Aug. 21, 2013. The choir of St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church will present a choral evensong this Sunday afternoon, Aug. 25, at 3:30 p.m. in the nave of the church. Service music will include Freidell’s setting of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis and Preces and Responses by Tim Brown. The Introit will be Parson’s Ave Maria and the Anthem will be Willan’s Fair of Face, a lovely setting of a poem about Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The choir of St. Mary’s sings Evensong one Sunday each month through October, and everyone is welcome. Donations support the Choral Scholarship program at St. Mary of the Hills which provides financial support to students and budding young singers in exchange for outstanding vocal contributions to the choir.
The service of Evensong or Evening Prayer combines elements of two services. Vespers and Compline, which were part of the seven-service daily cycle of prayer in monasteries. It is said or sung everyday in the cathedrals and collegiate churches of England, as well as in this country since 1785. The service is a fragment of the worship offered to God by christian people at every hour, in every part of the world. The form of the service has changed little since the 16th Century, but the content dates back much earlier – to the Psalms, the hymnbook of the Jewish temple, and the Canticles (Magnificat and Nunc dimittis), which are taken from the New Testament. The service is a lovely, quiet way to end the day.
For more information about this service, please contact St. Mary of the Hills at 828-295-7323.
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