VOCES8: Rejoice in the Lamb by Benjamin Britten (orchestrated by Imogen Holst)

VOCES8 is joined by the VOCES8 Foundation Choir & Orchestra, conducted by Barnaby Smith for a performance of Benjamin Britten 'Rejoice in the Lamb' in the orchestrated version by Imogen Holst. The performance is available on the album ‘To Sing of Love’ on all streaming platforms.

Filmed at All Hallows' Church, Gospel Oak, Benjamin Britten’s perennially popular Rejoice in the Lamb was commissioned in 1943 for the 50th anniversary of the consecration St Matthew’s Church, Northampton by the Reverend Walter Hussey, a visionary clergyman who felt that the Church of England should be a patron of the arts and who sought to commission work from major composers and artists of the day. Despite Hussey’s commitment to this cause even he was initially nervous at Britten’s choice of text, which was made up of excerpts from Christopher Smart’s idiosyncratic poem Jubilate Agno. Smart was a brilliant scholar whose combination of genius and eccentricity may have been better understood if he were alive today; however in 1757 he was confined to a mental asylum where he began Jubilate Agno, a profuse outpouring of adoration for God which is by turns joyful, haunting and chaotic.

Britten’s selected passages give a good overall survey of the poem’s many twists and turns, beginning with an exhortation for “Nations, and languages, and every creature” to rejoice in God. A colourful parade of Old Testament characters are then introduced, each praising God in his own way over a rollicking 7/8 rhythm, before a reflective “Hallelujah” featuring contrapuntal dotted rhythms reminiscent of the music of Henry Purcell, whom Britten so admired. In the next section, Smart shows how all things praise God, simply by being what they were intended to be. He begins with the example of his own cat, Jeoffry, who gives thanks to his creator simply by chasing his tail round and round; the soprano soloist is so pursued by a slinky clarinet. Next the mouse, who stands off against the predatory cat, and the beauty of flowers are described by alto and tenor soloists, all lent vivid colour by Imogen Holst’s inspired orchestration. While Rejoice in the Lamb was written originally for organ, in 1952 Britten turned to Holst, his most trusted musical assistant, to produce a chamber orchestration for the Aldeburgh Festival. Holst was an enthusiastic composer, conductor and educator in her own right and it has been gratifying to see recognition of her contribution to British music grow in recent years.

The central section of the work sets a darker tone, with Smart’s open anguish about his persecution by the wider world reflected in Britten’s uncertain, chromatic music. After a mystical bass solo which evokes qualities of God in letters of the alphabet, the music erupts into an ecstatic allegro and the atmosphere of unbridled adulation is restored, as Smart lists how different instruments and their sounds give praise. The piece ends with a recapitulation of the “Hallelujah”, and with it a feeling that all is at peace.

Rejoice in the Lamb exemplifies Britten’s lifelong desire to write pieces that were “useful” and the music is certainly intuitive and enjoyable for amateurs to perform. Singers young and old alike delight at the corkscrews of Jeoffry the cat, the spry antics of the mouse; and who could resist the opportunity to sing the words “silly fellow!” at great volume? (Evident here is the grin of a composer who enjoyed working with amateurs perhaps more than professionals). Furthermore, whilst Britten was not a practising Christian, Rejoice in the Lamb is absolutely cast in the cosy, modest Anglicanism he remembered with fondness from his childhood. Despite this, we never feel that we are shielded from the raw power of Smart’s esoteric text; the highest joy and deepest despair are all communicated directly. In combining all these elements, Britten created a masterpiece that continues to move us, well beyond the singular occasion for which it was created.

Note by Christopher Moore

Text available at https://www.cco.caltech.edu/~tan/Brit...