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''Rejoice in the Lamb'' ( Op. 30) is a
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...
for four soloists,
SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
and organ composed by
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
in 1943 and uses text from the poem ''
Jubilate Agno ''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 for insanity in St. Luke's Hospital, Bethnal Green, London. The poem was first publis ...
'' 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 Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...
whilst visiting the United States, selecting 48 lines of the poem to set to music with the assistance of
Edward Sackville-West Edward Charles Sackville-West, 5th Baron Sackville (13 November 1901 – 4 July 1965) was a British music critic, novelist and, in his last years, a member of the House of Lords. Musically gifted as a boy, he was attracted as a young man to a lit ...
. 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 St Matthew's Church, Northampton is a Church of England parish church in Northampton, within the Diocese of Peterborough. The church is a Grade II* listed building. It was erected (1891–4) in memory of brewer and MP, Pickering Phipps, bes ...
. 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 SSAA may refer to: *Sporting Shooters Association of Australia The Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA) is a federated non-government organisation established in 1948 as a representative body to promote shooting sports and protec ...
and organ.


History

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 A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...
''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 St Matthew's Church, Northampton is a Church of England parish church in Northampton, within the Diocese of Peterborough. The church is a Grade II* listed building. It was erected (1891–4) in memory of brewer and MP, Pickering Phipps, bes ...
, 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 The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
,
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
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 Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...
and
Graham Sutherland Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmaking ...
. He approached Britten after listening to, and admiring, his ''
Sinfonia da Requiem ''Sinfonia da Requiem'', Op. 20, for orchestra is a symphony written by Benjamin Britten in 1940 at the age of 26. It was one of several works commissioned from different composers by the Japanese government to mark Emperor Jimmu's 2600th annive ...
'' (1940). Hussey was also impressed the selection of music Britten chose for a 'personal choice' programme on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, which featured Hussey's favourite choral
anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
– Mozart's ''Ave verum corpus'' (1791). Whilst Britten was visiting the US with
Peter Pears Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears ( ; 22 June 19103 April 1986) was an English tenor. His career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years. Pears' musical career started ...
, the poet
W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...
introduced him to the 1939
W. F. Stead William Force Stead (29 August 1884 – 8 March 1967) was an American diplomat and poet. He became an Anglican clergyman, and chaplain of Worcester College, Oxford, from 1927 to 1930. He is best known for his editorial work on Christopher Sm ...
edition of ''
Jubilate Agno ''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 for insanity in St. Luke's Hospital, Bethnal Green, London. The poem was first publis ...
'' – 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 Edward Charles Sackville-West, 5th Baron Sackville (13 November 1901 – 4 July 1965) was a British music critic, novelist and, in his last years, a member of the House of Lords. Musically gifted as a boy, he was attracted as a young man to a lit ...
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 The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...
on 31 October 1943, performed by the same choir and conducted by Britten.


Text

''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 Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
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 A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
same-sex relationship – may have empathised with Smart, who was also a misunderstood outcast.


