Compline 2021: Saint Michael and All Angels

Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan, by Raphael (Wikimedia Commons)

Compline has re-opened to the public! For more information, go to the Compline Choir website.

The Compline Choir at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle presents the Office of Compline live via video livestream and audio broadcast on Classical 98.1 KING-FM. Singers are fully compliant with current health guidance. The Compline Choir is a ministry of the Diocese of Olympia and of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. The Compline service is offered every Sunday night at 9:30 PM Pacific Time.

Video livestream feeds:
Livestream at complinechoir.org
Livestream at The Compline Choir Facebook page
Livestream at saintmarks.org
Livestream at St. Mark’s Cathedral Facebook page

Video livestream archive:
(link to the livestream archive on saintmarks.org after the service)

Audio stream feeds:
Live broadcast on KING-FM (Sundays at 9:30 pm PDT)
(link to the podcast on complinepodcast.org when uploaded)

Compline for Saint Michael and All Angels (transferred)

[The special music for this service was originally scheduled for September 26, 2021, but that service was cancelled due to an event beyond the choir’s control]

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir, a shared ministry of the Peter R. Hallock Institute, St. Mark’s Cathedral, and the Diocese of Olympia, acknowledges that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of the Duwamish Tribe.

Jesus said, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” — [Mark 13:24b-27]

ORISON: Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels (Tune: CHRISTE SANCTORUM) – Sarum plainsong, Mode I

Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels,
maker of all things, ruler of all nations,
grant of thy mercy unto us thy servants
steps up to heaven.

Send thine archangel Michael to our succor;
peacemaker blessèd, may he banish from us
striving and hatred, so that for the peaceful
all things may prosper.

Send thine archangel Gabriel, the mighty;
herald of heaven, may he, from us mortals,
drive every evil, watching o’er the temples
where thou art worshiped.

Send thine archangel Raphael, from heaven,
health-bringer blessed, aiding every sufferer,
that, in thy service, he may wisely guide us,
healing and blessing.

May the blest mother of our God and Savior,
may the celestial company of angels,
may the assembly of the saints in heaven
help us to praise thee.

PREPARATION

READER: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
CHOIR: Amen.

READER: Beloved in Christ, be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith. [I Peter 5: 8, 9a]

READER: But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following is chanted.

CANTOR: O God, make speed to save us;
CHOIR: O Lord, make haste to help us.

CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

CANTOR: Praise ye the Lord;
CHOIR: The Lord’s name be praiséd.

The READER announces the Psalm to be sung. The appointed psalms for Compline are Psalm 4 (Cum invocarem), Psalm 31:1-6 (In te, Domine, speravi), Psalm 91 (Qui habitat), and Psalm 134 (Ecce nunc). Other psalms may be used as appropriate to the church year. Many of the psalm settings sung in the service have been composed by Peter Hallock or Jason Anderson.

PSALM 103 – Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)

Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.

He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;

He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;

He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

The LORD executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.

He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.

The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.

He will not always accuse us, *
nor will he keep his anger for ever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west, *
so far has he removed our sins from us.

As a father cares for his children, *
so does the LORD care for those who fear him.

For he himself knows whereof we are made; *
he remembers that we are but dust.

Our days are like the grass; *
we flourish like a flower of the field;

When the wind goes over it, it is gone, *
and its place shall know it no more.

But the merciful goodness of the LORD endures for ever
on those who fear him, *
and his righteousness on children’s children;

On those who keep his covenant *
and remember his commandments and do them.

The LORD has set his throne in heaven, *
and his kingship has dominion over all.

Bless the LORD, you angels of his,
you mighty ones who do his bidding, *
and hearken to the voice of his word.

Bless the LORD, all you his hosts, *
you ministers of his who do his will.

Bless the LORD, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion; *
bless the LORD, O my soul.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The READER speaks the following lesson on the Sundays after Pentecost:

Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy Name. Leave us not, O Lord our God. Jeremiah 14:9

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

CANTOR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: I commend my spirit.

CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

The READER announces the hymn to be sung. The hymn appointed for Compline is Te lucis ante terminum (Before the ending of the day). Other hymns may be sung as appropriate to the church year.

