Choral Evensong
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CHORAL EVENSONG 5:00 P.M. SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014 THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT CHRIST CHURCH 118 N. WASHINGTON ST. ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314 www.HistoricChristChurch.org CHORAL EVENSONG is the service of Evening Prayer with choral music. It is sung in cathedrals with choral foundations on a more or less daily basis, and in many parish churches around the world. The Prayer Book of 1662 established the pattern for Choral Evensong which remains in common usage throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion. Since the earliest Christian times, the need to mark the passing of time with prayer has been recognized. The monastic cycle of prayer began in the desert with Anthony in the fourth century and continues to this day. By the Reformation, Vespers had become an elaborate musical celebration in the evening. The English Reformation demanded that the vernacular be the language of worship and resulted in the liturgical simplicity of Thomas Cranmer’s services of Morning and Evening Prayer. The provision of music for this structure and these words was the task of men like Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons, and Tomkins, whose creativity laid the foundations of Anglican choral worship. Choral Evensong is the quintessence of such worship. The canon of music for Evensong continues to grow, with composers from around the world contributing to it. Unlike the Eucharist, which follows the movement of the Church calendar, and unlike private prayer, which follows the events of our lives, the daily office follows its own rhythm. The readings are done “in course,” and are not specifically chosen to make a particular point, and the canticles (Magnificat and Nunc dimittis) are the same each day. As such, the office provides an objective aspect to our worship and a rhythm to Anglican spirituality as a whole. Dating from the time of the temple in Jerusalem, the choral recitation of psalms remains one of the oldest forms of worship. By listening and following along with the Psalm, we join with the people of God who waited for the coming of the kingdom of God. After the Psalm, the first lesson is read. The choir then sings Magnificat, the song which the Blessed Virgin Mary sang in joyful response to the announcement that she would be the mother of our Lord. In this song, all the hopes of the people of God are recounted and Mary proclaims that, in the Incarnation, God has acted and fulfilled all that he promised. We then hear part of the record of that fulfillment when the second lesson, from the New Testament, is read. Following this reading is Nunc dimittis, the song of the aged Simeon, which acknowledges the salvation of all nations in Christ Jesus. In most liturgies, we, the worshipers, must do two things: speak with our lips, and meditate with our hearts. Choral Evensong is one of the rare occasions when the congregation is able to focus solely on the latter, allowing the prayers and praises being sung by the choir, to be those of the entire faith community, and particularly, of this parish. Please silence all electronic devices. We invite you to put on a name tag, which can be found in your pew rack. If you are visiting with us this evening, please fill out a pew card and place it in the offering plate so that we may send you information about the mission and ministry of this congregation. Parents and children are welcome to use the Infant Caring Room, which provides a video link to the worship service. (Enter the Parish House double doors, turn right and go up the stairs and through the corner door. Go straight ahead through the next door and then keep right.) Prelude: The Stations of the Cross, Op. 29 Marcel Dupré (1886-1971) VIII. Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem Introit Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh, shadows of the evening steal across the sky. Jesus, give the weary calm and sweet repose; with thy tenderest blessing may our eyelids close. Grant to little children visions bright of thee; guard the sailors tossing on the deep, blue sea. When the morning wakens, then may I arise Pure, and fresh, and sinless in thy holy eyes. Text: Sabine Baring-Gould Music: Haworth P. Bromley (b. 1947) Please stand and sing. Hymn 44 Te lucis ante terminum Opening Sentences -1- Invitatory and Psalter Craig Phillips (b. 1961) Officiant: O Lord, open thou our lips. Choir: And our mouth shall show forth thy praise. Officiant: O God, make speed to save us. Choir: O Lord, make haste to help us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Officiant: Praise ye the Lord. Choir: The Lord’s Name be praised. The People are seated. Psalm 145 Plainsong, Tone VIII.2 I will exalt you, O God my King, and bless your Name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless you and praise your Name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; there is no end to his greatness. One generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your power. I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty and all your marvelous works. They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts, and I will tell of your greatness. They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; they shall sing of your righteous deeds. The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is loving to everyone and his compassion is over all his works. All your works praise you, O LORD, and your faithful servants bless you. They make known the glory of your kingdom and speak of your power; -2- That the peoples may know of your power and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your dominion endures throughout all ages. The LORD is faithful in all his words and merciful in all his deeds. The LORD upholds all those who fall; he lifts up those who are bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon you, O LORD, and you give them their food in due season. You open wide your hand and satisfy the needs of every living creature. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving in all his works. The LORD is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him faithfully. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and helps them. The LORD preserves all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD; let all flesh bless his holy Name for ever and ever. Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. The First Lesson Ezekiel 37:1-14 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had -3- covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord. Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. The People stand. Magnificat from The Huntsville Service Philip Moore (b. 1943) My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.