John Rutter was ‘locked in a choir room’ to write his most famous hymn

24 September 2025, 13:14

Composer Sir John Rutter made the astonishing revelation during his 80th birthday concert and interview with Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes.

John Rutter told Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes about the unusual circumstances he wrote ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ under, during a concert celebrating the composer’s 80th birthday at St Martin in the Fields.

He told Zeb that, when he first visited America, he arrived with one fewer pieces of music than he had promised, and was forced in to doing some high-speed composing in a rather strange environment.

“I was there to premiere a larger substantial piece that I had got finished,” he said. “But I’d forgotten that I’d also promised to write a small piece for my host's church choir.

“I arrived a few days before the performance, and I said, ‘How’s rehearsals been going for the big piece?’ and my host said, ‘Oh, fine, you know, where’s our anthem for the church choir?’”.

It was then he had to come clean and admit he had forgotten to write the second piece of music.

Read more: Choir sings parody song ‘I Can’t Believe it’s not Rutter’ to actual John Rutter

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According to Sir John, the host, however, was not too put out by this news.

“Well, don’t worry,” his host said, “I will drive you to the church tomorrow morning and I'm going to lock you in the choir room.  And we will supply manuscript paper and pencils and every four hours, you will get a hamburger and milkshake, until it’s written.”

The then 36-year-old composer was shut in the room from 5am on Monday until lunchtime on Tuesday, by which time he had composed what would become one of the world’s most performed choral pieces.

“Although, of course, it’s one of the best loved of the Christian religious texts,” John told Zeb, “Whenever I hear it, I have to admit I slightly smell hamburgers and milkshakes. Probably not very spiritual!"

John Rutter, The Lord bless you and keep you. Sung by Bobby Goulder

Read more: John Rutter on his secret 'composing cottage'

This conversation took place at St Martin in the Fields a few days before Rutter’s 80th birthday, where he shared personal stories, pivotal moments from his remarkable career, and the music that has shaped and been shaped by his journey.

This was accompanied by St Martin’s Voices, who brought these musical milestones to life, performing selections handpicked by Sir John from across the musical spectrum.