York prof’s new choral composition a hit with Cambridge choir

TORONTO — With the rich monastic history of some of
England’s universities, the tradition of choral evensong still
thrives, creating a thirst for new settings for new settings of the
canticles – a collection of texts from the Bible which have been
used as songs or chants for hundreds of years. As Canada is not
steeped in the same rituals, few Canadians take this work on,
making York music Professor Stephanie Martin the exception. She
composed a new setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, evening
canticles which were premiered last month by the Selwyn College
Chapel Choir.

“For a choral composer, a premiere sung by a Cambridge choir is
like a dream,” says Martin, who recently returned from three weeks
at the University of Cambridge immersed in the daily life as a
Visiting Bye-Fellow. The 24-voice strong Selwyn College Chapel
Choir is comprised of male and female choral scholars and students,
who performed the world premiere under the direction of Sarah
MacDonald, the choir’s director of music.

Martin had the Selwyn College Chapel Choir members in mind when
she composed the new settings, as they perform a traditional
version of evensong several times a week. “They are students, but
functioning at a professional level. They rehearse and perform at
least four days every week,” she says.

Monastic communities throughout the world still sing these
prayer services called “offices” several times a day, but it is the
service of evensong that has survived in common practice at
Cambridge, and is now a big draw for tourists. Choirs like the
famous King’s College, Cambridge have been making recordings for
decades. She calls the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis canticles
“beautiful and inspired poetry” with the Magnificat being quite
dramatic in places, and the Nunc Dimittis gentle and
comforting.