FW: Choral Evensong

Have you ever heard the Anglican/Episcopal fusion of Vespers and Compline called Evensong? I thought QBR folks would appreciate hearing it for themselves. Please click on the link below for an amazing audio archive.

I have preserved the link in the context of an email from The Anglo-Catholic. Pope Benedict's outreach to Anglicans has some interesting liturgical consequences!

Feed: The Anglo-Catholic
Posted on: Monday, December 28, 2009 9:43 AM
Author: Fr. Anthony Chadwick
Subject: Choral Evensong

Here are some recordings of Choral Evensong from various English cathedrals and major parish churches. If you have the right software on your rig, you can listen in. Choral Evensong (along with Choral Mattins) is undoubtedly the finest gem of the Anglican tradition that I would like to see preserved in the Catholic Anglican Ordinariates. The formula is simple: a very large church in a city with adjoining buildings, a choir school (full boarding – with a good headmaster, masters and matron) for about twenty boys of 7 to 13 years of age evaluated to have good musical potential and a good ear, a professional organist, a professional choirmaster, professional lay clerks (can be teachers at the choir school) to sing the alto, tenor and bass parts, a dean or parish priest who is sympathetic to a rich musical tradition and who won't whine saying "the lay people aren't participating – it's like a concert, etc.", a good staff of clergy, perhaps a chapter of canons. What else do you need? Uhm…. Yes! A lot of money! By the way things are going, there is going to be a tremendous amount of support, and I have every reason to believe something like this will be built up. Each Ordinariate will need a flagship as well as the parishes and tent-maker missions. I was once a choirboy, and I have been organist and choirmaster of a few Anglican parishes. It's hard work and dedication, but it can be done.

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