He is a virtuoso of the jaunty rhythm and the doyen of the singable tune. He has a way with suspensions – crunchy enough for resolution to break through like sunlight, but strictly PG-rated compared with the harmonic adventures of his contemporaries. His music is as unfashionably essential as a five-pack of M&S briefs, as ineffably English as queueing.
From two royal weddings and a coronation to choir rehearsals, school assemblies and carol services across the UK and North America, British composer John Rutter has dominated the anglophone choral scene for six decades. At 80, he is in a league of his own: a niche national treasure, even referred to as “the composer who owns Christmas”.
