The Cambridge Singers is an English mixed voice chamber

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

formed in 1981 by their director

John Rutter Sir John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, R ...

with the primary purpose of making recordings under their own label Collegium Records. The group initially comprised former singers from the

Choir of Clare College, Cambridge The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, is a mixed-voice choir whose primary function is to lead services in the chapel of Clare College, Cambridge. Since its founding in 1972, the choir has gained an international reputation as one of the lead ...

, where Rutter had previously been the music director. They have been involved in the last four Fresh Aire albums (about "mankind's curiosities") of the

Mannheim Steamroller Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its '' Fresh Aire'' series of albums, which blend classical music with e ...

band, by composer

Chip Davis Louis F. "Chip" Davis Jr. (born September 5, 1947) is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller. Davis composed the music for several C. W. McCall albums, including the hit 1975 song "Convoy". He has also written and made o ...

, but they are primarily a classical choral group. They have recorded several highly acclaimed

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

albums, including ''Christmas Day in the Morning'', '' Christmas Night: Carols of the Nativity'', ''Christmas Star'', ''Christmas with the Cambridge Singers'', and ''The Cambridge Singers Christmas Album''.

List of albums

* ''Gloria'' (1983 and 2005) with

Philip Jones Brass Ensemble The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones (musician), Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls. It ...

and City of London Sinfonia * ''Fauré: Requiem and other sacred music'' (1984, 1988 and 2010) * ''Hurry to Bethlehem: The Christmas Music of John Rutter'' (1985) with City of London Sinfonia * ''There Is Sweet Music'' (1986, 2002) * ''Christmas Night'' (1987) with City of London Sinfonia * ''Flora gave me fairest flowers'' (1987, 2003) * ''Faire is the Heaven'' (1988) * ''Poulenc Sacred Music'' (1988, 2002) with City of London Sinfonia * ''Treasures of English Church Music'' (1988) * ''Brother Sun, Sister Moon'' (1988) * ''Ave Verum Corpus'' (1989, 2002) * ''Christmas with the Cambridge Singers'' (1989) with City of London Sinfonia * ''Hail! Gladdening Light'' (1991) * ''Rutter Magnificat'' (1991, 2017) with City of London Sinfonia * ''Fancies'' (1992, 2005) * ''Three Musical Fables'' (1992, 2003) with The King's Singers and City of London Sinfonia * ''Rutter Requiem and Magnificat'' (1998) * ''Hail! Queen of Heaven'' (2002), formerly ''Ave Gracia Plena'' (1992) * ''Cambridge Singers A Cappella'' (1993, 2002) * ''Images of Christ'' (1995) * ''Stillness and Sweet Harmony'' (1996) * ''Christmas Star'' (1997) * ''Sing, Ye Heavens'' (2000) with City of London Sinfonia * ''Feel the Spirit'' (2001, 2013) with the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

and Melanie Marshall (mezzo soprano) * ''The John Rutter Christmas Album'' (2002) * ''Mass of the Children'' (2003) with Cantate Youth Choir, City of London Sinfonia, Joanne Lunn (soprano) and Roderick Williams (baritone) * ''The Cambridge Singers Christmas Album'' (2003) with City of London Sinfonia * ''Be thou my Vision'' (2004) with City of London Sinfonia * ''The Sprig of Thyme'' (2005) with City of London Sinfonia, formerly ''The Lark in the Clear Air'' (1993) * ''Lighten Our Darkness'' (2006) with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

, recorded in the Lady Chapel of

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

* ''Handel: Messiah'' (Highlights) (2007) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra * ''Handel: Messiah'' (2007) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra * ''A Christmas Festival'' (2008), with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Farnham Youth Choir * ''The Sacred Flame'' (2009) with La Nuova Musica * ''A Song in Season'' (2010) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra * ''This is the Day'' (2012) with

Aurora Orchestra Aurora Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra, co-founded in 2004 by conductors Nicholas Collon and Robin Ticciati. The orchestra is based in London, where it is Resident Orchestra at Southbank Centre and Resident Ensemble at Kings Place. The ...

* ''Sea Change'' (2013): the choral music of

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer and pianist. He was noted for his musical versatility, drawing from such sources as jazz, romanticism, and avant-garde; and for his use of twelve-tone technique ...

* ''O Praise the Lord of Heaven'' (2013) * ''A Double Celebration'' (2014) with City of London Sinfonia * ''The Gift of Life'' (2015) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra * ''Visions and Requiem'' (2016) with Choristers of the

Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...

, Aurora Orchestra and Kerson Leong (violin) * ''Stanford and Howells Remembered'' (2020), formerly ''I will lift up mine eyes'' (1992): music by Charles Stanford and Herbert Howells * ''A Banquet of Voices'' (1994, and re-released in September 2020) * ''I Sing of a Maiden'' (2021)

References

External links

John Rutter website
Cambridge choirs Musical groups established in 1981 1981 establishments in England {{England-band-stub