Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The Mass Of The Children was written to pay a debt. The composer tells us that, as a boy soprano, he “had been thrilled whenever our choir took part in adult works with children's choir parts, such as the Mahler Third Symphony and the Britten War Requiem.” So Rutter aims high but does he hit his target? Yes, in that this Mass is thoroughly enjoyable and should be within the abilities of many amateur singers but No if we compare it with the very highest standards exemplified by Mahler and Britten. But this is no surprise. Rutter is a fine composer and several pieces in this collection are memorable without, perhaps, being great. “A Clare Benediction”, for example, is simply lovely. The best, however, is saved for last: “Come Down, O Love Divine” was commissioned for a service at Westminster Abbey at a time when the Dean and Chapter were in dispute with the organist. This tension seems to have upset the composer as there is more, shall we say, edge to this piece that makes it stand apart from his typical niceness.