Evensong

I got an email from Dad last night. He said they attended Sacrament Meeting at the Hyde Park Chapel. As a musician he notices things a lot of people wouldn't, but from this story it sounds like a lot of people might have noticed this:

"Attending church in a foreign country provides Wasatch Front types like me with variety. For instance, the organist played in one tempo, the chorister conducted in a wholly different tempo, and Abdul (sitting behind me) sang in yet another tempo. Tempo polyphony--a new musical idea. As a composer, I can't help but think about the possibilities of such a concept. Somehow, the discombobulation worked out and we all ended together. The chorister didn't cut us off at the end, she just froze her flailing arm somewhere between beats 2 and 3, then just plopped her right arm down to her side."

Apparently each night at the London Centre, everyone meets for 15 minutes before dinner in the Salon (pictured) for a devotional. They share announcements, a thought, and a blessing. I kind of remember this from the summer of '95 when Lisa and I were there for the full 2 months.

This is what Dad had to say:

"Before the prayer, the girls sing my little composition called EVENSONG that I wrote (music & words) and dedicated to the students here at the Centre:

Now as we gather for supper and prayer,
Charmed with the cheer of the things we will share,
Bathe those who bask in thy beckoning light,
Cradle our souls while we slumber tonight.

We named these 15 minutes "Evensong" instead of "Devotional." It's more Anglican than Mormon--but hey! We're in England."

Hey Dad, if you read this, you should get one of your students to lend you a little digital recorder that someone is bound to have and record the nightly evensong. And then let me upload it to the blog.

Cheers.