《光榮頌》為彌撒曲的第二樂章，由於歌詞顯露著歡愉的氣質，經常是彌撒曲中極富表現力的篇章，巴洛克時期之後，更獨立成為重要的宗教合唱曲目，作曲家藉著《光榮頌》的創作，展現自己的樂思及創作技法，為教會音樂留下燦爛的瑰寶。
魯特是英國近代傑出的作曲家、指揮家、教育家，也是合唱音樂的推廣者。魯特的作品溫馨而典雅，分為改編與創作兩大類，個人創作以宗教類的合唱作品數量最多，編制從無伴奏歌曲、鋼琴伴奏小品，乃至管絃樂團暨合唱團的大型作品，形式與難度不一而足。魯特對合唱音樂的貢獻，使他在一九八八年獲頒榮譽教會音樂家，並於一九九六年榮獲坎特伯里大主教頒發的教會音樂之榮譽博士學位。
《光榮頌》是魯特一九七四年受美國梅爾歐森合唱團之委託創作的大型四部混聲合唱作品，由管樂、管風琴、打擊樂伴奏。《光榮頌》包括慢快慢三個樂章 由動機與音型構成動人的旋律，音樂素材交織在豐富的合唱織度中，搭配管樂嘹亮的音色，與增強力度的打擊樂器，曲風莊嚴華麗且親切迷人，是近代合唱曲目中膾炙人口的作品。
本論文分為六章，第一章為緒論，第二章是背景探究，其中第一節探討《光榮頌》樂曲沿革，第二節介紹作曲家之生平，第三節歸納作曲家之作品種類；第三章為創作手法分析，說明動機與音型在各樂章的使用情形；第四章是指揮技巧設計，探討指揮手勢與動機和音型的關係，第五章合唱排練建議，針對練習《光榮頌》時容易遭遇的問題，提出解決的策略與實施步驟。最後一章為本論文之結論，歸納魯特《光榮頌》的創作特色與藝術價值。本論文另有兩篇附錄，附錄一為魯特與研究者電子信件的內容，附錄二是魯特其他合唱作品之總表。

Gloria is one of the important genres in western sacred choral music. It is the second movement of the Mass Ordinary. Due to the jubilant and joyful atmosphere of its text, after Baroque, Gloria has become an independent musical work and many outstanding composers tried to show their talent in this specific piece.

John Rutter (1945- ) is a British composer, arranger, conductor, and choral lecturer. He has written all types of music. Most of them are church choral music. His first piece is Shepherd's Pipe Carol, composed in 1963, when he was still a student at Clare College. This piece gave him much encouragement to be a composer. In 1974, Rutter completed his Gloria and this large-scale choral work made him a world-famous composer. He is made a Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians, and the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon him in recognition of his contribution to church music
Rutter’s Gloria is a three-movement music, written for mixed chorus, brass instruments, percussion, and organ. It is a commissioned work By the Voice of Mel Olson in the United States. The composer uses fast-slow-fast tempo, warm and grateful melodies, rhythmic and elaborative motives, delicate textural design, and traditional- contemporary harmony in this musical work. His talented compositional skill allows Gloria fill with various sonority and create unforgettable momentum for the singers and audience. Ever since the Gloria was written, the Oxford Press published it in the same year. It has been performed by many choruses in many different countries till now.

This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter One is the Introduction. Chapter Two offers the research background of this thesis: Part One is the origin and development of Gloria; Part Two is the biography of John Rutter; Part Three explains how Rutter treats the text. Chapter Three offers a musical analysis, basically focused on the melodies’ and motives’ interaction. Chapter Four is the design for the conducting gesture to be used after understanding the musical structure. Chapter Five supplies rehearsal techniques and teaching suggestion for choral teachers. Chapter Six draws a conclusion of this thesis. There are two appendixes at the end of this research: the first includes the emails between Mr. Rutter and the writer; the second is a list of Rutter’s choral compositions.

參考書目
【英文書籍】
Albrecht, Sally K.. The Choral Warm-Up Collection. Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing, n.d.
Collins, Don L. Teaching Choral Music. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1999.
Demaree, Robert W., and Don V. Moses. The Complete Conductor. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1995.
Ehmann, Wilhelm, and Frauke Haasemann. Voice Building For Choir. Basel: Hinshaw Music, 1982.
Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music, 6th ed. New York: Norton, 2001.
Jeffers, Ron. Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire. Corvallis: Cascade Printing, 1988.
Rudolf, Max. The Grammar of Conducting. New York: Schirmer, 1993.
Strimple, Nick. Choral Music: in the Twentieth Century. Portland: Amadeus, 2002.
Ulrich , Homer. A Survey of Choral Music. Belmont: Schirmer, 1973.

【中文書籍】
李振邦。《教會音樂》。(台北：世界文物，2002)。
陳雲紅。〈完美指揮必備特質〉。《合唱音樂》，第13期，22頁。
聖經公會翻譯。《聖經 現代中文譯本》。(香港：聯合聖經公會，1979)。
潘宇文。〈歌聲培訓的基本常識與暖身活動〉。《國教天地》，第148期，91頁。

【網站】
"Clare College ". http://www.clare.cam.ac.uk/life/choir; Accessed on 12 October 2006.

"Collegium Records". http://www.collegiumusa.com; Accessed on 5 October 2006.

Greenall, Matthew. "John Rutter". New Grove online, http://www.grovemusic.com Accessed on 12 October 2006.

"John Rutter, interviewed by Jeremy Nicholas". http://www.collegiumusa.com ; Accessed on 10 October 2006.

"John Rutter". http://www.singers.com/composers/johnrutter.html; Accessed on 12 October 2006

McKinnon, James W.. "Mass: Liturgy and Chant". New Grove online, http://www.Grovemisic.com ; Accessed on 20 November 2006.

【樂譜】
Rutter, John. Gloria. Vocal score. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Rutter, John. Gloria. Full score (Brass). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Rutter, John. Gloria. Full score (Orchesta). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.

【有聲資料】
Rutter, John. Gloria: CD (Collegium Records COLCD 100, 1984).
Rutter, John. Gloria: CD (EMI 724355 795229, 2005).
Rutter, John. Magnifica: CD (Collegium Records COLCD 114, 1911).