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Choral Evensong at St. Stephen’s February 1 at 4 pm

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 3 Main St., Middlebury, will present English composer Alan Ridout’s cantata, St. Edward the Martyr, at Choral Evensong on Sunday, February 1 at 4:00 pm. There is no admission charge and all are welcome to attend. A traditional Anglican rite, Evensong combines the monastic evening services of vespers and compline according to Sarum (Diocese of Salisbury, England) use. Choral Evensong is sung and beloved in Anglican cathedrals and parish churches worldwide. Singing prayers, Psalms, canticles and anthems brings unity of purpose to the prayers offered on behalf of God’s creation. Much music is sung by the choir alone, with the congregation joining for two hymns. Many find that this style of service can help give a meditative gateway as the day comes to a close.  

Alan Ridout (1934-1996) was a British composer and teacher who lived much of his life within walking distance of Canterbury Cathedral and wrote many pieces for use at that famous church. St. Edward the Martyr is a larger work that was written in 1989 for the Montreal Boychoir Training Course sponsored by the Royal School of Church Music. With lyrics by Don Kerr, the cantata tells the dramatic story of Edward (lived 962-978), a pious and gentle boy king who was murdered by a rival faction, but later declared a saint. The major characters in the cantata include the young Edward (sung by a boy treble), older teenaged Edward (sung by a boy whose voice has begun to change), the evil Queen Alfreda, step-mother of Edward, a youth cured of infirmities, and the Bishop. Telling the centuries-old story, some themes resonate clearly in today’s world – as Queen Alfreda sings “Kindness is mere weakness” and the nobles respond “O Lord, you keep them humble. And we will keep them poor. To keep us in our standard is what they’re put here for!” The cantata ends very triumphantly on a positive note with hope for the future.    

The Evening Canticles will be sung to settings by British composer, Joanna Forbes L’Estrange. Forbes L’Estrange (b.1971) is a former singer in and music director of The Swingle Singers. BBC Music Magazine wrote “[she] seems to have been born with catchy melodies coursing through her veins.” Sir John Rutter wrote “This is simply beautiful choral writing by someone who knows, from a singer’s perspective, how to compose music which every choir will want to sing.”