This could be Tavener’s way of expressing a childlike sense of innocence. In bars 1 to 10, the first verse of the poem is sung and followed by the second verse in bars 11 to 20. Setting his profoundly moving 99 Words to music was a final privilege Published: 27 Nov 2017 . before being marked a tempo 'moving forward'. All rights reserved. The 20th century British composers Malcolm Arnold, Benjamin Britten, Peter Maxwell Davies and John Tavener are among the most famous composers to emerge since 1910. The entire work is constructed from this opening bar. The second bar has a two-part homophonic texture due to the addition of the altos. Written in 1979 by John Tavener using the text by the poet William Blake. texture due to the addition of the altos. Some bars have a feeling of 4/4 but others are much freer. Setting his profoundly moving 99 Words to music was a final privilege, These poignant pieces by Duruflé, Vaughan Williams, Tavener and others are beautifully executed by the Choir of Westminster Abbey, writes, Ella Eyre | SBTRKT | Strand Of Oaks | James Ferraro | Dylan Howe’s Subterraneans | Flood Of Beauty, Tavener helped to plan this series before he died, and there was enormous musical variety and vitality in committed performances, writes, Having asked Tavener to write a short piece for him, the cellist, Tavener's publisher praises 'gentle, funny, kind, strong-willed and beautiful', while composer Michael Berkeley calls him a 'mystic'. Tavener instructs that the rhythm must be guided by the words and not by a regular pulse which would normally be imposed on those words. The Lamb is a sacred song performed mainly at Christmas. The lyric line begining with 'an innocent little lamb' is conveyed harmonically by using dissonance. For the line 'who made thee? The melody heard in bars 1 to 2 returns in bars 7 to 10, giving the impression that verse one is in. - A-B-A1 - section B is formed by bars 3-6. British composer John Tavener (born 28 January 1944 in Wembley, London, … Tavener instructs that the rhythm must be guided by the words and not by a regular pulse which would normally be imposed on those words. is a sacred song performed mainly at Christmas. together to reinforce the important words. This could be Tavener’s way of expressing a childlike sense of innocence. ', Tavener uses rhythmic, by doubling the note values. The entire work is constructed from this opening bar. This is then repeated in verse 2. and the bar lines are only there to mark the ends of the poem, . For example, an A minor chord with an added ninth is heard on the lyric 'such', 'all', 'Lamb' and 'know' in bars 7 to 10. The word setting is mostly. This is then repeated in verse 2. texture and uses four notes from the G major scale.