Word: evensong
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...choir has been building all month toward an evensong for All Saints. On the big afternoon, they assemble for a final rehearsal. Nothing goes right. The choir's attempt at a Nunc Dimittis produces dissonance and glances of distress. Some heretic in the alto section sings "Holy Spirit" when everybody else is singing "Holy Ghost." Twice Barber loses his place...
...Then the evensong begins, with the choir in blue robes and white cottas. They sing intensely about a voice from heaven, and as they intone the words "Blessed are the dead, blessed are the dead . . ." bass, tenor, alto and soprano seem to wheel around one another, in an eerie polyphony that rolls across the congregation...
...prescribed in the Rule of St. Benedict, the definitive ninth-century handbook for spiritual reflection. After rounds, they meet for a midday service of psalms and prayers at 12:30 p.m., followed by a lunch of soup, salad, and bread. At 5:40 p.m., they have choir practice, with evensong at 6:00. After that, the community has supper, and then, on talking days, they have recreation at 7:00 p.m. "We all go up to the top common room, chatter for half an hour, and make cocoa. If somebody has received a distinction or is departing, then we have...