John Rutter talks carols and turkey

The already hectic life of composer John Rutter always steps up a gear in the run up to Christmas, as the composer of many of the popular contemporary Christmas carols performed across the UK.

"But I'm glad to say that by Christmas Day my work is pretty much done professionally speaking. I'll be along for midnight mass at my local village church with my wife and son, and then after that it's strictly Christmas turkey and then I relax and enjoy some other people's choral singing."

Rutter recently released a major new collection of new choral music recorded by the Cambridge Singers and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under John’s direction. ‘John Rutter: A Song in Season’ ranges across the church’s year, incorporating a rich treasure-trove of music for Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost and harvest-time. It's the first album of new anthems and canticles by Rutter since his landmark 2002 recording of Mass of the Children.

"It was actually a very happy album for me because it brought together bits and pieces that I had only ever heard once at their first performances, or in some cases pieces which I'd never really heard at all because I'd written it and thought, oh I'll record that some day. It all came together very nicely."

Listen to the interview with John Rutter below