Rutter set "Look at the world" as a harvest anthem[1] to his own lyrics[2] in 1996.[3] He responded to a commission from the Council for the Protection of Rural England, meant to be "a widely-usable choral song or anthem on the theme of the environment and our responsibility towards it".[4] It was meant to celebrate the organisation's 70th anniversary.[5] He scored it for either a children's choir in unison or a four-part mixed choir, accompanied by a keyboard instrument or orchestra.[1] The anthem was published by Oxford University Press in 1996.[1][6] In 2021, a version for a small ensemble of flute, oboe, harp and organ appeared.[7]
Music
The anthem is in set in 2/2, marked "Brightly" It begins in C major, but modulates twice and ends in D major.[8] It begins with eight measures of instrumental introduction, with broken chords in constant flowing eighth-notes.[8] It is in four stanzas and a refrain, beginning "Praise to thee, O Lord of all creation". In the mixed-voice version, only the refrain is in harmony for all four voices, while the stanzas are assigned to varying voices. The third stanza is in B major, and the final stanza in D major.[8] The duration is given as 4.5 minutes.[1]
Recordings
The anthem was recorded for a 2003 collection of Rutter's Mass of the Children and other sacred music, by the Cambridge Singers and the City of London Sinfonia conducted by the composer.[5] It was recorded for a 2010 collection, A Song in Season of works by Rutter composed since 1996 and mostly not previously recorded, with the composer conducting the Cambridge Singers and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[9] A reviewer from Gramophone described it as "overtly innocent".[9]
