NOTES
On the first Sunday in July we sang Evensong at Holy Trinity, Wickwar which, despite the wet and thundery weather (and the fact that the church is perched on a hill away from the village centre) was attended by a fair-sized congregation. In a letter I received after the event, the organist said what a treat it was to have the chance of hearing a fully sung Evensong in the church as, like many village choirs, they have not got the resources to sing a fully choral service. Sadly, it seems that Evensong will be sung only in cathedrals and major Parish Churches, which I feel is a great pity, as much as I love the drama of the Eucharist, there is something reflective and timeless about the rhythm and flow of the words of Evensong which has inspired many fine settings of the canticles and responses from eminent composers.
Many years ago I accompanied the choir of St David’s (R.C.) Cathedral, Cardiff on a tour of Germany and Holland. We sang an eclectic mix of music from Tallis to Mathias and included some lesser known German composers like Bruhns and Krebs. In our mix of concerts and masses, the audiences/congregations were all very appreciative. However, one particular work caused quite a stir with questions about the composer, the publisher, how to get hold of copies, are there any more similar pieces etc. The music in question was Stanford’s setting of the Magnificat in B flat major, a work beloved of Parish Church choirs since its composition in the early 1900’s and considerably easier to sing than six-part motets by Weelkes and Gibbons! There is a great wealth of peculiarly Anglican Church Music which, as church choirs become more difficult to maintain, we are in danger of losing. In our own small way at our fortnightly Choral Evensongs we try to make sure that the music of Charles Wood, C V Stanford, George Dyson, Herbert Howells and many other good, but not “front ranking”, composers gets an airing, and the copies are not just gathering dust in the choir library.
On Sunday 15th February 2009 we will be singing Evensong in Exeter Cathedral, but before then will have sung several evensongs at our own church, and for those who really need a more frequent “fix” of Choral Evensong, from September BBC Radio 3 will be broadcasting the service each Wednesday with a repeat on Sunday. It is interesting to note that The BBC has, without a break since 1926, broadcast a weekly service of Choral Evensong. This usually comes live from an English cathedral or collegiate institution, but occasionally it can be 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.
Nigel Davies