Composition

''Rejoice in the Lamb'' is written for organ and
SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...
choir with treble/
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
,
alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
,
tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
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 * Rejoice in God, O ye Tongues (Chorus) – The opening of the piece sets the opening text of ''Jubilate Agno'', which paraphrases
Psalm 150 Psalm 150 is the 150th and final psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the . Praise God in his sanctuary". In Latin, it is known as "Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius". In Psalm 150, the psalmist ...
: "Rejoice in God, O ye Tongues; give the glory to the Lord, and the Lamb..." The whole chorus sings the text on a quiet
middle C C or Do is the first note and semitone of the C major scale, the third note of the A minor scale (the relative minor of C major), and the fourth note (G, A, B, C) of the Guidonian hand, commonly pitched around 261.63  Hz. The actual frequen ...
, accompanied by an 8 ft C pedal on the organ. The organ occasionally punctuates the music with
quaver 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...
staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...
triads. The chorus finally changes note and
crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependi ...
s on the word "magnify". The pieces then moves into a fast, declamatory passage, marked ''With vigour'', which Riddles and Donaldson characterise as a "processional". Smart's text summons a collection of characters from the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
, including
Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...
,
Ishmael Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
,
Balaam Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah (Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beo ...
,
Ithamar In the Torah, Ithamar () was the fourth (and the youngest) son of Aaron the High Priest."Ithamar", '' Encyclopaedia Biblica'' Following the construction of the Tabernacle, he was responsible for recording an inventory to ensure that the constructed ...
,
Jakim Islam in Malaysia is represented by the Shafi‘i school of Sunni jurisprudence.
and
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. Each line begins with "Let", for instance: "Let Nimrod, the mighty hunter, bind a Leopard to the altar, and consecrate his spear to the Lord." The rhythm of the section changes rapidly between
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
s 7/8, 6/8, 9/8, 5/8, 4/8 and 11/8. The final phrase of the 'Opening Hymn' section sets Smart's text "Hallelujah from the heart of God, and from the hand of the artist inimitable, and from the echo of the heavenly harp in sweetness magnifical and mighty." The voice parts sing in a quasi-
canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...
manner and with dotted rhythms in a "gently moving" 3/4 time. Oliver Michael, in his biography of Britten, remarks that the Hallelujah section resembles a similar passage in Igor Stravinsky's ''
Symphony of Psalms The ''Symphony of Psalms'' is a choral symphony in three movements composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orc ...
'' (1930), of which Britten was a great admirer. II.
Animistic Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...
Praise * For I will consider my Cat Jeoffrey (Treble/Soprano soloist) – This section is devoted to the depictions of Smart's cat Jeoffrey in ''Jubilate Agno'' and the ways in which he praises God. The soloist moves largely in a stepwise motion, juxtaposing triplet and duple rhythms. Britten uses trills and
semiquavers Figure 1. A 16th note with stem facing up, a 16th note with stem facing down, and a 16th rest. Figure 2. Four 16th notes beamed together. In music, a 1/16, sixteenth note (American) or semiquaver (British) is a note played for half the dura ...
in the organ part to depict the cat "wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness". * For the Mouse is a creature of great personal valour (Alto soloist) – This section depicts a mouse which Smart writes is "a creature of great personal valor" who defends the female mouse against a cat. Oliver Michael describes this section as a "nimble march", marked ''fast and light,'' with what Kumbier calls "mocking" quavers and semiquavers in the upper
register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...
of the organ.'
Humphrey Carpenter Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inkli ...
writes that Britten may have been inspired here by cat and mouse cartoons he was known to enjoy.' Donaldson further suggests that the passage is like a musical number inspired by
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
or
Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
. * For the flowers are great blessings (Tenor soloist) – Smart's text depicts the beauty of flowers, suggests they have some form of consciousness and compares them to the Christian concept of Resurrection. In this slow, ''
pianissimo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependin ...
'' section, the organ plays alternating quavers, accompanying the tenor solo. III. Lament * For I am under the same accusation with my Saviour (Chorus) – In this passage, Smart writes of God's authority, his duties under him and anguishes over how he can preserve his cause. This section can be considered the high point of the piece. The chorus opens with a quiet unison passage on fifths, moving to an unexpected C minor chord to punctuate the word "saviour". The words "Silly fellow" are set to a musical motif which consists of two rising
semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
quavers followed by a descending semitone semiquaver plus dotted quaver.
Imogen Holst Imogen Clare Holst (; 12 April 1907 – 9 March 1984) was a British composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, musicologist, and festival administrator. The only child of the composer Gustav Holst, she is particularly known for her education ...
compares this motif to the crying out of "Peter Grimes! ... Peter Grimes!" from the chorus in Britten's opera ''
Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional ...
'' (1943). A
chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, ...
canonical passage follows, echoing the Hallelujah passage from earlier in the piece, setting the text "For I am in twelve hardships". William Kumbier describes the canon as "dark" and writes that it shows the "pathetic prolongation and dismantling of the persecution figure". IV. Mystic Praise * For H is a spirit and therefore he is God (Bass soloist) – The text of this section is from what Riddles describes as "the most esoteric" lines of ''Jubilate Agno''. Smart depicts God in all 26 letters of the alphabet and Britten sets a selection of these lines as a bass
recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repea ...
, including "For H is a spirit and therefore he is God. For K is king and therefore he is God..." * For the instruments are by their rhimes (Chorus) – This section, marked ''very gay and fast'', is characterised by a "grandeur and spaciousness", repeating and transforming an
F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...
trumpet fanfare-like motif first heard in the organ. The text is about various instruments and "their rhimes" (rhymes) ("For the
Shawm The shawm () is a Bore_(wind_instruments)#Conical_bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissance periods, after ...
rhimes are lawn fawn moon boon and the like..."), drawing comparisons to the concept of the
Music of the Spheres The ''musica universalis'' (literally universal music), also called music of the spheres or harmony of the spheres, is a philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, and planets – as a fo ...
. The chorus climaxes with a final declamation of "and the like", followed by a two-against-three rhythmic passage praising God's "blessed intelligence". V. Closing Hymn * For at that time malignity ceases – The chorus sings a unison, hymn-like passage in F major. Riddles writes that the passage recalls the "sweet peace" of Jeoffrey the cat from earlier in the piece, or the concept of
axis mundi In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the '' ...
. * Hallelujah from the heart of God (Chorus) – Britten closes the piece with a reprise of the Hallelujah section from the start of the piece.