HYMN: Hark! hark, my soul! (Tune: VOX ANGELICA) – John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876); adapt. Gregory Bloch

Hark, hark, my soul! Angelic songs are swelling
O’er earth’s green fields and ocean’s wave-beat shore;
How sweet the truth those blessed strains are telling
Of that new life when sin shall be no more.

Refrain:
Angels of Jesus, Angels of light,
Singing to welcome the pilgrims of the night.

Onward we go, for still we hear them singing:
“Come, weary souls, for Jesus bids you come;”
And through the dark, its echoes sweetly ringing,
The music of the gospel leads us home. [Refrain]

Far, far away, like bells at evening pealing,
The voice of Jesus sounds o’er land and sea,
And laden souls by thousands meekly stealing,
Kind Shepherd, turn their weary steps to Thee. [Refrain]

Angels, sing on, your faithful watches keeping;
Sing us sweet fragments of the songs above,
Till morning’s joy shall end the night of weeping,
And life’s long shadows break in cloudless love. [Refrain]

The following is chanted:

CANTOR: Keep me as the apple of an eye;
CHOIR: Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.

NUNC DIMITTIS – Plainsong, Tone IV; harm. Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560-1627)

A setting of the Nunc dimittis (from Luke 2:29-32, with Gloria Patri) is sung. The text may be from the King James version or from one of several modern translations. An antiphon precedes and follows it:

ANTIPHON: Preserve us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: * according to thy word;
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, * which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: * and the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Apostles Creed is intoned by the choir. The Assembly rises.

CANTOR: I believe in God,
CHOIR: the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE PRAYERS

CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Christ, have mercy upon us.
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Lord’s Prayer and the following versicles and responses are intoned:

CANTOR: Our Father,
CHOIR: who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

CANTOR: Blessed art thou, Lord God of our fathers;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.

CANTOR: Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Let us praise him and magnify him for ever.

CANTOR: Blessed art thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.

CANTOR: The Almighty and merciful Lord guard us and give us his blessing.
CHOIR: Amen.

The Confession and Absolution are spoken:

READER: Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.
CHOIR: We confess to God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, through our own grievous fault. Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us.

CHOIR: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us all our sins and deliver us from all evil, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to life everlasting. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

READER: May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto us pardon and remission of all our sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit.
CHOIR: Amen.

The following versicles and responses are chanted:

CANTOR: Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us;
CHOIR: That thy people may rejoice in thee?

CANTOR: O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us;
CHOIR: And grant us thy salvation.

CANTOR: Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin;
CHOIR: O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.

CANTOR: O Lord, hear our prayer;
CHOIR: And let our cry come unto thee.

CANTOR: Let us pray.

At least three but not more than five prayers (or collects) are intoned by the CANTOR. The first collect is proper to the day:

COLLECT FOR SAINT MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS (September 29)

O everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the ministries of angels and men in a wonderful order; Mercifully grant that, as thy holy angels always serve and worship thee in heaven, so by thy appointment they may help and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Other collects offered address the needs and concerns of the choir, or local or global community. The final collect is chosen from the following:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake.

Or

O Lord, who by triumphing over the powers of darkness didst prepare our place in the new Jerusalem: Grant us, who have this day given thanks for thy resurrection, to praise thee in that city, whereof thou art the light; where with the Father and the Holy Ghost, thou livest and reigned one God, world without end.

CHOIR: Amen.

The READER announces the anthem to be sung. 

ANTHEM: Salvator mundi – Giovanni Bassano (c. 1558-1617)

[Latin text]
Salvator mundi, salva nos omnes
Sancta Dei Genitrix, intercede pro nobis:
Angeli, archangeli, throni et dominationes,
Principatus et potestates,
Virtutes coelorum,
Cherubim atque seraphim,
Patriarchae et prophetae,
Sancti legis doctores,
Apostoli, omnes Christi martyres,
Sancti confessores,
Virgines Domini,
Anachoritae, sanctique omnes,
Intercedite pro nobis.

[English translation]
O Saviour of the world, save us all
Holy Mother of God, pray for us:
Angels, archangels, thrones, dominions,
Principalities, powers, virtues,
Cherubim, and also Seraphim,
Patriarchs and prophets,
Holy doctors of the law,
Apostles, all Christian martyrs,
Holy confessors,
Virgins of the Lord,
Holy hermits, all saints,
Intercede for us.

