Be Thou My Vision

John Rutter (Conductor), City of London Sinfonia (Orchestra), Cambridge Singers (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Cambridge Singers
• Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia
• Conductor: John Rutter
• Audio CD (October 1, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collegium
• ASIN: B00030ES2S
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,612 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #7 in Music > Indie Music > Classical

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding collection of Rutter's hymns, November 22, 2005

By 

Larry VanDeSande - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Be Thou My Vision (Audio CD)

I sought a recording of Rutter's beautiful hymn, "Wings of the Morning", after we sang this lovely tune in church and this was the only CD I could find that contained it.

This collection includes many of Rutter's church hymns recorded over a period of 20 years performed by The Cambridge Singers, a group of Brits, that are conducted by the composer. Ergo, these performances must be considered definitive.

Many of Rutter's popular hymns are included here. "O be joyful to the Lord" and "All things bright and beautiful", a popular children's hymn done here by adults, follow "Wings of the morning" on tracks 5-7. Others you may have performed in church represented here are "O clap your hands", "Lord make me an instrument of your peace", "For the beauty of the earth", "Look at the world" and "The Lord bless you and keep you" among the 21 assembled hymns.

While The Cambridge Singers, on their Web site, identify themselves principally as an a capella group, I was pleased when I received this CD to find all the hymns supported by a full orchestra, the esteemed City of London Sinfonia. The renditions are uniformly lovely although some listeners may find the singing a bit on the white side lacking brilliance and individuality. Everything is done in keeping with Rutter's score markings and style.

The recording tends to be a little variable given the 20-plus year difference in performances. The most recent copyright listing is 2003, the same year "Wings of the morning" was published. I don't hear an appreciable difference in that recording than the others but still hear some age in older works.

If you seek a Rutter hymn collection you can't go wrong here. You have wonderful English performers mated to the composer in his more popular works. I'd recommend this without reservation to anyone seeking this collection.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for choral music fans, September 19, 2006

By 

John S. Colton (La Crosse, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Be Thou My Vision (Audio CD)

Simply fabulous, 10/10. These are all Rutter-composed pieces, directed by Rutter himself. If you have any interest in religious choral music at all, you must get this album! One of the highlights of my musical life was attending a concert of a University of Maryland choir in which my mom sang, that featured Rutter as a guest conductor. Listening to this album is almost as good! ;-) There are too many good pieces to start naming all of my favorites, but these are some of the best known ones: "Open Thou Mine Eyes", "A Gaelic Blessing", "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "As the Bridegroom to His Chosen", "For the Beauty of the Earth", and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Listening Treat, March 8, 2007

By 

Mary Elizabeth (Cape Cod) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Be Thou My Vision (Audio CD)

What a delight to listen to this collection of pure Rutter ! The melodic sounds of the Cambridge Singers bring me such pleasure The sheer joyfulness of this music is to me a religious experience of such depth It is superb and will lift ones spirits instantly. highly recommended to all lovers of the English contemporary choral sound and scene,____ not to be missed