Based on Kenneth Graham’s enthralling tale, The Wind in the Willows (1908) is John Rutter’s musical adaptation, which is neither a play with incidental music like A.A. Milne and Harold Fraser-Simson’s Toad of Toad Hall (1929) nor a full musical like the West End’s George Stiles and Anthony Drew’s (2016). Rutter exists in-between the two, enveloping the story as a chamber concert is for five soloists, narrator, SATB chorus, and instrumental ensemble. The main roles are written for adult singers, with a chorus of children and adults. The composition is rich and warm, evoking a melodically mellow autumn in its prelude “Listen to the Wind in the Willows . . .” Woven throughout the music, are excerpts of Grahame’s texts, piecing the vignettes smoothly together for a cozy adaptation.

This would not be Rutter’s only success with Grahame - he would use the similar method for his other book, The Reluctant Dragon.