FINAL RESPONSES and BLESSING

The CHOIR sings the final versicles and responses, using a setting composed by Peter Hallock in 1956, the year of the Compline Choir’s founding:

CANTOR: We will lay us down in peace and take our rest:
CHOIR: For it is thou, Lord, only that makest us to dwell in safety.

CANTOR: The Lord be with you:
CHOIR: And with thy spirit.

CANTOR: Let us bless the Lord:
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The closing blessing is spoken:

READER: The Almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless and preserve us.
CHOIR: Amen.

Compline 2021: The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

St. Mark’s Cathedral “Rose Window with Filters” (Kevin Johnson)

Compline has re-opened to the public! For more information, go to the Compline Choir website.

The Compline Choir at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle presents the Office of Compline live via video livestream and audio broadcast on Classical 98.1 KING-FM. Singers are fully compliant with current health guidance. The Compline Choir is a ministry of the Diocese of Olympia and of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. The Compline service is offered every Sunday night at 9:30 PM Pacific Time.

Video livestream feeds:
Livestream at complinechoir.org
Livestream at The Compline Choir Facebook page
Livestream at saintmarks.org
Livestream at St. Mark’s Cathedral Facebook page

Video livestream archive:
(link to the livestream archive on saintmarks.org after the service)

Audio stream feeds:
Live broadcast on KING-FM (Sundays at 9:30 pm PDT)
(link to the podcast on complinepodcast.org when uploaded)

Compline for The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir, a shared ministry of the Peter R. Hallock Institute, St. Mark’s Cathedral, and the Diocese of Olympia, acknowledges that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of the Duwamish Tribe.

The ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. — [Isaiah 35:10]

ORISON: Now cheer our hearts this eventide (Tune: Ach bleib bei uns) – Geistliche Lieder, Leipzig, 1589; harm. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Now cheer our hearts this eventide,
Lord Jesus Christ, and with us bide;
Thou that canst never set in night,
Our heavenly sun, our glorious Light.

May we and all who bear Thy name
By gentle love Thy cross proclaim,
Thy gift of peace on earth secure,
And for Thy Truth the world endure.

PREPARATION

READER: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
CHOIR: Amen.

READER: Beloved in Christ, be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith. [I Peter 5: 8, 9a]

READER: But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following is chanted.

CANTOR: O God, make speed to save us;
CHOIR: O Lord, make haste to help us.

CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

CANTOR: Praise ye the Lord;
CHOIR: The Lord’s name be praiséd.

The READER announces the Psalm to be sung. The appointed psalms for Compline are Psalm 4 (Cum invocarem), Psalm 31:1-6 (In te, Domine, speravi), Psalm 91 (Qui habitat), and Psalm 134 (Ecce nunc). Other psalms may be used as appropriate to the church year. Many of the psalm settings sung in the service have been composed by Peter Hallock or Jason Anderson.

PSALM 54 – Jason A. Anderson (b. 1976)

Save me, O God, by your Name; *
in your might, defend my cause.

Hear my prayer, O God; *
give ear to the words of my mouth.

For the arrogant have risen up against me,
and the ruthless have sought my life, *
those who have no regard for God.

Behold, God is my helper; *
it is the Lord who sustains my life.

Render evil to those who spy on me; *
in your faithfulness, destroy them.

I will offer you a freewill sacrifice *
and praise your Name, O LORD, for it is good.

For you have rescued me from every trouble, *
and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The READER speaks the following lesson on the Sundays after Pentecost:

Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy Name. Leave us not, O Lord our God. Jeremiah 14:9

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

CANTOR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: I commend my spirit.

CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

The READER announces the hymn to be sung. The hymn appointed for Compline is Te lucis ante terminum (Before the ending of the day). Other hymns may be sung as appropriate to the church year.

HYMN: Lord, whose love through humble service (Tune: Saint Helena) – Calvin Hampton (1938-1984)

Lord, whose love through humble service bore the weight of human need,
who upon the cross, forsaken, offered mercy’s perfect deed,
we, your servants, bring the worship not of voice alone, but heart,
consecrating to your purpose every gift that you impart.

