One morning seated at the piano, I listened to Sir Ralph Richardson recite William Blake’s poem ‘The Lamb’ on perpetual loop, desiring earnestly to capture its simplicity and timelessness. After a long period of silence, I began to play. It was as if a gateway had opened, and the setting was finished in almost real-time. It was the first time such a thing had happened to me when writing. I don’t know if that experience will ever happen again, but I’ll cherish it always with profound gratitude.

SATB divisi and soprano solo

Difficulty | Medium

Both solo and choral parts are reasonably simple with occasional trickier harmonic twists, but the meditative, cyclical nature of the piece results in a very manageable amount to learn. Great care in tuning, balance and ensemble is required in order to paint the childlike simplicity of the poem and get the most out of the work.

£20 for 20 copies

Scroll down to watch VOCES8 perform this piece