AS Music Unit 3 Developing Musical Understanding Vocal Music John Tavener The Lamb Introduction, Pitch Organisation & Tonality

What we will cover in this session Tavener The lamb Introduction: text Introduction: the score Pitch organisation The Lamb: live performance

John Tavener The lamb 1982

Text Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed, By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, woolly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice? Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Little Lamb, I'll tell thee, Little Lamb, I'll tell thee. He is called by thy name, For He calls Himself a Lamb. He is meek, and He is mild; He became a little child. I a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by His name. Little Lamb, God bless thee! Little Lamb, God bless thee! Symbolic Child-like imagery Stark simplicity Rhymes Half-rhymes William Blake

Songs of Innocence Christian imagery AA BB CC DD AA AA EF GG FE AA Poet & artists Metaphysical

Score conventions No metre 11 quavers 11/8 Why?Allows for a more naturalistic setting of the text

John Tavener The lamb Pitch organisation

Pitch organisation bar 1: implied tonality Bar 1 Rigorously simple Tonal centre? G Implied key? F sharp leading note G major?

Pitch organisation bar 1 & 2 Prime Version Bar 1 Bar 2 What is the relationship? Prime Version Inversion

Pitch organisation bar 2 Relationship? The intervalsgetprogressivelysmaller MajorMinorMajor Minor Prime + Inversion

Tonality bar 2 G tonal centre G major E flat major Tertiary relationship Bitonal

Pitch organisation bar 3 Bar 3 Intervallic structure Bar 2

Pitch organisation: the hybrid (bar 3) Bar 3 Bar 2

The hybrid retrograde Bar 3Bar 4 Hybrid Hybrid retrograde Adoption of serial principles

Hybrid; hybrid retrograde & inversion Bar 5Bar 6 Hybrid Hybrid retrograde Hybrid inversionHybrid retrograde inversion

John Tavener The lamb King’s College Choir

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