Te lucis ante terminum: A Tudor Compline
Monday 22nd February 2010, 7.00pm
St Mary at Hill, Eastcheap, London, EC3R 8EE
Led by David Allinson
Tickets: £10 (£8 Friends and concessions)
The monastic day traditionally ends with the simple service of Compline. This simple, evocative service of prayer before bedtime dwells upon the need for divine protection during the hours of darkness.
We will sing the texts in Latin, to the Sarum chants which were used in England up to the Reformation. However, we will substitute some of the plain monophonic hymns with rich polyphonic settings by Tudor composers.
We will end our recreation of Compline in the traditional way with a Marian antiphon, the Ave Maria, in its much-loved setting by Robert Parsons. Exact repertoire is dependent on numbers signing up: men especially are encouraged to apply early.
Music list
The Office of Compline (in Latin, adapted from the Use of Sarum)
William Byrd, Miserere mihi, Domine
Thomas Tallis, Te lucis ante terminum
William Byrd, Christe qui lux es et dies
Robert Parsons, Ave Maria
