At this Sunday’s offering of Choral Evensong, the Parish Choir will sing Basil Harwood’s (1859-1949) Evening Service in A-flat major, Op. 6, a lively setting of the Evening Canticles composed in 1890 in the height of Victorian-era Anglican Church music.
Throughout his life, Basil Harwood maintained a close association with the Church of England and its musical heritage. Born in Gloucestershire, he began his studies as an organist with George Riseley at Bristol Cathedral. Later he moved to Oxford to study music throaty with Joseph Corfe at Trinity College (Oxford) and for a short time he had lessons at the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany. Harwood held his first appointment as organist and choirmaster from 1883 to 1887 at Saint Barnabas’, Pimlico and the proceeded to Ely Cathedral where he was organist and choirmaster from 1887-1893. It was during his time at Ely that Harwood composed the Morning, Communion, and Evening Service in A-flat of which the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis come from. The music clearly shows the influence of the Wesley’s in its rich harmonies, sweeping melodies, delicate phrasing, expressive word-painting, and its confident handling of the various vocal textures throughout the voices of the choir.
The anthem for Evensong is Sir John Rutter’s (b.1940) setting of ‘The Lord bless you and keep you’ which is based on Numbers 6:24-26, a biblical benediction followed by an extended Amen. Rutter composed the anthem in 1981 for the memorial service of Edward T. Chapman, the director of music at Highgate School (London), with whom he had studied when he attended the school. Rutter’s setting is in the ambitious but luxurious key of G flat major (five flats!) and is in common time. While the anthem is rather simple in form at the beginning, with poignant pedal points in the organ accompaniment establishing the key, the anthem turns into a richly polyphonic “amen” at its climax both in range and intensity.
I do hope you will make plans to join the Parish Choir for November’s offering of Choral Evening at 5:30 pm in the Nave. As always, Choral Evensong is preceded by a fifteen minute organ prelude beginning at 5:15 pm.