[Magdalen] Tenebrae

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

Kairos, a Consort of Singers, artists in residence at Holy Cross Monastery,
have, for years done "Christ lag in Todesbanden" every Easter afternoon.
Finally, it developed that the brothers were so worn out from all the
events of the days leading up to Easter that they really preferred to rest,
not have to prepare one more event.  It was not an easy decision, since
they also loved the presentation of the cantata.  However, I think, after
having done the same work for years, we were also ready to try something
new.

It was suggested that we try a variation of what we do for the December
time, which is sing at a ceremony of lessons and carols. One of the
brothers with a somewhat delightful sense of humor suggested that we think
of doing a service of "Lessons and Dirges."  The idea took hold, and
morphed into doing a service of Tenebrae, which we did last Sunday
afternoon. We had a reading, a music selection, and then a candle was
extinguished. At the end, all walked out silently.

The result was a sequence of intriguing readings, with some very well
chosen music for the season that made the afternoon a special occasion.

I was part of a quartet that sang at a tenebrae service at a local RCC
parish several years ago, and wondered why TEC didn't embrace the musical
aspect of Tenebrae.  Well, we do now.

http://kairosconsort.org/



James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 9:42 AM, Ian Gomersall <ian.gomersall at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear All
>
> I realise Tenebrae may not be in some people's Holy Week schedule but I do
> think its worth considering including at least one year, in a form suitable
> to the church its set in.
>