Yeah, I wondered about that attribution to John Rutter. The one I'm familiar with is director of the Cambridge Singers, and was born in 1945. I believe he has done some arrangements and recordings of Foster songs. I suppose there could be an earlier John Rutter, but John T. Rutledge seems more credible. Now, was the Rutledge song an infringement of Foster's copyright, or was it more of a sequel?
I've also wondered the same thing Charley's thinking - were Foster's songs original, or did he adapt them from songs sung by slaves?
-Joe Offer-