Church music in Westminster Abbey

[klwilliams]

Sorry for the delay in updating my trip report. I had a wonderful weekend in which I did nothing but read a novel, go to church, and nap. Ah, heaven.

An addendum to the last post: Almost all of Matins was sung by the choir except the readings and the sermon, including Psalm 95 (Venite), Psalm 35, the Benedicite in B flat by Henry Purcell, and the Benedictus for a short service by William Byrd. After Matins they played Brahms's Fugue in A flat minor. For mass they started with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's Missa brevis, then the choir sang the Lent Prose. The choir also sang the Kyrie Eleison (a long version with nine parts in Greek and nine in English), a gradual hymn that I don't know the name of, and part of Psalm 137. The hymn was Down Ampney 137 NEH (Come down, O love divine). After the service they played a Kyrie by Bach. I hope this is somewhat helpful. I don't know much about church music (having a tin ear) beyond thinking it's beautiful.

Comments

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

Take a look at the notice board in front of the church. They usually list what denomination of church, and what sort of service. Most services are about 45 minutes long. I recommend Matins (usually at a reasonable hour in the morning) or Evensong (usually at 5:00 p.m.), as they are mostly sung services and are very beautiful. Roman Catholic and Church of England churches have these services.