Experiencing Evensong


When I first traveled to London after starting my studies in England, I paid the requisite visit to St. Paul's Cathedral. In a city where many of the best attractions are free, I expected a great deal from my £8.50 admissions ticket. I was not disappointed. 

Several weeks later, however, I felt pulled once more toward the building. My wallet was less inclined. So were my feet, guaranteed gauges of whether I'd "done" the tourist track. I decided there had to be another way to see St. Paul's.

I attended an Evensong. The Anglican version of Evening Prayer, Evensong is usually sung by the church choir. Most Anglican cathedrals in England, as well as the college chapels at Cambridge and Oxford, offer the service regularly; at St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey, an Evensong is given almost daily.  

Based on prayers taken from the 16th-century Book of Common Prayer that English composers (including William Byrd and Daniel Purcell) have set to music, Evensong isn't simply, or perhaps even, a religious experience. It is an opportunity to go back in time--to hear not only the prayers, but the music, of 16th-, 17th- and 18-century England. And where better to do that than St. Paul's Cathedral?

Now, as I sat in the ancient quire, the ceiling's mosaics glittered in the setting sun; the choir's voices arched as high as the dome above. I was experiencing the cathedral as it was meant to be experienced. Perhaps for that reason, or perhaps simply because of the beauty of it all, I felt at peace.

So, for that matter, did my wallet.

Furthermore  London  

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