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Track(s) taken from SIGCD269

The Lamb

First line:
Little lamb, who made thee?
composer
1982
author of text

Jesus College Choir Cambridge, Mark Williams (conductor)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
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Recording details: July 2011
Chapel of Jesus College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Produced by Chris Hazell
Engineered by Mike Hatch & Will Brown
Release date: September 2012
Total duration: 3 minutes 26 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

The Tallis Scholars, Sir John Tavener (conductor)
St George's Chapel Choir Windsor, Christopher Robinson (conductor)
Westminster Cathedral Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor)
The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter (conductor)
The King's Singers
Tenebrae, Nigel Short (conductor)
Tenebrae, Nigel Short (conductor)
Armonico Consort, Christopher Monks (conductor)
The Rodolfus Choir, Ralph Allwood (conductor)
Voces 8
The Choir of the Chapel Royal, Huw Williams (conductor)
St John's College Choir Cambridge, Andrew Nethsingha (conductor)
King's College Choir Cambridge, Sir Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
King's College Choir Cambridge, Sir Stephen Cleobury (conductor)

Reviews

'Another Oxbridge college, another fine mixed-voice choir, another gorgeously captured chapel acoustic (Mike Hatch engineering)—this selection of favourite pieces by mainly British composers makes a pleasingly intimate impression' (Gramophone)
RECORDING

'This album provides a lovely programme of music. The Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge perform beautifully and the album contains a lot of wonderful rarities' (Classic FM)
The Lamb, a short carol to the famous poem by William Blake, was composed in a rush of inspiration and sent immediately to the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, for inclusion in the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols, as well as to Martin Neary, the director at the time of the Choir of Winchester Cathedral, who gave the first performance on 22 December 1982. The music is built on a simple melodic idea and its inversion; the simple but ambiguous chord (in ascending order, the notes A, C, G, B), symbolizing for the composer the simultaneity of joy and sorrow, would appear again and again in his later music.

from notes by Ivan Moody © 2014

Tavener composa The Lamb, un court carol d’après le célèbre poème de William Blake, dans une bouffée d’inspiration. Il l’envoya sans attendre au chœur de King’s College (Cambridge), pour qu’il fût intégré dans le service annuel de Nine Lessons and Carols; il l’adressa aussi à Martin Neary, alors directeur du chœur de la cathédrale de Winchester, qui le créa le 22 décembre 1982. La musique repose sur une idée mélodique simple et son renversement: l’accord simple, mais ambigu (les notes la, ut, sol, si en ordre ascendant), ne cessera de réapparaître chez Tavener, pour qui il symbolise la simultanéité de la joie et de la peine.

extrait des notes rédigées par Ivan Moody © 2014
Français: Gimell

Tavener geistesblitzartig komponierte The Lamb, ein kurzes Weihnachtslied auf das berühmte Gedicht von William Blake, und unverzüglich dem Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, für dessen berühmtes „Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols“ (ein alljährlich am 24. Dezember stattfindender Weihnachtsgottesdienst mit Weihnachtsliedern und Lesungen, der traditionell von der BBC international ausgestrahlt wird, Anm.d.Ü.) zuschickte; außerdem ließ er das Werk Martin Neary zukommen, der zu dem Zeitpunkt Leiter des Choir of Winchester Cathedral war und der es erstmals am 22. Dezember 1982 aufführte. Der Musik liegt eine schlichte melodische Idee sowie deren Umkehrung zugrunde; der einfache, jedoch mehrdeutige Akkord (bestehend, in aufsteigender Reihenfolge, aus den Tönen A, C, G und H), der für den Komponisten die Gleichzeitigkeit von Freude und Trauer symbolisierte, sollte in seinen späteren Werken immer wieder auftauchen.

aus dem Begleittext von Ivan Moody © 2014
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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