The King’s College Chapel Choir and the King’s Chorus are teaming up again to present Rejoice in the Lamb, a concert featuring great English choral works of the 20th century. The program will include Benjamin Britten’s cantata Rejoice in the Lamb, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, Herbert Howells’ Te Deum (Collegium Regale) as well as other glorious music of the last hundred years. The choirs will be joined by organist Matthew Larkin and baritone Shay Burkhart.
The English choral tradition in the 20th century was the beneficiary of a rich musical culture of church and folk music cultivated over thousands of years. That musical tradition deeply embedded in folk and sacred music gave choral music of the era its unique character. Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams both shared a keen interest in the folk tradition; Vaughan Williams, in fact, was a notable collector of folk songs and hymns. The influence of that interest is evident in all their music, whether instrumental, sacred choral or in their arrangements of folk songs. Vaughan Williams’ setting of George Herbert’s poetry in his Five Mystical Songs is one such work in which the influence of folk music is unmistakable.
One of Britten’s most beloved choral works is his 1943 cantata, Rejoice in the Lamb. The genesis of the work began while Britten was visiting the United States in 1942. During the visit, he was introduced by W. H. Auden to 18th-century poet Christopher Smart’s idiosyncratic and at times eccentric devotional poem, Jubilate Agno. Upon his return to England, Britten was commissioned to compose a choral piece for the 50th anniversary of St. Matthew’s Church, Northampton, and chose Smart’s poem to serve as the text of the commission. Britten’s setting of the poem reflects the whimsical description of the ways in which God manifests himself in the world—a cat, a mouse, flowers, letters of the alphabet and musical instruments—resulting in a wholly unique choral work of the 20th century, and one of Britten’s most revered pieces.
Alongside the aforementioned works, the King’s choirs, accompanied by esteemed organist, Matthew Larkin, will perform other extraordinary English choral repertoire of the 20th century in the stunning acoustic of the Cathedral Church of All Saints in downtown Halifax.
Tickets are for sale at the King’s Bookstore, either in-person or on their website: kingsbookstore.ca/concerts.
