Written for unaccompanied SATB choir, the music is minimalistic and combines chromaticism with more conventional harmony.

It was also performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in Kings College Chapel, Cambridge, on Christmas Eve of the same year.

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.

[4] After finishing the composition, Tavener sent the piece to his publisher Chester Music and asked if they could share it with King's College, Cambridge, for inclusion in their Nine Lessons and Carols service that year.

[6] The premiere of The Lamb took place in Winchester Cathedral on 22 December 1982, and on Christmas Eve two days later it was performed in the Nine Lessons and Carols service.

[4] The poem draws on religious symbolism, primarily the Agnus Dei and the concept of Jesus as the Lamb of God.

[16] From the bass upwards, it consists of the notes A-C-G-B:[8] Since its first performances in 1982, The Lamb has been a popular piece of church music.

[3][7] It is one of Tavener's most commonly-performed pieces,[4] and is often sung in Christmas services due to the text's focus on Jesus as a baby.

[5] As well as being a popular piece sung throughout the Christmas season,[17] it has been used in a phone commercial[13] and in the soundtrack to the film The Great Beauty.