Fr. McGrath on "The Daily Services for Morning & Evening"

How time flies. It seems like it was just yesterday I was reading Fr. Daniel's article in the Mandate about the 1940 Hymnal and the Holy Communion service, but he advised me today that the next issue, with Part 5 of his series on the 1940 Hymnal has just been posted online, so it's been two whole months.

This time he leads off with the statement, "The jewel in the crown of Anglican Spirituality is the Order for Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer, but the golden band of the crown itself consists of the Daily Prayer Offices, known as Matins (Morning Prayer) and Evensong (Evening Prayer)."

In my lifelong experience as an Anglican I agree, we have largely let those offices go. He is doing a yeoman's work in making sure these are being said at St. Bartholomew's every day, but he also needs Time Off. We've discussed my taking it on, as Lay Reader, one evening (Monday would be appropriate); I will have to change my work schedule some in order to accomodate this.

But he goes on to talk about the Choral Service for Matins and Evensong. I grew up in a church that sang Morning Prayer and I loved the Venite, exultemus Domino, the Benedictus es, Domine and the Jubilate Deo, led by our choir. I think we sang all three but don't clearly remember; my recollection is further clouded by having recently encountering different tunes.

But a startling point for me in his article is the bit about how the notation used in the Hymnal for plainsong has led to stilted performances wherein the timing is rigidly held to the notation. I have heard this before in a completely different context: that of piobaireachd (Gaelic, in English 'pibroch', roughly meaning "piping"), the classical music of the Highland bagpipe!!

Not many non-pipers even know of piobaireachd, but to pipers it is considered the highest and most difficult art of the bagpipe. Played strictly from memory, the tunes can run up to three quarter-hours in length (and when played in competition -- the judge has the score before him!).

Without going into all the tantalizing titles ("A Flame of Wrath", "The Desperate Battle," "The Old Woman's Lullabye," etc.), there is a big debate over timing with two pitched camps: "This is how it's written so this is how I play it" vs. "The form of transcription is an approximation, express the tune and forget the timing."

Call me old-school (my teacher was old school). The original form of "transcription" was called canntaireachd (Gaelic, roughly "chanted"), a system where each note or ornamentation (gracenotes or runs of gracenotes) had a different syllable. A piper trained in this would know exactly what to play if he heard "hee horo," for example ([American phonetics] the "hee" would be at a high pitch held, the "horo" very quick at lower pitch). The timing was passed on vocally.

In listening to piobaireachd competitions, I've been struck by how much more expressive were the performances unconstrained by rigid timing.

So from this background, when Fr. Daniel writes "It must be sung fluently, in the rhythm of speech only," I can only enter the fray (if there is such in the Anglican musical world) in complete agreement.

And I look forward to having, hearing and enjoying more Plainsong (where appropriate) in our services.