| The Lamb | |
|---|---|
| Choral music by John Tavener | |
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| Genre | Choral anthem[1] |
| Occasion | Third birthday of Tavener's nephew |
| Text | "The Lamb" by William Blake |
| Composed | 1982 |
| Publisher | Chester Music |
| Scoring | SATB choir |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 22 December 1982 |
| Location | Winchester Cathedral |
The Lamb is a choral work written in 1982 by British composer John Tavener (1944–2013). It is a setting of music to the William Blake poem "The Lamb" from Blake's collection of poems Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1789). It is one of Tavener's best known works. Written for unaccompanied SATB choir, the music is minimalistic and combines chromaticism with more conventional harmony.
The Lamb was premiered in Winchester Cathedral on 22 December 1982. It was also performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in Kings College Chapel, Cambridge, on Christmas Eve of the same year. This gave the piece widespread exposure, and it has since become a common part of church services, especially around Christmas. The Lamb featured in the soundtrack for Paolo Sorrentino's film The Great Beauty and has been a set work for the Edexcel A level music examination.
- ^ "Taverner : The Lamb" (PDF). Pearson. Edexcel. Retrieved 27 December 2022.