Choral Evensong with Organ Rededication featuring choir and organ. Choral Evensong is a service of sung evening prayer. As day settles into night, the Cathedral Choir settles worshippers into a peaceful place of rest and contemplation. The text of the service is drawn almost entirely from the Bible. Its main purpose is to proclaim the wonderful works of God in human history, and in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sung psalms, canticles, and hymns are interwoven with readings from the Old and New Testaments and the recitation of the Apostles’ Creed and Lord’s Prayer. Evensong remains a sacred tradition practiced in churches and religious communities around the world.
Evening Prayer is an Anglican liturgy that is celebrated in the late afternoon or evening. When it is mostly sung, it is commonly referred to as Evensong or Choral Evensong. This liturgy, as prescribed by our Book of Common Prayer, consists of a spoken penitential introduction, including the General Confession, Verses and Responses also known as Preces, one or more Psalms concluding with the Gloria Patri, two lessons from the Bible, several prayers and collects, and an anthem. The first Bible lesson is generally taken from the Old Testament and the second from the New Testament. When the service includes a Eucharist, a Gospel lesson must also be included. Two canticles, the Magnificat or Song of Mary and the Nunc dimittis or Song of Simeon, follow the Old and New Testament readings respectively. The service may also include one or more hymns.