Rejoice in the Lamb

Rejoice in the Lamb
Cantata by Benjamin Britten

Catalogue Op. 30
Occasion 50th anniversary of St Matthew's Church, Northampton
Text Christopher Smart's poem Jubilate Agno
Language English
Composed 1943 (1943)
Duration 17 min
Scoring four soloists, SATB choir and organ

Rejoice in the Lamb (Op. 30) is a 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). The poem, written while Smart was in an asylum depicts idiosyncratic praise and worship of God by all created beings and things, each in its own way. The cantata was commissioned by the Revd Canon Walter Hussey for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew's Church, Northampton.

Form

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

  1. Rejoice in God, O ye Tongues (Chorus) – The piece begins with a slow, mysterious setting of the title text 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."
  2. For I will consider my Cat Jeoffrey (Treble/Soprano soloist) – "For I will consider my Cat Jeoffrey, ... 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."
  3. For the Mouse is a creature of great personal valour (Alto soloist) – praises the Mouse, and dramatically describes a male mouse defending a female mouse from an attacking cat.
  4. For the flowers are great blessings (Tenor soloist) – a slow, gentle praise of flowers: "For the flower glorifies God and the root parries the Adversary; ... For flowers are peculiarly the poetry of Christ."
  5. For I am under the same accusation with my Saviour (Chorus) – a passage in which Smart describes his mistreatment by "the officers of the peace," 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."[1] Britten also alludes to Dmitri Shostakovich, who was facing censure in the USSR. 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".
  6. For H is a spirit and therefore he is God (Bass soloist) – a short recitative in which the letters of the alphabet symbolize different aspects of God. This segues into the next section.
  7. For the instruments are by their rhimes (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."
  8. Hallelujah from the heart of God (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."

Notes

  1. ↑ Brett, §4: "Return to England, 1942–50".

References

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