Conductor and composer John Rutter has worked in many facets of music, but is best known for his work in the choral realm. On this recording his work is interpreted by the Nordic Chamber Choir led by Nicol Matt. This dynamic CD shows the stylistic and subject variety found in Rutter's music. The first set of five sacred pieces includes the amazingly beautiful wedding song, 'I my Best-Beloved's am,' which combines sacred Latin texts with an English love poem, the jubilant 'Cantate Domino' and virtuosic 'Deck the hall.' The set of Birthday Madrigals, written for jazz pianist George Shearing combine madrigal era texts in very jazzy settings, three of them include double-bass. The recording is rounded out with five settings of traditional songs and five childhood lyrics.

Born in 1955, Bob Chilcott has a fast-growing reputation as one of Britain's most popular and accessible composers of choral music. Bob Chilcott has been involved in choral music for most of his life, as a boy chorister and choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge, and as a member of the vocal group The King's Singers for twelve years. Over the past seven years he has poured his energy into the amateur choir world as a composer, conductor and choral clinician, with an emphasis on work with and for young singers. Chilcott has contributed a growing body of work to the repertoire of adult and children's choirs. As reflected in Canticles of Light, Chilcott's gifts are not limited to writing for adults, and he has gained an international reputation for his work with, and compositions for, children and young people. His song with sign language, 'Can you hear me? has become one of the most widely-performed pieces in the children's choir world and in March 2001 Chilcott himself conducted a performance sung by 2000 children at The World of Children's Choirs Festival in Vancouver, Canada. Bob Chilcott continues to be in great demand as a conductor and workshop leader worldwide. As a conductor Bob has worked extensively with choirs and festivals throughout the world. For seven years he was conductor of the 200-voice Chorus at the Royal College of Music in London. He is Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers, with whom he works regularly in studio recordings and concerts. He has also guest conducted the RIAS Kammerchor in Berlin, and the Elmer Iseler Singers in Toronto.