Information AboutEvensong |
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SERVICE The service of Evening Prayer, according to prayer book, is similar in structure to the equivalent Morning Prayer (or ''Mattins''), but with different canticles and with evening-specific collects. Until the last quarter of the 20th century Morning Prayer was the usual morning service in all but very high church parishes, with the Eucharist celebrated as the main morning service once per month or even quarterly. With the virtual disappearance of the service of Morning Prayer, Evensong takes on a special character it formerly lacked. It is made up of the following elements:
In practice, the penitential introduction is often omitted, and apart from in some Cathedral s, usually only one psalm is sung. A Sermon or Homily may be preached at the end on Sundays or other special occasions, such as important Feast Days , but does not form a set part of the liturgy. Also, one or more congregational Hymn s may be added to the service. MUSIC In a fully choral service of evensong, all of the service except the penitential introduction, lessons, the creed and some of the prayers are typically sung by the presiding cleric (or a lay Cantor ) and the choir. Musical settings for Evensong (or "Evening Service") have been written by many English Composer s, including William Byrd and Charles Villiers Stanford . At a particular service, the preces and responses will normally have been set by one composer, the canticles by another and the anthem by a third. As an ordinary service Evensong will start with the preces and responses and proceed with the canticles and psalm set to Anglican Chant , with an anthem after the Third Collect. In cathedrals, or on particularly important days in the church calendar, the canticles, the Magnificat and the Nunc dimittis, are performed in more elaborate settings. Many composers including Herbert Howells , Michael Tippett , Thomas Tallis , Healey Willan , Orlando Gibbons , Henry Purcell , John Tavener have set these texts (some on more than one occasion). They may be in through-composed form which becomes an autonomous piece of music suitable for concert as well as liturgical performance or they may take the form of elaborations of the various forms of chant to which the texts are set, such as Faux Bourdon s for plainchant. Both the anthem and the canticles may use settings by composers from outside the Anglican tradition In extremely high church parishes Evensong may have Plainchant substituted for Anglican chant and may conclude with Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament (sometimes called "Devotions") and the carrying of the reserved sacrament under a humeral veil from the high altar to an altar of repose, to the accompaniment of rather orgiastic music. The service may also include hymns. The first of these may be called the Office Hymn, and will usually be particularly closely tied to the Liturgical theme of the day, and may be an ancient plainchant setting. This will usually be sung just before the psalm(s) or immediately before the first canticle and may be sung by the choir alone. Otherwise any hymns normally come toward the end of the service, maybe one either side of the sermon (if there is one), or following the anthem. These hymns will generally be congregational. Most cathedrals of the Church Of England and a large number of College Chapels in the University Of Oxford and the University Of Cambridge offer this service regularly, often daily. In other Province s of the Anglican Communion , such as the Episcopal Church In The United States Of America , the Anglican Church Of Australia and the Anglican Church Of Canada , it is offered less often, although many parishes do hold special Evensong services occasionally. Notable exceptions are some cathedrals including, for example, Washington National Cathedral which holds the service five times a week, and Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York , which holds it four times each week, as well as Grace Cathedral in San Francisco , St. Paul's Cathedral in Buffalo , St. John's Cathedral in Brisbane , St. Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne , St Peter's Cathedral in Adelaide , St. James' Cathedral in Toronto , St John's Cathedral in St. John's , Newfoundland and Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver , all of which hold the service at least twice a week. BBC Radio 3 regularly broadcasts choral evensong on a Wednesday afternoon at 16:00 UK time (and occasionally on Sunday evening also). This usually comes live from an English cathedral or collegiate institution. However, it is occasionally a recording, or is replaced by a different form of service or a service from a church elsewhere in the world and/or of another denomination. The most recent broadcast is available on the BBC's "Listen Again" service for up to a week after the original broadcast. SEE ALSO External links
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