February 21, 2008 issue
Choral Evensong at St. Mary of the Hills Sunday
The choir of St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church will sing the first evensong of the season this Sunday, March 2, at 5:00 p.m. in the nave of the chu
rch. Service music will include the setting of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis by Lennox Berkeley, as well as the 17th century Smith Preces and Responses. The Introit will be "Bless, O Lord, us thy servants" by Tim Brown, and the anthem is the Second Chichester Psalm by Leonard Bernstein.
The choir of St. Mary's sings evensong every fourth Sunday from March through October, and the public is always welcome. The service is earlier this month because the choir is preparing to leave on its biennial study trip to Cambridge, England, where the group will once again work with Tim Brown of Clare College, Cambridge University, and will sing evensong with his choir in Clare College Chapel. Donations from this month's evensong will be used to support the choral scholarship program at St. Mary of the Hills; this program provides financial support, generally to students and budding young singers, in exchange for outstanding vocal contributions to the choir.
The service of evensong, or evening prayer, combines elements of two services, vespers and compline, that were part of the seven-service daily cycle of prayer in monasteries. It is said or sung daily in the cathedrals and collegiate churches of England, and in many cathedrals and churches in America as well. The service is a fragment of the worship offered to God by Christian people at every hour, in every part of the world. In attending a service of evensong, it is a if you were dropping in on a conversation already in progress—a conversation between God and God's people that began long before we were born and that will go on long after we are dead. So don't be surprised if there are some things in the conversation that you do not at once understand.
The service is in three parts. The first part prepares the worshipper for the story that is to follow. The second part is the narrative of God's redeeming work, beginning with the psalms, since the recitation of the psalter is at the heart of monastic worship. The story of God's work continues in readings from the Old and New Testaments, and the Canticles of Praise in response to this story (Magnificat and Nunc dimitis) are taken from the gospels. This part reaches its climax in the Affirmation of Faith. The third part is our prayerful response to the God who has been revealed in history, in Jesus Christ, and in the Church. The service is a lovely, contemplative way to end the day.
For more info about the service, contact St. Mary of the Hills at 828-295-7323.
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