Britten Rejoice in the Lamb Op. 30 Festival Cantata SATB Vocal Score

Rejoice in the Lamb Op. 30 Festival Cantata SATB Vocal Score

The words of the Cantata Rejoice in the Lamb are taken from a long poem of the same name by Christopher Smart, an eighteenth century poet, deeply religious, but of a strange and unbalanced mind.

Written while Smart was in an asylum, and is chaotic in form but contains many flashes of genius and it is to a few of the finest passages that Benjamin Britten chose to set to music.

The main theme of the poem, and that of the Cantata, is the worship of God, by all created beings and things, each in its own way.

Consisting of ten short sections, the first sets the theme, the second gives examples of one person after another being summoned from the pages of the Old Testament to join with some creatures in praising and rejoicing in God. The third section is a quiet and ecstatic Hallelujah whilst in the fourth section, Smart takes his beloved cat as an example of nature praising God by being simply what the Creator intended it to be. This theme is carried into the fifth section with the illustration of the mouse. The sixth section speaks of flowers as the poetry of Christ. In the seventh section, Smart refers to his troubles and suffering, but even these are an occasion for praising God, for it is through Christ that he will find his deliverance. The eighth section gives four letters from an alphabet, leading to a full chorus in the next section, the ninth, which speaks of musical instruments and music's praise of God. The final section repeats the Hallelujah.

Other Britten Cantatas:

Cantata Academica

A Ceremony of Carols SATB or SSA, Harp & Piano

The Company of Heaven

Phaedra

Rejoice in the Lamb SSAA

Saint Nicolas.