Compline

Here's some great information about Compline by Jamey Anderson...

At 7:30 p.m. on March 1, in place of the traditional Evensong on the first Sunday of the month, the Epiphany Schola will sing Compline: a meditative, ancient service that has been chanted and sung by Christians for 1,500 years, probably first by St. Benedict. If you haven’t been to a Compline service before, it may be useful to think of it as a “stripped-down” version of Evensong.

Evensong (sung Evening Prayer), an exclusively Anglican creation originating from the sixteenth century, is a combination of Compline with Vespers. If you’ve ever been to an Evensong and wished you could just sit back and relax into the music instead of standing up during the canticles, you might find what you’re looking for in Compline. There is much less of the “stand-up/sit-down” formalities in Compline. The church is dark, and in many cases, you may not even be able to see the singers. The emphasis is on quiet meditation and bringing the day to a peaceful close.

Episcopal musicians in the 1950s re-discovered Compline and brought it into the modern age, most notably in Seattle at St. Mark’s Cathedral. By the 1960’s, people would flock into the church, sit on the floor, or lie down on the pews. People even bring their own pillows to fully relax in the darkened room. You can hear examples of the service at www.complinechoir.org. The choral director Peter Hallock writes about the great interest in Compline that remains to this day:

“In the mid-and late 60’s, the service began to attract large numbers of young people, a phenomenon that, to a great extent, can only be accounted for by the search for new cultural values being promulgated by the younger generation of that time. Remains still exist that serve as reminders of a movement that, among other things, must be credited for the interpolation of Eastern religious thought and practice into our lives. The embracing of meditation, yoga, and martial arts such as Tai Chi are further examples.”

And the Seattle Weekly’s Best of 2008 issue cites Compline at St. Mark’s as the “Best Non-Alcoholic Happy Hour!”

“You just saw a guy with a briefcase and a girl with dreads and about 15 tattoos walk into a 77-year-old church together. ‘Huh?’ you might be thinking. But if it’s Sunday night at 9:30, you should walk in too, because it’s time for Compline at St. Mark’s on Capitol Hill. Wearing old sweats? So what?—you’ll probably be sitting on the floor, and no one cares what you wear here anyway. Just sit back and listen to the church’s 18-member choir party like it’s the year 509. They sing evening prayers the way monks have done ever since there were monks, and they do it beautifully. You’ve never felt this calm in your life, I promise you, no matter what your religious preferences.”

Here at Epiphany, our re-imagination will include singing the service with both men and women, rather than the exclusively male monk-style voices that are sometimes used. If any of this interests you or has raised your curiosity, circle the date in your calendar, bring your friends, and wear comfortable clothes: we’ll see you at Compline on March 1^st!