Organ Recital & Choral Evensong
Guest organist Dr. Christopher Reynolds (Director of Music and Organist at St. Paul’s, Richmond) will present a 30-minute organ recital at St. Paul’s Memorial Church, Charlottesville, followed by Choral Evensong for the Feast of St. Michael & All Angels, sung by the St. Paul’s Memorial Church Parish Choir (directed by Deke Polifka).
Dr. Reynolds will play works by Dubois, Willan, Howells, Manz and Mendelssohn, showcasing our recently restored 1926 E. M. Skinner pipe organ. Evensong includes the St. Paul’s Service by Herbert Howells and Edward Bairstow’s haunting setting of Let all mortal flesh keep silence, as well as festive hymns and service music by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange and John Goss.
Choral Evensong, considered the crown jewel of the Anglican choral tradition, is a form of Evening Prayer that draws from the medieval Latin offices of Vespers and Compline. This service is unique to churches of the Anglican Communion and has remained unchanged for centuries. All are invited to this beautiful service of music and prayers. A reception with light refreshments will follow the service.