Choral Evensong Sunday 10 May 2015

CHORAL EVENSONG on Sunday 10th May at 17.30 at St.Francis Anglican Church, Parkview

Come and listen to the beautiful music of Sergei Rachmaninov, Peter Klatzow and Felix Mendelssohn

Evening Prayer or Evensong is a service found in the Anglican church that occurs late in the afternoon or early evening. It is either a completely spoken service or, when music is added, it becomes known as Evensong or Choral Evensong. It can be compared to Vespers that are found in the Catholic and Lutheran Churches.

Choral Evensong begins with a sung introduction followed by a spoken penitential section and the Lord’s Prayer. There is a Psalm for the day that is sung and an Old and New Testament reading. There is a set of Preces and Responses that are sung by the priest and choir. The choir also sings the Magnificat (My soul doth magnify the Lord) as well as the Nunc Dimittis (Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace) and this is followed by an Anthem. There are a few hymns and a short sermon.

This particular Evensong includes

• a movement from the South African composer: Peter Klatzow’s, Prayers and Dances of Africa, a work that is based on a selection of prayers by Desmond Tutu,
• Felix Mendelssohn’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis from the German Service and
• a movement from Sergei Rachmaninov’s Vespers.

Evensong is a contemplative service and lasts no longer than an hour. It is gentle and inspiring and is a wonderful way to end one week of work and start the next one.