Gloria / Rutter, John

John Rutter's Gloria is a musical setting of parts of the Latin Gloria. He composed it in 1974 on a commission from Mel Olson, and conducted the premiere in Omaha, Nebraska.

He structured the text in three movements and scored it for choir, brass, percussion and organ, with an alternative version for choir and orchestra.

The text of the piece is the Gloria, the second part of the Latin Order of Mass. Rutter structured it in three movements, following the fast-slow-fast scheme typical of concertos:
- Allegro vivace – "Gloria in excelsis Deo"
- Andante – "Domine Deus"
- Vivace e ritmico – "Quoniam tu solus sanctus"

The instrumentation for the brass version is a brass ensemble of four trumpets, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani and percussion, and organ. The duration is given as 17 minutes.
The composer explains the structure as "fast, slow, fast, in common with symphonic practice", and describes the movements as "exalted, devotional and jubilant". He notes about the scoring: "The accompaniment is for brass ensemble with timpani, percussion and organ – a combination which in the outer movements makes quite a joyful noise unto the Lord, but which is used more softly and introspectively in the middle movement".