can do a lot worse.

QUOTE (kenm @ Dec 23 2004, 07:01 PM)

I think he has a tendency to repeat himself

All his introductions (to the things that I've sang) sound the same! And a couple of the alto and or second soprano parts are very similar!

QUOTE (nicki_flute @ Dec 20 2004, 10:21 PM)

QUOTE I like the Prelude from Rutter's Suite Antique, which I'm playing on the flute at the moment! All of that Suite is really nice! I am supposed to be learning the Waltz from that, I am not sure whether I can play it though!

it's gorgeous, but that waltz... oh man! I can play about the first 2 lines!! hehe. it's way above where I'm supposed to be, but I do like it, and like listening to it. the aria is lovely and quite do-able... v goof stuff.

generally I'd say rutter is good, just overused and oversung especially. some of his arrangements are fabulous. I've never heard any REALLY cheesy stuff. maybe I'm just lucky! but the good ones do tend to get oversung, and his stuff can get a bit tired when you've sung it in 4 other groups already and someone suggests it *again*.

QUOTE

it's gorgeous, but that waltz... oh man! I can play about the first 2 lines!! hehe. it's way above where I'm supposed to be, but I do like it, and like listening to it. the aria is lovely and quite do-able... v goof stuff.

I can't stand the Aria, for some reason it annoys me!

lol... just goes to show everyone's different I guess!

Do you think that Rutter himself ever reads these posts????? after all, if I came across a topic with my name in it, I'd probably read it!!!

possibly... if he

has internet access
knows there are ABRSM forums
has time to read/post on them
is willing to read a post which says he maybe a musical criminal...

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Jan 2 2005, 12:10 AM)

possibly... if he has internet access knows there are ABRSM forums has time to read/post on them is willing to read a post which says he maybe a musical criminal...

1) quite likely, lots of people do nowadays
2) quite unlikely, why would he be looking up ABRSM in the first place?
3) unlikely
4) well, it depends... I would read it and then try to prove them all wrong!

Or there is the possiblity that he might do a Google Search on his name and go through every single page that comes up until he finds this...

hmmm, maybe we should start a topic on why we love rutter so much, just in case?

lol... I think it's fairly unlikely that we need to worry... though I wouldn't be surprised if some wit now tries to impersonate him! It's entirely possible that he could be reading... but I suspect he's too busy composing more tunes for those who don't like him to gripe about (and getting paid lots of money to do it) to be worrying about finding a thread about him being a criminal... lol... I suspect the time thing is the one that most works against him as to reading posts here... or most works FOR him, depending on how you look at it!!!!

Maybe he is reading these posts and is replying to stick up for himself under a different name, so that noone knows it's him!! (It's not me, I don't like Rutter )

haha ! in that case, one can't know who to trust round here anymore !

noo, we are all in disguise. I think only very sad people put there own name into Google searches. But it is quite interesting...! Anyway. Back to Rutter. I hope hes not reading this, otherwise im toast! (Cheese on toast maybe...)

QUOTE (Katet @ Jan 2 2005, 08:42 PM)

I hope hes not reading this, otherwise im toast! (Cheese on toast maybe...)

QUOTE

Cheese on toast maybe...)

[
Yummy!