Discuss!
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Last edited by Guest; 10-01-16, 18:37. -
Constructions rather than reconstructions, surely? -
When I think of a liturgical 'reconstruction', I think of the putting together of the music that might have been heard on a particular historical occasion. Sometimes we know the occasion a piece was composed for, sometimes it's informed guesswork.
Radio 3 did a whole series of such reconstructions in the 1970s, and similar efforts have been recorded:
or are available as scores:
Broadcast choral evensongs shouldn't be so very different from what's on offer on an ordinary day in the institution concerned, though of course they'll pull out all the stops (as you might say!) when the BBC come calling. What the listeners get from their listening experience is another matter.
Last edited by jean; 10-01-16, 18:06.Comment
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From the point of view of someone listening who has no interest in the liturgy and its religious significance, yes, but they might just as easily walk into a church, even on one of these occasions, and listen in the same way, but, for me, if an ordained minister is present and there are worshippers in the pews, then it is certainly worship, however tailored to the time constraints of a radio schedule.
I must say, I do feel a little uncomfortable when these services become vehicles for themes of the Radio 3 schedule, e.g. so-and-so's birthday, or international something-or-other day. That is straying into a area where I would agree with you.
Jean's comment about "construction" rather than reconstruction is a good one, but it may be a fine line for some. Wheeling out show pieces just for the hell (wrong word!) of it is also a little dubious, but I understand the temptation.
If it represents the particular foundation's usual liturgy and the choice of music reflects/compliments the appointed scriptures, I would hope anyone could believe they were hearing a genuine act of worship rather than a reconstruction.
I think I know what you are getting at, but could it be a moot point? Sorry! I am not reaching for my flame thrower!Comment
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Well, maybe, but given that the vast proportion of them are LIVE, and thus ongoing, and thus part of what the foundation is actually conducting on that day and at that hour, mostly with their own resident choirs and clergy, I'm not quite sure how they can be thought of as 'reconstructions' at all.
Baffled.Comment
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There have in the not too distant past been some attempts at musical (rather than liturgical) reconstruction, such as singing the Psalms in an attempt at an eighteenth century style instead of in the current style (which is derived from the style invented(?) by Ouseley in the second half of the nineteenth century).Comment
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I've no idea about the BBC, but I quite like this sort of thing:
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Originally posted by ardcarp View Post
That's the sort of thing that I think of when I see the word "reconstruction".[FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]Comment
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Since it's usually current liturgy I don't see how it can be a reconstruction.Comment
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Also, the amount of actual liturgy involved in a service of Evensong is pretty minimal.My boxes are positively disintegrating under the sheer weight of ticks. Ed ReardonComment
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How soon these things are forgotten!Originally posted by ardcarp View Post
Whilst working at the BBC, [Clive] Wearing was made responsible for the musical content of Radio 3 for much of 29 July 1981, the day of the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer. For that occasion, he chose to recreate, with authentic instruments and meticulously researched scores, the Bavarian royal wedding which took place in Munich on 22 February 1568. The music by Lassus, Padovano, de'Bardi, Palestrina, Gabrieli, Tallis, etc., was performed by the Taverner Consort, Choir and Players, and the Natural Trumpet Ensemble of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, conducted by Andrew Parrott...
I don't know why that's the only one they mention, because he was responsible for several series of such reconstructions. I've got them all on reel-to-reel tape somewhere, but sadly I no longer have a means of playing them...
Last edited by jean; 10-01-16, 22:35.Comment
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It's possibly more common now to perform mass settings in concert rather than liturgically; you have to make a special effort to present them in the context in which they were meant to be heard.Originally posted by Miles Coverdale View Post
It's rather the reverse with Anglican canticle settings; they're usually heard surrounded by the scraps of liturgy they were meant to be a part of - though I believe the William Byrd Singers once did a concert performance of the whole of the Byrd Great Service.
If you approach this subject in the way I think the OP may have done, the question begins to make sense - though the answer (I think) is still no.
Last edited by jean; 10-01-16, 22:35.Comment
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I don't understand what that means.Originally posted by Miles Coverdale View Post
Does Evensong have less 'liturgy' than Vespers?Comment
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There is a view that liturgy is a term that applies only to the mass, but I wouldn't want to go there...Comment
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