Listen To The Lambs was written in 1914 drawing its text from an older spiritual song I Want To Go To Heaven When I Die. It is arranged for eight-part mixed chorus and is known for the way it cleverly mixes passages of partial and full choir and thick and thin textures to create a poignant and moving work. Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) was an African-American Canadian composer and singer who fused together European classical styles with Negro spirituals and was comfortable with a wide range of repertoire. In 1914 he was working with the choir at the Hampton Institute in Hampton Virginia.
