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Rejoice in the Lamb
Rejoice in the Lamb (Op. 30) is a cantata for four soloists, SATB choir and organ composed by Benjamin Britten in 1943 and uses text from the poem Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart (1722–1771). The poem, written while Smart was in an asylum, depicts idiosyncratic praise and worship of God by different things including animals, letters of the alphabet and musical instruments. Britten was introduced to the poem by W. H. Auden whilst visiting the United States, selecting 48 lines of the poem to set to music with the assistance of Edward Sackville-West. The cantata was commissioned by the Reverend Walter Hussey for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew's Church, Northampton. Critics praised the work for its uniqueness and creative handling of the text. Rejoice in the Lamb has been arranged for chorus, solos and orchestral accompaniment, and for SSAA choir and organ.
Before writing Rejoice in the Lamb, Britten had established himself as a musical interpreter of traditional texts, as demonstrated with A Ceremony of Carols (1942) and his song cycle Les Illuminations (1939). In 1942, soon after returning to England from the United States, Britten was commissioned to write a choral piece for the 50th anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew's Church, Northampton, which took place the following year. The request for a composition came from the priest Walter Hussey, who was known as a great admirer of art and music and believed that the church should be a patron of art as it was during the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical periods. Hussey intended for the 50th anniversary of the consecration to also be a celebration of the arts. As well as commissioning the cantata, Hussey commissioned artworks from Henry Moore and Graham Sutherland. He approached Britten after listening to, and admiring, his Sinfonia da Requiem (1940). Hussey was also impressed the selection of music Britten chose for a 'personal choice' programme on the BBC, which featured Hussey's favourite choral anthem – Mozart's Ave verum corpus (1791).
Whilst Britten was visiting the US with Peter Pears, the poet W. H. Auden introduced him to the 1939 W. F. Stead edition of Jubilate Agno – a poem by the 18th century poet Christopher Smart. Britten chose to set music to this poem for his cantata, inspired by the far-reaching ways in which Smart depicted and manifested God. The music critic Edward Sackville-West aided Britten's selection of the text to use in his setting of the poem. After reviewing Rejoice in the Lamb, Hussey sent Britten a questionnaire with clarification questions about the text used within the piece, such as "3. On p.28 the first two rhimes of the Shawm should be 'Lawn fawn'? 'sound bound' belong to the trumpet. (Note. The Shawm is the predecessor of the oboe!)" Hussey also produced an article on Rejoice in the Lamb in anticipation of the celebrations of St Matthew's Church.
The first performance of Rejoice in the Lamb took place on 21 September 1943 as part of the anniversary celebration of St Matthew's Church, performed by the choir of St Matthew's under direction of Charles Barker. It was first broadcast by the BBC Home Service on 31 October 1943, performed by the same choir and conducted by Britten.
Rejoice in the Lamb sets music to 48 lines from Jubilate Agno by Smart. Smart was born in Kent in 1722 and was active during the Enlightenment. He began his career as an academic but became mentally unwell in part due to alcoholism and debt. In 1757 he was confined to an asylum and remained there until 1763. It was during this period in which he wrote Jubilate Agno – an idiosyncratic devotional poem. Whilst at its core the poem is, according to Christopher Headington, "a work expressing praise and an affirmation of faith", Peter Evans writes that Smart demonstrates this in an "eccentric" manner, depicting the various forms in which God manifests himself in the world: a cat, a mouse, letters of the alphabet and musical instruments. Mark Riddles, writing in The Choral Journal, says that Smart's "bewildering text seems to ramble between insight and insanity, biblical citation and mystic emanation, deep reverence and lighthearted playfulness".
The original manuscript for Jubilate Agno first entered public awareness in 1938. According to scholars Marus Walsh and Karina Williamson, it was "covered on both sides with a series of closely written, unnumbered verses". Almost each of the hundreds of lines begins with either the words "Let" or "For". Britten did not set all lines of the poem, but Peter Porter in The Britten Companion writes that the passages he selected are "more than well chosen", amounting to a "biopsy" of the entire work. In an analysis of Rejoice in the Lamb, Hilary Seraph Donaldson writes that Britten – who at the time of writing the piece was in a taboo same-sex relationship – may have empathised with Smart, who was also a misunderstood outcast.
Rejoice in the Lamb is written for organ and SATB choir with treble/soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists. The piece has a duration of about 16 minutes. It is divided into nine sections, which Riddles and Donaldson further collate into five groups: Opening Hymn, Animistic Praise, Lament, Mystic Praise and Closing Hymn.
