All are welcome to a free hour of candlelit music and reflection. Directed by five-time Grammy winner Paul Halley.
Sunday, 24 January 2016, 4:00 PM
St John’s Anglican Church, Truro
The University of King’s College Chapel Choir from Halifax is perhaps best known to audiences around Nova Scotia for their concert performances featuring such masterworks as J.S. Bach’s St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and B Minor Mass; or their annual tour of A King’s Christmas with a guest narrator; or their exploration of rarely-performed musical gems during their annual For All The Saints performances at the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Halifax. But, as the group’s name suggests, what the student choristers of the Chapel Choir do most often – week in and week out during the academic term – is sing services in the University of King’s College Chapel, including a weekly Choral Evensong. This week, they will bring this tradition to Truro, offering a candlelit Choral Evensong service at St John’s Anglican Church on Sunday, January 24th at 4:00 p.m. as a special thank-you to Truro residents for all the support and interest they have shown for the King’s Chapel Music Programme in recent years.
The most beautiful choral sound of the western world for 500 years has been associated with the singing of Choral Evensong in collegiate chapels. Evensong was originally formed by Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury during Henry VIII’s reign, who combined elements from the monastic offices of Vespers and Compline to create a service of Evening Prayer more suitable for general use. Evensong soon developed from Evening Prayer as a more musically-rich version of the service, and was set out in the 1662 English Book of Common Prayer. Choral Evensong has been a mainstay of the Anglican choral tradition ever since.
The service on January 24th will feature Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer for soprano soloist, choir, and organ; an 8-voice setting of the Magnificat by Italian Renaissance composer Luca Marenzio; organ music by J.S. Bach (played by Paul Halley), and more. The inspired voices of 20 choristers in the intimate setting of St John’s Anglican Church will offer a sublime and contemplative experience for persons of any or no religious persuasion. All are welcome.
About the Chapel Choir: The University of King’s College Chapel Choir, directed by Paul Halley, is known for its annual King’s at the Cathedral concert series and its performances have been broadcast nationally on CBC Radio 2. The choir’s 2013 release, Let Us Keep the Feast won the Outstanding Choral Recording Award from Choral Canada. The choir comprises 24 choristers from the King’s College and Dalhousie University communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is modeled on the chapel choirs of Cambridge and Oxford. The choir’s primary function is to sing at the weekly services in the King’s College Chapel, as well as other major services throughout the academic year.
About the University of King’s College: Established in 1789, King’s College is Canada’s oldest chartered university. A small and extraordinarily lively academic community located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, King’s is known nationally and internationally for its highly acclaimed interdisciplinary programs in the humanities and journalism. www.ukings.ca
Contact information (for media inquiries):
Vanessa Halley, Chapel Choir Manager
University of King’s College
902.717.0597 (cell)
vanessa.halley@ukings.ca
