The Lamb Flashcards
What genre of music is this piece?
Sacred choral music; John Taverner was a forerunner of the 20th century choral style
What is the instrumentation used in the piece?
Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass
Which other genre has strongly influenced this work?
Minimalism, through the use of mirror inversion, 2 part homophonic/ homorhythmic phrases, retrograde and modal harmonisation based on the Aeolian mode transposed to E
What is the key signature of the piece?
G major, but the Alto is more like Eb major
Describe the textures used by Taverner in the piece
Begins monophonic, although there is two part homophony in bar 2, which is also homorhythmic. This returns after a monophonic section at bar 5. From there on the piece is in 4 part homophony throughout.
What is the time signature?
Doesn’t have one, but feels loosely like 11 quaver beats per bar
How many pitches are used in the piece?
Only 7
How are the words set?
Syllabically, drawing attention to words of importance
What technical feature is used at bar 2?
Inversion, every interval is inverted in contrimotion
What technical device is used in bar 4?
Retrograde, the melody of bar 3 is reversed
What technical device is used in bar 5 and 6
Mirror inversion
How is the piece structured?
The piece is structured strophically, but it feels more like ternary form
Which chord is referred to as the ‘joy/ sorrow’ chord?
Am9, and these are usually marked in the score with a tenuto for emphasis
What range restrictions do the singers have?
Taverner has stuck strictly to a range of augmented 5ths between parts
What is unique about the singing in bar 11-14?
The SATB sing in octaves
