Ruth Carlyle recorded John Rutter's 'A flower remembered' on hearing of his knighthood on 15 June 2024. The words and music for this piece were both composed by Sir John Rutter, in memory of the victims of the Tohoku area earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. This solo version was published by Oxford University Press in 2021 in the volume 'Oxford Solo Songs Secular'.

The words and music are lyrical and reflective:

'A flower remembered can never wither:
Forever blooming as bright as day,
Its fragrance lingering like music softly playing,
A gentle voice that's saying, 
"I'll never fade away."
I hear the echoes of many voices;
Sometimes they're distant, sometimes so clear;
Through all the sounds of life they seem to whisper,
"Will you remember, will you remember, will you remember?"

'The birds fly homeward across my valley
Toward the mountains all white with snow;
The birds are gone now, the mountain snows have melted,
But still I see their beauty, their scenes of long ago.
The birds still fly to other valleys;
The snows have turned to flowing streams;
All things must pass, but memories are lasting:
We will remember, we will remember, we will remember.'

A Flower Remembered - John Rutter, 2014

Ruth is based in Lichfield, UK, and sings mostly classical and traditional folk music. She also writes lyrics (as Eleanor Ruth Carlyle) and collaborates on new music with David Barton http://www.davidbartonmusic.co.uk/.

She  released her first EP with David Barton in November 2020: ‘Annabel Lee Replies’.

The songs on Ruth’s SoundCloud site are illustrated by her husband Nic Carlyle https://www.twitter.com/carlyle_nic

Ruth was a awarded a Distinction for London College of Music Examinations Grade 8 Classical Singing (100%) in July 2018 and the DipLCM (upper level) in July 2019.

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