Trinity Choral Evensong returns on Sunday, May 26th, 2024 at 5:30 pm
“Choral Evensong is one of the most special and prized liturgical traditions of the Anglican Church. It dates back to around 1000 AD and was used to describe Vespers, the seventh of eight daily offices practiced in Roman Catholic Monasteries which traditionally occurs around sunset. The modern Anglican Evensong service includes sung settings of the Canticles, (Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis) Psalm, Responses (prayers) and an Anthem that draws its text either from scripture or prose.
The music for this service includes works by Charles Villiers Stanford, Benjamin Britten and Bernard Rose. Stanford’s settings of the Evening Canticles are among the most beloved and widely performed in the Anglican Church and are rich in their use of harmony and ‘text-painting’. Benjamin Britten’s “Jubilate Deo” was commissioned for the Choir of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor in 1961 by his late Royal Highness, Prince Philip. It draws its text from Psalm 100. Bernard Rose served for many years as Director of Music at Guildford Cathedral and composed this challenging, yet wonderfully attractive set of Preces & Responses for the Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford. The treble line in the response “and make thy chosen people joyful” is the same as the chime of the Magdalen College clock.”