Rejoice in the Lamb - Citizendia

Rejoice in the Lamb (Op. Opus, from the Latin word opus meaning "work" is usually used in the sense of "a Work of art " 30) is a festival cantata for four soloists, SATB choir, and organ composed by Benjamin Britten in 1943 and based on the poem Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart (1722-1771). A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often SATB is a frequent initialism for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, bass, referring to a common scoring for choruses and choirs For the musical composition see Chorale. A choir, chorale, or chorus is a Musical ensemble of Singers The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 was an English Composer, conductor, Jubilate Agno (Latin "Rejoice in the Lamb" is a religious poem by Christopher Smart, and was written between 1759 and 1763 during Smart's confinement Christopher Smart (11 April 1722 &ndash 21 May 1771 otherwise known as "Kit Smart" "Kitty Smart" and "Jack Smart" was an English poet The poem, written while Smart was in an insane asylum, is a highly idiosyncratic and ecstatic praise and worship of God by all created being and things, each in its own way. The cantata was commissioned by Rev. Canon Walter Hussey for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew's, Northampton. Walter Hussey ( May 15, 1909 – 1985 was an Anglican Clergyman who had a great fondness for The arts, commissioning a number of musical This article is about Northampton in England for other places of the same name see Northampton (disambiguation Northampton ( is a large Market Canon Hussey was a remarkable patron of the arts whose other commissions included Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Gerald Finzi's Lo, the full, final sacrifice. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes Chichester Psalms is a choral work by Leonard Bernstein for boy treble or Countertenor, solo quartet choir and orchestra (3 trumpets in B 3 Gerald Raphael Finzi ( July 14, 1901 &ndash September 27, 1956) was a British Composer, whose popularity has increased Lo the full final sacrifice ( Op 26 is a festival Anthem for SATB Choir and organ, composed by Gerald Finzi

1 Form
2 References
- 2.1 Notes
3 See also

Form

Rejoice in the Lamb has a duration of about 17 minutes. It is divided into eight sections.

(Chorus) The piece begins with a slow, mysterious setting of "Rejoice in God, O ye Tongues," and then launches into a fast, vigorous, dance-like section with rapidly changing meters, in which the lines follow the form, "Let Nimrod, the mighty hunter, bind a Leopard to the altar, and consecrate his spear to the Lord. " The section closes with a slow, stately setting of "Hallelujah from the heart of God . . . and from the echo of the heavenly harp in sweetness magnifical and mighty. "
Treble/Soprano soloist) "For I will consider my Cat Jeoffrey, . This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. . . a cat, surpassing in beauty, from whom I take occasion to bless Almighty God. " Britten uses the organ part to depict the cat "wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness. "
(Alto soloist) sings of the mouse, "a creature of great personal valour," and dramatically describes the male mouse defending the female mouse from an attacking cat. Alto is a musical term derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" that has several possible interpretations Britten selects an organ registration that suggest the sound of mice.
(Tenor soloist) a slow, gentle praise of flowers: "For the flower glorifies God and the root parries the Adversary; . The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice . . For flowers are peculiarly the poetry of Christ. "
(Chorus) a passage in which Smart describes his mistreatment by "the officers of the peace" because he is mentally ill, comparing himself to Jesus: "For I am in twelve Hardships, but he that was born of a virgin shall deliver me out of all. " Philip Brett writes of this section: "At the heart of Rejoice in the Lamb, framed by a Purcellian prelude and postlude and cheerful choruses and solos, lies a chilling choral recitative rehearsing the theme of oppression that was to boil over in Peter Grimes, and a spiritual resolution that looks forward to the very different scenario of The Rape of Lucretia. Henry Purcell (ˈpɜrsəl 10 September 1659 (? – 21 November 1695 was an English Baroque Composer. Recitative /rɛsɪtə'tiv/ (also known by its Italian name "recitativo" (/retʃita'tivo/ is a style of delivery (much used in Operas Oratorios Peter Grimes is an Opera by Benjamin Britten, with a Libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of For Shakespeare 's poem see The Rape of Lucrece The Rape of Lucretia (Op "^[1] Britten also alludes to the composer Dmitri Shostakovitch, who was facing censure in the USSR. Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich ( Russian: ru Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович ( &ndash 9 August 1975 was a Russian Composer The DSCH motif (the sequence of notes D, E flat, C and B which spell out the composer's name) appears frequently in the organ part, at first quietly, and later fortissimo against the thunderous chords accompanying "And the watchman strikes me with his staff". DSCH is a musical motif used by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich to represent himself in the manner of the BACH motif of Johann
(Bass soloist) a short recitative in which the letters of the alphabet symbolize different aspects of God. This segues into the next section.
(Chorus) a "very gay and fast" section about various instruments and "their rhimes" (rhymes): "For the Shawm rhimes are lawn fawn moon boon and the like. . . " This builds to a climax - "For the Trumpet of God is a blessed intelligence" - and then gradually relaxes into an increasingly peaceful section, ending: "For this time is perceptible to man by a remarkable stillness and serenity of soul. "
(Chorus) A reprise of the ending of the first section: " . . . from the hand of the artist inimitable, and from the echo of the heavenly harp in sweetness magnifical and mighty. Hallelujah. "

References

Brett, Philip. "Britten, Benjamin", Grove Music Online, ed. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an Encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians L. Macy (accessed March 12, 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access). Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
Britten, Benjamin. Rejoice in the Lamb. Op. 30. New York; Boosey and Hawkes, 1943.
Britten, Benjamin. Saint Nicolas (Peter Pears, tenor; Aldeburgh Festival Choir and Orchestra under Britten); Rejoice in the Lamb (George Malcolm, organ; The Purcell Singers under Britten). London 425 714-2 (CD)

Notes

^ Philip, 4. Return to England, 1942–50.

Contents

Form

References

Notes

See also