VOCES8: Rejoice in the Lamb by Benjamin Britten (orchestrated by Imogen Holst)
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- 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 www.cco.caltech.edu/~tan/Brit... - Розваги
Perfect setting. Meticulous audio balance. And may I say...as much as I enjoyed hearing his gorgeous voice harmonizing with the VOCES8, I believe Mr. Barnaby Smith is truly in his element at the conductor position! Brilliantly done sir. Heavenly!
I agree... he's a brilliant musician and conductor and his interpretations are absolute perfection.
True ❤
Stunningly beautiful! Thank you so much for this impressive and moving rendition.
I sang this piece (and the Mouse solo) decades ago, and it was the beginning of my lifelong love affair with the music of Benjamin Britten. I am incredibly grateful to hear your exquisite rendition of this music that has been rooted in my heart for so long. Thank you.
Thank you, as a swede I have no relation to this work, but I am beginning to like it more and more. And my appreciation of Benjamin Britten is steady!
Wonderful, I love that VOCES8 is widening the musical horizon with cooperation with other musicians.
Incredible performance! And thank you for mentioning Imogen Holst's arrangement; I was not aware of her and will have to look into her music as well.
THAT, was such a welcome surprise!
Glorious, magnificent,
and amazing!
I felt as if I was in the audience watching a
magical play at a theater.
I'd highly recommend everyone to read the information about how & why this was written, as well as the circumstances.
Thank you all.
Have a beautiful, blessed week. ❤
Thank you, as a swede I didnt know so much about this work. Now I know a little more.
😅😅😅😅😅😅😊😅😅😅
Nn
Superb performance! Voces8 soloists were wonderful. The orchestration is beautiful. Bravo to the clarinetist!!
Here for Voces8, but these instrumental musicians are just as phenomenal!
Never heard it done better. Clear as a bell throughout.
LOVE this orchestration
Ich bleibe ein Bewunderer und Liebhaber von VOCES8. Grüße an alle Kommentatoren. 👍
Superb, magnificent, excellent!
THANK YOU, MORE PLEASE!
What a glorious arrangement…This is just flawless beauty!…🙏🌎✨😌✨
For at that time malignity ceases
and the devils themselves are at peace.
For this time is perceptible to man
by a remarkable stillness & serenity of soul.
Only Britten can pull this off;
interjecting a passage of indescribable beauty within a narrative.
Musically & dramatically inevitable, with perfect word setting.
As though ...
An angel
called him out of Heaven
saying ...
I confess: as a swede I have not the right tools to understand the lyrics completely. I have to rely on the music, and some words in the text. But this is enough to understand how text and music relates to each other. Or is it almost enough?
The choir is generally in a class of its own, especially the singers from Voces8. But what is also fantastic in every performance on this channel is the camera and editing. It's as excellent as the musical performance, in fact the camera "sings" directly with the editing by putting the actors in the limelight. a fantastic total masterpiece!
I agree so much!! A real pleasure to hear and see
Amen, sir. Brilliant observation.
Once again, you have chosen to perform one of my favorite pieces of music. I had the opportunity of singing this with the University of Hawaii Chorus back in the early 1970s--it's a wonderful piece to perform. The words are by the mad Elizabethan poet Christopher Smart. The central movement where Smart laments his madness is just shattering: "For I am under the same accusation with my Saviour/ For they said, 'He is besides himself.'" A wonderful performance!
I too sang this decades ago. What a joy to here it again with instruments. Tears all the way through.
Thank you Christofer for the notex
Great memories of singing bass and bass solo in this one, with the organ. I enjoyed this orchestral version as well and the overall performance.
my favorite piece and my favorite ensemble!!! I'm so lucky !!
Beautiful.
Heartwarming to see singers and instrumentalists clearly revelling in this team effort resulting in a superlative finished product.
Wow! What memories. We sang this composition in "all county choir" in Long Island NY, also with an all county orchestra. It was comprised of the best high school musicians on L.I. Those are very fond memories.
🤯 WOW! Well done! 💗
Another extraordinary performance. Each voice is a gem shimmering in the sunlight, always outdoing yesterday's victory in pursuing excellence. Look at your accomplishments. I have been with you since the beginning, and I see the remarkable growth and maturity of artists, collaborators, performers, and scholars. Please pass on your gifts to others; keep teaching, which is the most valuable gift you can give.
Magnificent, a tour de force, thank you, thank you, thank you....
I so look forward to hearing VOCES8 live when they are here in October. What a splendid recording of this work! Thank you!
Bravo continué à nous faire rêver félicitations ❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏
Wonderful! The clarinettist is phenomenal!
Julian Bliss is his name. We agree!
Every single thing in the whole video is just phenomenal, but yes, I agree. The clarinet stood out for me too!
@@VOCES8 A "blissful" performance then!
A stunning performance sung with great beauty and simplicity. Thank you.
Good stuff 👍🇬🇧
Everything about this is wonderful!
That was certainly the most delightful performance of this work that I've ever heard! Light instead of ponderous, with excellent diction. I think this is the first time I've heard the Cat and Mouse solos sung by women instead of a boy soprano and a male alto--a lovely change. Looking forward to hearing you live in October!
amazing as always :)
Love this piece! Well done!
This is gorgeous. Thank you Voces8 ❤
Excellent performance.
Just magnificent ❤️❤️❤️
Top! Dankjewel voor dit prachtige werk met zo'n mooie uitvoering!
Incredibly beautiful!!
One of my favorite pieces.
Gorgeous and breathtaking!
Fantastic! ❤❤
Well rehearsed, superb production. Very good dynamic range. The colour, the blend, conducting, Andrea on spot and expressive... a joy to observe and listen.
Absolutely wonderful. Thank you!
Excellent performance as usual from voices 8 with an orchestra to match.
Magnifique
Perfection.
Absolutely perfect!!
Wonderful performance of this gorgeous piece! Thank you
Fantastic!! Bravo!!
my favorite ensemble too !! thanks so much for sharing ....
👏🏻👍🏻👌🏻
❤❤❤
아 너무좋습니다. 예전에 이 노래도 해달라 한적이 있는데, 고맙습니다!
Pięknie 😊
❤
Katie!
OMG, Barney and Voces8, this is absolutely perfect! Please tell me you’re going to release this on EP. I’ll be first in line to buy it!
Glad you like it. It’s available now on our new album called ‘to sing of love’
Something for musical gourmets. Great!
Hi voces8 I was at your work shop today in Perth at trinity
Alluring, sublime and paradisical. ❤Britten, Smart, Voces8, whoever . . . “Everyone is a candidate for greatness in the eyes of the Almighty.” James A. Washington
❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏
Beautiful as Imogen's arrangement is, I can't help feeling Britten's sparse organ better sets off the voices. Britten is of course the only Great Composer who was also a Great Choral Composer
💖💫💖💫💖💫💖💫💖
Zo klinkt de hemel.
I'm much more familiar with Rutter than Britten. I shouldn't be surprised how much Rutter has borrowed from this. Parts of it are so similar to Rutter's Requiem it sounds like a reorchestration.
I truly love Voces 8, and this Britten is sublime. But in the unison section at 14:15, both women and men, I am hearing some scooping in the voices, perhaps intentional in a “lazy river” way, but I didn’t like it and I didn’t feel that it had any place in the piece. Because they were trying to limit vibrato, perhaps this lent to the issue.