Behind the scenes at a recording session with John Rutter
Having the chance to hear The Cambridge Singers up close and live, conducted by the famed English choral conductor and composer John Rutter, is a rarity. More than 30 years after John formed his choral group, while teaching at Clare College, Cambridge, The Cambridge Singers today mostly come together for recording sessions.
I had been invited by John to several recording sessions over the years, including the remarkable recording in May 2003 of John’s “Mass of the Children.” The setting was the Great Hall with magnificent acoustics at University College School in London.
Baritone Roderick Williams with soprano Joanne Lunn
Together with distinctive voices of The Cambridge Singers were soloists – soprano Joanne Lunn and baritone Roderick Williams; the Cantate Youth Choir, a group of girls, ages 13 to 18, from Essex; and the City of London Sinfonia. The youth choir was placed in a balcony overlooking the other singers and orchestra.
The recording scene at the Great Hall of University College School, London. This is my image used in the CD booklet.
What happened that Saturday I believe was divinely inspired, and captured beautifully in the recording.
The Cambridge Singers
About these images — I used a Canon G1 shooting in RAW format. It was a fairly primitive digital camera by today’s standards of quality but the lens was good. Despite technical limitations of 2003, when processed with Lightroom 3.6, the images are not bad.
John Rutter, CBE
