As John Rutter points out, extended settings of the Magnificat are surprisingly rare. Bach's seems to have been the most obvious model here although the musical language is distinctly Rutter's. Or, more precisely, that which he has adopted as his own; it's difficult to listen through this Magnificat without imagining it as incidental music to a charming 1950s period television play—delightfully light-hearted, bubbly and immediately attractive, but all rather inconsequential and almost escapist in its fresh-faced innocence. Rutter's deft touch with large orchestral forces, however, ensures that its charm is never compromised while the Cambridge Singers sound so clean-cut, nimble and enthusiastic that it's difficult not to warm to the direct, if rather obvious appeal of this performance.
The other extended choral work here is The Falcon, predating the Magnificat by over 20 years and showing rather more spice in its musical language. The first movement, a setting of Psalm 98, has a kind of Waltonian jazziness, with one moment of high drama (''for He is come to judge the earth''—4'25''). The core of the piece is a setting of medieval verses, and here Rutter's music has a depth and occasional bleakness which two decades of frothy Christmas carol arrangements seem to have driven from his system. Plainsong verses are intoned by the trebles, but I wonder whether these boys, having developed sufficient cutting edge to their tone to pierce the cavernous acoustic of St Paul's Cathedral, are really the right ones for the job. Perhaps it's the fault of the recording for not setting them in a sufficiently distant perspective, but certainly the contrast between boy choristers and Cambridge Singers lacks conviction. The recordings (made in University College School, London) are bright and clear, although in ''O Praise the Lord of Heaven'' the organ fails to make a real impact.
'