Music In Worship at St Sepulchre's - Choral Music

Tonight was the second “Music in Worship” evening at St Sepulchres, this time focussing exclusively on choral music. The evening was presented by Peter Asprey, the Director of Music. 

The choir sang eight pieces and Peter guided us through each one, giving pointers, based on his personal insights, as to how we might use the music and text to come closer to God; although he stressed from the outset that there is not a definitive or “right” way to engage with music in worship. Peter began by telling us about a friend who converted to Christianity and is now the Abbot of a monastery - a change in life circumstances he puts down entirely to finding God through listening to Mahler’s Second Symphony (the Resurrection Symphony) - particularly the final chorus “Rise again, yes Rise again.”

Peter himself came across as someone with a deep understanding of contemplative prayer and spirituality. Taking time to analyse one piece in detail  (Ave Verum by W.A.Mozart) was revelatory. Peter used this well known work to illustrate how the composer uses moments of tension and resolution to engage our emotions and enhance our worship of God and our prayer life. Peter’s explanation of the musical concepts of made me think of the principles of “consolation” and “desolation” in Ignatian spiritual practices. Although he did not mention this specifically I got a sense as he was speaking that this is an area of interest (or certainly of influence) to his own faith and prayer life. At the start of the talk, Peter explained that there is very little written about the link between music and worship from a spiritual point of view. It was a great privilege - and extremely encouraging - to hear a Director of Music speak so passionately on this topic. 

As I sat listening to the choir I tried to follow Peter’s suggestion to hear the music in a different way - to see images or find one word or phrase that stood out and use this to inspire prayer. I found myself thinking of images I had seen or text I had heard earlier in the day, memories from the past; people I have met, places I have visited and works of art I have seen. Making connections through the inspiration of music.

First, the choir sang “O nata lux” by Thomas Tallis; a hymn written for the Feast of the Transfiguration. 

I had been studying this icon of the Transfiguration earlier in the day and so my first thought was of that image.



The icon shows Jesus and the disciples going up the mountain - Jesus leading the way. After the Transfiguration, Jesus is seen at the back of the disciples as they walk down the hill. God is always with us - sometimes easier to see than at others. 

The word “flesh” in the second verse made me think of “I know that my Redeemer liveth” from the Messiah, which I had heard at Choral Classics at St Stephen Walbrook at lunchtime. The text is from the Book of Job 19.25-26 and provides such a powerful image of how the Holy Spirit is so deeply engrained into every fibre of our being;

“For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;

and after my skin has been thus destroyed,

then in my flesh I shall see God.”

Next, the choir sang more music on a theme of light. Hail Gladdening Light is a piece for double choir - and perhaps because of this I noticed the interplay between the voices more than the first piece - and the phrase “One body with many members” sprang to mind (1 Corinthians 12:1-31). I remembered singing this wonderful music when we visited Newcastle Cathedral in 2012 - when there was a power cut during Evensong and all the lights went out!

Before the next piece, Peter referenced St Augustine and explained that he felt that wherever there is beauty, truth and goodness, God is there; and that because, (as St Ignatius said), God is in all things, wherever you find beauty, you will also find goodness and truth and therefore God. He explained that beauty in all forms - including beautiful music - can be an “arrow of evangelisation.” In this clip from the “Word on Fire” podcast series, Bishop Robert Barron, a catholic priest, uses Evelyn Waugh’s famous novel Brideshead Revisited to explain how the best way to evangelise is “from the beautiful then to the good and then to the true.” 

Next the choir sang Ego flos campi (I am the flower of the field) by Jacob Clemens non Papa. 

As I heard the words “As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” I thought of a meadow on a summer day - and for some reason recalled an archive photograph of the sculpture which would become the altar at St Stephen Walbrook sitting in a field.


Then I remembered that Peter had explained that Jacob Clemens was Flemish, and I thought of the beautiful still life paintings by artists from that area, such as Jan Brueghel the Elder. I thought about the beauty of creation and St Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of Brother Sun and how this has inspired me when I was in the Kruger Park at the New Year.