I. Opening Hymn
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Rejoice in the Lamb
Rejoice in the Lamb (Op. 30) is a cantata for four soloists, SATB choir and organ composed by Benjamin Britten in 1943 and uses text from the poem Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart (1722–1771). The poem, written while Smart was in an asylum, depicts idiosyncratic praise and worship of God by different things including animals, letters of the alphabet and musical instruments. Britten was introduced to the poem by W. H. Auden whilst visiting the United States, selecting 48 lines of the poem to set to music with the assistance of Edward Sackville-West. The cantata was commissioned by the Reverend Walter Hussey for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew's Church, Northampton. Critics praised the work for its uniqueness and creative handling of the text. Rejoice in the Lamb has been arranged for chorus, solos and orchestral accompaniment, and for SSAA choir and organ.
Before writing Rejoice in the Lamb, Britten had established himself as a musical interpreter of traditional texts, as demonstrated with A Ceremony of Carols (1942) and his song cycle Les Illuminations (1939). In 1942, soon after returning to England from the United States, Britten was commissioned to write a choral piece for the 50th anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew's Church, Northampton, which took place the following year. The request for a composition came from the priest Walter Hussey, who was known as a great admirer of art and music and believed that the church should be a patron of art as it was during the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical periods. Hussey intended for the 50th anniversary of the consecration to also be a celebration of the arts. As well as commissioning the cantata, Hussey commissioned artworks from Henry Moore and Graham Sutherland. He approached Britten after listening to, and admiring, his Sinfonia da Requiem (1940). Hussey was also impressed the selection of music Britten chose for a 'personal choice' programme on the BBC, which featured Hussey's favourite choral anthem – Mozart's Ave verum corpus (1791).
Whilst Britten was visiting the US with Peter Pears, the poet W. H. Auden introduced him to the 1939 W. F. Stead edition of Jubilate Agno – a poem by the 18th century poet Christopher Smart. Britten chose to set music to this poem for his cantata, inspired by the far-reaching ways in which Smart depicted and manifested God. The music critic Edward Sackville-West aided Britten's selection of the text to use in his setting of the poem. After reviewing Rejoice in the Lamb, Hussey sent Britten a questionnaire with clarification questions about the text used within the piece, such as "3. On p.28 the first two rhimes of the Shawm should be 'Lawn fawn'? 'sound bound' belong to the trumpet. (Note. The Shawm is the predecessor of the oboe!)" Hussey also produced an article on Rejoice in the Lamb in anticipation of the celebrations of St Matthew's Church.
The first performance of Rejoice in the Lamb took place on 21 September 1943 as part of the anniversary celebration of St Matthew's Church, performed by the choir of St Matthew's under direction of Charles Barker. It was first broadcast by the BBC Home Service on 31 October 1943, performed by the same choir and conducted by Britten.
Rejoice in the Lamb sets music to 48 lines from Jubilate Agno by Smart. Smart was born in Kent in 1722 and was active during the Enlightenment. He began his career as an academic but became mentally unwell in part due to alcoholism and debt. In 1757 he was confined to an asylum and remained there until 1763. It was during this period in which he wrote Jubilate Agno – an idiosyncratic devotional poem. Whilst at its core the poem is, according to Christopher Headington, "a work expressing praise and an affirmation of faith", Peter Evans writes that Smart demonstrates this in an "eccentric" manner, depicting the various forms in which God manifests himself in the world: a cat, a mouse, letters of the alphabet and musical instruments. Mark Riddles, writing in The Choral Journal, says that Smart's "bewildering text seems to ramble between insight and insanity, biblical citation and mystic emanation, deep reverence and lighthearted playfulness".
The original manuscript for Jubilate Agno first entered public awareness in 1938. According to scholars Marus Walsh and Karina Williamson, it was "covered on both sides with a series of closely written, unnumbered verses". Almost each of the hundreds of lines begins with either the words "Let" or "For". Britten did not set all lines of the poem, but Peter Porter in The Britten Companion writes that the passages he selected are "more than well chosen", amounting to a "biopsy" of the entire work. In an analysis of Rejoice in the Lamb, Hilary Seraph Donaldson writes that Britten – who at the time of writing the piece was in a taboo same-sex relationship – may have empathised with Smart, who was also a misunderstood outcast.
Rejoice in the Lamb is written for organ and SATB choir with treble/soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists. The piece has a duration of about 16 minutes. It is divided into nine sections, which Riddles and Donaldson further collate into five groups: Opening Hymn, Animistic Praise, Lament, Mystic Praise and Closing Hymn.
I. Opening Hymn