Why I love Evensong

There is a really good article HERE about this topic. I like Evensong because I sang so many of them as a chorister and have attended and played for many since.

Before I was admitted to the cathedral choir I had to attend to get to know the service and it was possible to sit in the stalls at Peterborough where each seat is labelled with the title of the canon or person whose seat it would be on very formal occasions. As the choir processed in the organist would improvise and the 16' pipes would make the woodwork gently vibrate. This anticipatory music created an atmosphere and the dignity of the choir procession was something one seldom saw in normal life. One had thus already started to focus the mind on spiritual matters - by which I mean one could set aside the world outside and feel comfortable in whatever bubble one had created for oneself.

The order of service was always the same - it had to be as it is set out in the Book of Common Prayer. Whereas (especially these days) communion services can vary a little (perhaps a baptism has been shoehorned in), Evensong was a rock of certainty in an uncertain world.

As a chorister it was the whole point of all the hard work and rehearsal. One could sing and not have to stop to be corrected. Of course, one had to concentrate (especially if standing close to the conductor) and I think it is this single-mindedness which I value having had to demonstrate in years gone by.

I am not 'sporty' but the choir was my chance for teamwork and we all knew what to do. I loved being a bookboy: two of us went over early to set out the psalters, chants books and responses for the service.

The service ended formally with a vestry prayer (actually not in the vestry but with the choir lined up out of sight) and the words and voices of the priests who said those prayers and who thanked us for our singing remains with me. One precentor had his own version of Cardinal Newman's prayer.

Support us all the day long of this troublous life,
Till the shades lengthen and the evening comes,
the busy world is hushed,
the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in his mercy grant us safe lodging,
an holy rest, and peace at the last.

(yes, 'an' holy rest is what I am sure he use to say, not 'and', and absolutely not 'a')

Nostalgia? Yes indeed. When I go to Evensong now I can forget that I do not really believe in much of what the church is about and lose myself in reminiscing about how, as a boy, I was responsible with others, for giving the congregation a glimpse of whatever heaven they believed in.

If Evensong moves me to shed a tear, it is a tear of sadness because I know I can never have those youthful days back and I doubt that I valued them enough at the time.