What is Choral Evensong?

A service of Choral Evensong performed at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England.

Across the United Kingdom, social commentators have long recognized a downward trend in attendance in the nation's churches on Sundays. This corresponds to a growing secularization in the wider culture, a trend we are experiencing in the United States as well.

There was one crucial exception to this trend however. Attendance across the nation was actually up at one particular kind of service. It was the many Choral Evensongs sung every evening throughout the cathedrals, collegiate churches, and in some large parishes of the nation. Even non-Christian commentators have applauded this trend. Australian atheist Dick Gross has publicly argued for the enduring value of Choral Evensong, and why it should be supported even by the "godless."

If you are curious about all the hub-bub, wonder no more. This coming Sunday, Holy Trinity Parish, right here in humble Hillsdale, Michigan, will take a crack at this venerable service. And our excellent choir will do a beautiful job of it too, if you may permit a pastor to boast a bit about his congregation.

But what is it? In short, it's the traditional service of Evening Prayer sung. A few things worth noting here.
​

1. The service of Evening Prayer is a direct descendant of the ancient daily evening services of the earliest Christian churches, mediated to us by the monasteries of the medieval centuries. Its evening New Testament hymns, the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis have been recited by Christians in the evening since ancient times.
2. The service as we now have it is the product of sixteenth century Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, the architect of the venerable Book of Common Prayer as a whole, and England's first Protestant Archbishop. It was an intentional adaptation of the medieval monastic prayers designed to make the service both more publicly accessible, and a more friendly platform for the regular public reading of Scripture, both foundational issues for the Protestant Reformers across Western Europe and not just in England.
3. The tradition of singing the service also goes back many centuries before the Protestant Reformation, and it continued for many centuries afterwards (to the present day, in fact!). Cranmer's alterations to the medieval service made for a unique vessel for choral composers; with the evening Canticles (the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis) together in one service, choral arrangements of each could be composed together as a set. 
4. As a consequence of this, Evensong has been the locus of a vast chunk of sacred choral music composed in the English language since the sixteenth century. The repertoire for Evensong is nearly endless, which is why the service can still be performed daily (by professional choirs, of course; the music is not easy!) throughout England without getting old. The words remain constant (other than the Scripture readings themselves, which change daily), but the music is always changing.

It is truly a remarkable service, one beloved the world over, without any exaggeration. Only choirs of a slightly higher caliber can hope to pull a full blown Choral Evensong off, and Holy Trinity's choir will make the attempt. In fact, this is their second attempt in less than six months, and past precedent shows they will not be unsuccessful.

So consider carving out an hour of your time on Sunday evening and joining us for this breathtaking service of worship to God's divine majesty.

​But remember, with the choir doing a lot of singing, it may feel more like a concert, but it is for the public worship and glorification of God that this service is designed. So come ready not just to hear a good performance, but to pray inwardly what the choir sings outwardly, and above all things to give glory to Almighty God.