Popularity in the world of serious art music is a relative term, but a listener at the sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall on Sunday afternoon, when British composer John Rutter conducted the New England Symphonic Ensemble and a large assortment of choruses in a terrific performance of his “Magnificat,” might not have thought so. Within the confines of the Isaac Stern Auditorium, contemporary classical music was alive and well.

Since Mr. Rutter is a composer of music for the church, he is largely ignored by the mainstream media. However, he belongs to the loose school that includes fellow Brits John Taverner and even the redefined Paul McCartney that has generated a great deal of interest on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Taverner is more popular in England, while Mr. Rutter has scored many hits here in America — his issues are often on the list of Billboard magazine’s top classical releases.

Visually, this was a stunning ensemble, a huge choir made up of individual choruses from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee — you know, America. Most of the singers were in concert dress, but some were in their church robes and made for a colorful sprinkling among the assembled throng. I must confess to being skeptical beforehand as to the vocal quality of this celebration, but was pleasantly astounded to hear a huge, full-bodied sound with superb pitch control and reserves of dramatic power. This pick-up group was honed to excellence and put all of the local New York concert choirs to shame. “Magnificat” is a well-constructed work on the theme of the joy of the Virgin Mary, and it truly has something for everyone. In a uniquely contemporary British fashion, it combines many differing styles and ethnicities into one religious whole, an accurate mirror of the journey of the Anglican Church in recent decades. Of course, Mr. Rutter is his own man, but it seems appropriate to describe the piece movement by movement as a series of points of reference.

The opening, including syncopated Latin beat and rapid 6/8 time, is straight out of Leonard Bernstein. We are overwhelmed with percussion, but listeners need not worry, as each following section will be entirely different. Sung in Latin, the “Magnificat” is interwoven with Gregorian chant, mysterious when in the bass range, ethereal when in the soprano.

Vaughn Williams came to mind in the second movement, the only section sung in English. “Of a Rose” is a pastoral essay with strong hints of the English madrigal tradition. It provided a lovely contrast to the bombast of the opening.

“Quia fecit” is a triumphant statement reminiscent of Gustav Holst. The Sanctus within its breast is a masterful bit of contrapuntal writing that highlighted the colorful skills of the choristers in bas relief. Soprano Julianne Gearhart was the sweet soloist for “Et misericordia,” a movement that, for better or worse, channels Andrew Lloyd Webber. Ms. Gearhart has a campanilian voice, and she intoned with great purity and a much appreciated lack of histrionics.

“Fecit potentiam” is jazzy, while “Esurientes,” which again featured Ms. Gearhart, is reminiscent of the Broadway of the 1940s. Just when you think Mr. Rutter has run out of genres, he pulls it all together with a very clever “Gloria Patri,” in which, overture-like, he mixes all of the previous music in a sort of stylistic fugue. Judging by the reaction of the crowd, his efforts are extremely successful.