Contemplative Evensong Contemplative E Vensong
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Contemplative Evensong Contemplative E vensong Unlocking the Spiritual Power of the Sung Offi ce CHARLES HOGAN Dedicated in memorium to Peter Hallock (1924–2014), who guided not only the writing of this book, but generations of liturgical musicians, and inspired countless souls to occasions of song in the evening. MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc. 1727 Larkin Williams Road, Saint Louis, Missouri 63026-2024 morningstarmusic.com © 2015 by MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Published 2015 Printed in the United States of America No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, recording, photocopying or otherwise, anywhere in the world, including public perfor- mance for profi t, without the prior written permission of the above publisher of this book. ISBN 978-0-944529-69-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015917118 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION xi CHAPTER 1 A Rationale for the Power of the Offi ce in Contemporary Life 1 Th e Present Quandary 1 Evensong? 4 A Proven Format 5 Ancient Meets Modern 6 Flexible Resources 6 Th e Apologia 7 Our Spiritual Climate 7 Where Are We? 9 How Did We Get Here? 12 East Meets West 13 1960s Infl uence on Liturgy and Music 15 A Resurgence of Spirituality 16 Generation X and the Millennials 17 Some Basic Conclusions 19 Contemplation and Transformation 19 Th e Journey Within 20 Music as an Icon 24 Th e Offi ces in the Life of a Sacramental Church 25 Balancing Tradition and Innovation 26 Incorporating Contemplative Evensong 28 Integrity of Intent 28 Th e Rationale 30 CHAPTER 2 A Rationale for the Legacy of Plainchant in Evensong 31 An Historical Background of the Development of the Offi ce 31 Liturgy in Transition 33 Th e First English Prayer Book 34 Later Prayer Book Revisions 37 Music and the Transition 38 A Final Th ought about the Offi ce in Contemporary Life 40 viii Contemplative Evensong: Unlocking the Power of the Sung Offi ce CHAPTER 3 Singing and Teaching Chant 43 Approaching Chant for the First Time 43 Rhythm 43 Matching Text and Chant 45 Plainchant 45 Fauxbourdon 46 Anglican Chant 47 How to Read Chant Notation 47 Plainchant Formulas 48 Anglican Chant 50 Various Modes of Recitation 53 Breathing the Psalms 55 Conducting Chant 61 Concluding Th oughts 62 CHAPTER 4 Practical Aspects of Creating Contemplative Services 63 Creating an Environment Conducive to Meditative Prayer 63 Th e Physical Environment 63 Lighting 64 Th e Power of Fragrance 65 Visual Focal Points 67 Tactile Focal Points 68 Accompaniment 68 Preparing the Worshippers 69 Instituting a Choral Service 71 Practical Liturgical and Ceremonial Aspects 73 Liturgical Leadership 73 Keeping Time with the Offi ce 73 Th e Calendar 74 Th e Architecture of Worship 75 Opening Sentence(s) 76 Confession of Sin 77 Opening Versicles 78 Phos hilaron 78 Th e Psalter 78 Th e Lessons 80 Contents ix Canticles 81 Th e Apostles’ Creed 82 Prayers 82 Hymns and Anthems 84 Final Prayers 85 Concluding the Service 86 Evensong in Conjunction with Eucharist 86 Evensong in Conjunction with Benediction 88 An Alternative Opening Rite 89 Churches with Modest Resources 90 Other Related Issues 91 CHAPTER 5 Adapting the Evensong Liturgy for Other Churches 93 Lutheran Churches 93 Methodist Churches 95 Presbyterian Churches 98 Roman Catholic Churches 102 Baptist and other Non-liturgical Churches 102 Universalism 102 SUMMARY Towards an Organic Wholeness 105 APPENDIX A Liturgical and Musical Checklist 107 Bibliography 109 Additional resources are available on the product page for this book at http://www.canticledistributing.com/catalog/product/view/sku/90-80. x Contemplative Evensong: Unlocking the Power of the Sung Offi ce EXAMPLES Ex. 1-1. ECUSA advertisement equating work and worship 12 Ex. 2-1. Diagram showing grafting of Vespers and Compline for 1552 36 BCP Evensong Ex. 2-2. Diagram showing the grafting of Vespers and Compline for 1662 38 BCP Evensong Ex. 3-1. Natural speech rhythm in the Decalogue 44 Ex. 3-2. Good chant rhythm 44 Ex. 3-3. Poor chant rhythm 45 Ex. 3-4. Tone v, ending 1 45 Ex. 3-5. Tone ii, ending 1 46 Ex. 3-6. Strict fauxbourdon for tone viii 46 Ex. 3-7. Tone viii, ending 1, with components labeled 48 Ex. 3-8. Psalm 111:3a pointed and underlaid to tone viii 48 Ex. 3-9. Psalm 111:3 pointed and underlaid to tone viii 49 Ex. 3-10. Psalm 111:3-4 pointed and underlaid to tone viii 49 Ex. 3-11. Plainsong underlay demonstrating single note mediant cadence 49 Ex. 3-12. Psalm 8:9b demonstrating note for extra syllables 50 Ex. 3-13. Th e Tonus