Critical response

''Rejoice in the Lamb'' has widely been recognised for its uniqueness and creativity, especially within the realm of
Church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...
. In ''British Music of Our Time'' (1946), Scott Goddard writes that ''Rejoice in the Lamb'' "has about it a freshness unlike anything in our music". Imogen Holst similarly writes that it is "as unlike conventional church music as it could possibly be". The poet Peter Porter writes that ''Rejoice in the Lamb'' "enshrines some of the purest responses ever made by a musician to the very heart of that mystery which we know as poetry". On 22 September 1943, the day after the premier of ''Rejoice in the Lamb'', ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' published a piece about the jubilee celebrations of St Matthew's Church and a review of Britten's cantata which also praised the text-setting: "Mr Britten has a way of choosing recondite texts for setting to music ... The spirit of the curious, vivid poem has been caught and a work not to be placed in any of the usual categories..." A 1943 review in the journal ''
Music & Letters ''Music & Letters'' is an academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press with a focus on musicology. The journal sponsors the Music & Letters Trust, twice-yearly cash awards of variable amounts to support research in the music fie ...
'' claims that although Britten did not necessarily transform "the ridiculous
ext Ext, ext or EXT may refer to: * Ext functor, used in the mathematical field of homological algebra * Ext (JavaScript library), a programming library used to build interactive web applications * Exeter Airport (IATA airport code), in Devon, England ...
into the sublime", he succeeded in recognising the "picturesque" value of the text. Furthermore, according to the review, Britten handles the more bizarre passages of the text, just as "For I shall consider my cat", with admirable restraint.


Arrangements

A version of ''Rejoice in the Lamb'' for chorus, solos and orchestral accompaniment was arranged by Imogen Holst and published by
Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...
. Holst conducted the first performance on 20 June 1952 in
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...
Parish Church for the
Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...
, which was co-founded by Britten in 1948. Among the performers were
Alfred Deller Alfred George Deller, CBE (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularising the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th century. He is sometimes referr ...
as the counter-tenor soloist,
Peter Pears Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears ( ; 22 June 19103 April 1986) was an English tenor. His career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years. Pears' musical career started ...
as the tenor soloist and
Ralph Downes Ralph William Downes CBE KSG (16 August 1904 – 24 December 1993) was an English organist, organ designer, teacher and music director and was Professor of Organ in the Royal College of Music. Biography Downes was born in Derby and studied ...
on organ. Another version for
SSAA choir SSAA may refer to: *Sporting Shooters Association of Australia The Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA) is a federated non-government organisation established in 1948 as a representative body to promote shooting sports and protec ...
and organ was arranged by Edmund Walters and published by Boosey & Hawkes in 1973. It was first performed on 3 July 1966 in
Mossley Hill Mossley Hill is a suburb of Liverpool and a Liverpool City Council ward. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, Childwall, and Wavertree. At the 2001 Census, the population was 12,650, increasing to 13,816 a ...
Church in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and first broadcast by the BBC on 19 December 1966.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * Brett, Philip. "Britten, Benjamin", ''
Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', ed. L. Macy (accessed March 12, 2007)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). *Britten, Benjamin. ''Rejoice in the Lamb''. Op. 30. New York;
Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...
, 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) * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Compositions by Benjamin Britten Church cantatas 1943 compositions