In the summer of 2019, we had the great privilege of working and performing together with John Rutter at the European Church Music Festival in Schwäbisch Gmünd.  The SWR radio station broadcast the live concert and with their kind permission we are excited to share the live premiere performance of the beautiful carol “Christ Our Emmanuel” at this festive time of year. Special thanks to John Rutter for his personal introduction.

John Rutter received the European Church Music Prize in Schwäbisch Gmünd.

We were very proud to have taken part in the Singing Day and Gala Concert with the composer himself,  John Rutter and Nicol Matt.

'The opening piece of the Gala concert was Rutter's "Hymn to the creator of light", a work that Rutter composed in 1992 for the inauguration of a church window and dedicated to his colleague Herbert Howells. A work whose seriousness, but also confidence, conveys the chorus enchantingly. Translucent and filigree in the individual voices, with radiant, and aspiring sopranos. Morten Lauridsen's "O nata lux" is also about light - whose infinity the composer describes in long, rising arcs before slowly disappearing. Whether with Elgar's "Lux aeterna", Brahms's "Ave Maria", the latter edited by David Rain for the choir and premiered this evening, or Rutter's "Cantante Domino" - the choir performs lightly and wonderfully agile under Matt's stirring and dynamic conducting. He warmly communicated to the choir and instrumentalist soloists in Whitacre's "The seal lullaby". The choir was beautifully accompanied by Tabea Stadelmaier (flute), Martin Torwarth (oboe), Magdalena Walesch (harp) and organist Peter Kranefoed.

The premiere of Rutter's "Christ our Emanuel" - a composition about the birth of Jesus, a narrative that drove the singers to create an emotional and touching performance.' Gmünder Tagespost 19/07/2019

More Videos from the Gala concert can be found here