peregrinus 50 Ex. 3-14. An Anglican single chant 50 Ex. 3-15. Psalm 115:5 pointed and underlaid to a single chant 51 Ex. 3-16. Anglican chant underlay demonstrating slurred syllable 51 Ex. 3-17. Anglican chant underlay demonstrating multiple syllables 52 per cadential note Ex. 3-18. Anglican chant underlay demonstrating omission of the reciting tone 52 Ex. 3-19. Teaching Anglican chant to days of the week 59 Ex. 3-20. Teaching Anglican chant by singing component parts 59 Ex. 3-21. Writing out component parts within pointed text 60 Ex. 3-22. Moving singers through the cadences 60 Ex. 4-1. Some possible bell clusters 69 Ex. 4-2. Opening sentence in underlay 77 Ex. 4-3. Formulae for singing the lessons 80 Ex. 4-4a & 4-4b. Ending the lessons 80 Ex. 4-5. Modifi ed Sarum Creed ending 82 Ex. 4-6. Collect tone 83 Ex. 4-7. Benediction versicle and response 89 Ex. 4-8. Short scripture tone 89 Ex. 5-1. Methodist opening proclamation 96 Ex. 5-2. Methodist prayers 97 Ex. 5-3. Methodist dismissal 97 Ex. 5-4. Presbyterian opening sentence 98 Ex. 5-5. Presbyterian Lenten sentences 98 Ex. 5-6. Presbyterian Eastertide Th anksgiving for Light 99 Ex. 5-7. Presbyterian versicle and response for Prayers 101 Ex. 5-8. Presbyterian dismissal rite 101 INTRODUCTION Blessed are you, Lord God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening.1 How does the Church, in the early part of its third millennium, address the hunger for liturgies that embody this benediction? What outlets do we off er for the world to express its need for peace? Where can souls fi nd moments of stillness and solace? Many of us in positions of designing worship for the modern Church grope for spiritual experi- ences to satisfy these needs. In 2006, James Diamond (then dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, Ohio) asked me to engineer a weekly service of Compline similar in style to St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, Washington. Like many music directors across the American Church, I had familiarity with Compline, given that I had worked for the prior six years in a parish which off ered the Offi ce. Th ere, at Holy Comforter, Burlington, North Carolina, the service seemed ideal because the volunteer choir could confi dently sing the few and fi xed chants with fl exibility and understanding (we used David Hurd’s reworking of the Latin rite as found in Th e Hymnal 1982). Further, we combined this music with some modern-harmony Anglican chants and gave careful attention to creating an ambiance conducive to quiet prayer. Th is combination equipped us with a setting fertile for the contemplative experience. Using the 1979 Prayer Book version of Compline, we provided our fellow worshippers repose and restoration through a meditative, spiritual experience in con- temporary language. 1. Th e Book of Common Prayer, (Th e Church Hymnal Corporation, New York, and the Seabury Press, 1979), page 113. xii Contemplative Evensong: Unlocking the Power of the Sung Offi ce Toward the end of those six years, questions emerged for me. Why were we Episcopalians using Compline? When Archbishop Cranmer crafted Evensong, did he strip the two antecedents of Vespers and Compline of their character in order to create a new aesthetic, or did he leave room to develop a character for the hybrid service that could lean more in one direction than the other? With a little thought, I realized that my experience of Evensong up to that point had been very much Vespers oriented; that is to say a service at fi ve o’clock with great attention paid to festival settings of the canticles, a grand anthem, and elaborate prayer responses. What if, in response to my dean’s request, I instead explored Evensong from the Compline aesthetic using fi xed, contemplative chants sprinkled with modern harmonies in a candlelit service closer to bedtime? I seized upon this opportunity to more fully explore the Anglican rite of choral Evensong. Th e next two years proved to be very satisfying. To my delight, this experiment was successful. I created a meditative, spiritual experience consistent with Compline, using the principles of the Latin rite, while conforming to the format of Evensong. I did not expect, though, the paucity of resources for this style of music. While such music exists in plenty, I found no compendium of atmospheric harmonized chants. Further, I favored fauxbourdon settings of the canticles. Of these set- tings, I only found editions with texts either in Latin or in sixteenth century English. In order to conform to 1979 Prayer Book language (the cathedral exclusively used Rite Two), I had to re-point texts to go along with all of these settings.