Next the different voice parts in the choir were called upon to give a demonstration of counterpoint. Peter explained that much of the the work of J.S.Bach contains fine examples of this technique, which is often equated to the concept of the Holy Trinity - one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit; several melodies or ‘voices’ working together independently over and above and around each other to create a beautiful unified whole. The choir demonstrated this by singing the fantastic Gratias agimus tibi from the Mass in B Minor.



I noticed the decoration on the organ case as the choir sang, which looked like vines intertwining. This reminded me of Celtic Christian Art and the “carpet patterns” which decorate books of the period, such as the Book of Durrow.



I recently heard someone say that there is some evidence to suggest that these images were inspired by similar patterns from the orthodox tradition - and that they inspired Islamic art. Connectedness at many levels! 

Peter went on to help us analyse Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart, playing each line on the piano and then pointing out how the composer has used musical techniques of tension and resolution to enhance words and meaning. 

It was interesting to learn that this piece was one of Mozart’s last, written when he knew he was dying. The piece begins with limited harmony set over a still bass line; the prayer starts as an adoration; we are sitting gazing at the Lord. Peter suggested that the setting of the word ‘corpus’ signifies the fragility of the body and the cascade of dissonance at ‘in cruce pro homine’ accentuates the pain of the crucifixion; ultimately the struggle of life ends; musically and in reality, in hopeful resolution. As the choir sang this piece I thought of the Supper at Emmaus by Titian; when the disciples see Christ risen from the dead. I saw this beautiful painting at the Charles I exhibition at the Royal Academy earlier this year. The glimpse of Christ’s face in the reflection of the wine in the chalice in Sieger Koder’s Last Supper also came to mind. A friend on Twitter introduced me to the work of Sieger Koder and I find the images so captivating!

The final three pieces; a Psalm, an anthem and a setting of the Nunc Dimittis are all key elements of Choral Evensong. Peter suggested that the service can be thought of as a dialogue between heaven and earth; readings from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospel being the words from heaven, with the words of the psalmist as our reply.

While the choir sang Psalm 121 to a setting by Walford Davies I thought back to the first Music in Worship session in April (which was equally fascinating), when Reverend David Ingall introduced music sung alternately by the choir and the church’s worship band - covering a diverse repertoire. The idea for these events is great - and an important bridge builder between two different worshipping congregations who have a lot in common! It would be really interesting in a future event to explore in more detail the ways in which different musical traditions have responded to the same piece of scripture. Psalm 121, for instance must have inspired diverse music from Taize, Gregorian and Anglican Chant, to anthems, hymns and contemporary worship songs. Maybe the choir and worship band could even swap roles - the choir singing a contemporary piece and the worship band playing something from the classical repertoire?!

Next the choir sang Te lucis ante terminum (Evening Hymn) set to music by Thomas Tallis - and quite different to the bombastic setting by Balfour Gardiner that is well known. Peter’s reflection that this setting inspires an image of God wrapping a veil of protection around you seemed spot on.

Finally the choir sang Holst’s setting of the Nunc Dimittis.



This music which brought to mind the famous Rembrandt painting which I learnt about at St Stephen Walbrook at Candlemas. In the resolution hat comes with the wonderful final Amen the choir seem to turn into a peal of church bells. I thought of Monet’s series of paintings of Rouen Cathedral and Vierne‘s Carillon de Westminster.

Peter asked us to let the Holy Spirit speak to us through the music next time we attend Choral Evensong, which takes place at St Sepulchre’s every Tuesday evening at 6.30pm. 

The next Music in Worship evening is on Monday 4th June at 6.30pm at St Sepulchre’s and will be led by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Thank you to Peter Asprey, Reverend David Ingall and all at St Sepulchres for these fantastic and informative events. Do come along to the next one! As St Paul says writing to the church in Ephesus : “When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart.”

Links

St Sepulchres Church website