Still your children wander homeless; still the hungry cry for bread;
still the captives long for freedom; still in grief we mourn our dead.
As, dear Lord, your deep compassion healed the sick and freed the soul,
use the love your Spirit kindles still to save and make us whole.

As we worship, grant us vision, ’til your love’s revealing light,
in its height and depth and greatness, dawns upon our quickened sight,
making known the needs and burdens your compassion bids us bear,
stirring us to tireless striving, your abundant life to share.

Called by worship to your service, forth in your dear name we go,
to the child, the youth, the aged, love in living deeds to show;
hope and health, good will and comfort, counsel, aid, and peace we give,
that your servants, Lord, in freedom may your mercy know and live.

The following is chanted:

CANTOR: Keep me as the apple of an eye;
CHOIR: Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.

NUNC DIMITTIS – Plainsong, Tone III; harm. Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560-1627)

A setting of the Nunc dimittis (from Luke 2:29-32, with Gloria Patri) is sung. The text may be from the King James version or from one of several modern translations. An antiphon precedes and follows it:

ANTIPHON: Preserve us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: * according to thy word;
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, * which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: * and the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Apostles Creed is intoned by the choir. The Assembly rises.

CANTOR: I believe in God,
CHOIR: the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE PRAYERS

CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Christ, have mercy upon us.
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Lord’s Prayer and the following versicles and responses are intoned:

CANTOR: Our Father,
CHOIR: who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

CANTOR: Blessed art thou, Lord God of our fathers;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.

CANTOR: Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Let us praise him and magnify him for ever.

CANTOR: Blessed art thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.

CANTOR: The Almighty and merciful Lord guard us and give us his blessing.
CHOIR: Amen.

The Confession and Absolution are spoken:

READER: Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.
CHOIR: We confess to God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, through our own grievous fault. Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us.

CHOIR: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us all our sins and deliver us from all evil, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to life everlasting. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

READER: May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto us pardon and remission of all our sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit.
CHOIR: Amen.

The following versicles and responses are chanted:

CANTOR: Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us;
CHOIR: That thy people may rejoice in thee?

CANTOR: O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us;
CHOIR: And grant us thy salvation.

CANTOR: Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin;
CHOIR: O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.

CANTOR: O Lord, hear our prayer;
CHOIR: And let our cry come unto thee.

CANTOR: Let us pray.

At least three but not more than five prayers (or collects) are intoned by the CANTOR. The first collect is proper to the day:

COLLECT FOR THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (September 19)

Grant us, O Lord, not to mind earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to cleave to those that shall abide; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Other collects offered address the needs and concerns of the choir, or local or global community. The final collect is chosen from the following:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake.

Or

O Lord, who by triumphing over the powers of darkness didst prepare our place in the new Jerusalem: Grant us, who have this day given thanks for thy resurrection, to praise thee in that city, whereof thou art the light; where with the Father and the Holy Ghost, thou livest and reigned one God, world without end.

CHOIR: Amen.

The READER announces the anthem to be sung. 

ANTHEM: O bone Jesu – Alonso de Tejeda (c. 1540-1628)

O good Jesus, enlighten my eyes that I may in no way fall asleep in death.
Let not my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him.”
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed me, Lord, God of truth.

FINAL RESPONSES and BLESSING

The CHOIR sings the final versicles and responses, using a setting composed by Peter Hallock in 1956, the year of the Compline Choir’s founding:

CANTOR: We will lay us down in peace and take our rest:
CHOIR: For it is thou, Lord, only that makest us to dwell in safety.

CANTOR: The Lord be with you:
CHOIR: And with thy spirit.

CANTOR: Let us bless the Lord:
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The closing blessing is spoken:

READER: The Almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless and preserve us.
CHOIR: Amen.

Compline 2021: The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

17th c. Icon of the Feast of the Holy Cross (Wikimedia Commons)

Compline has re-opened to the public! For more information, go to the Compline Choir website.

The Compline Choir at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle presents the Office of Compline live via video livestream and audio broadcast on Classical 98.1 KING-FM. Singers are fully compliant with current health guidance. The Compline Choir is a ministry of the Diocese of Olympia and of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. The Compline service is offered every Sunday night at 9:30 PM Pacific Time.

Video livestream feeds:
Livestream at complinechoir.org
Livestream at The Compline Choir Facebook page
Livestream at saintmarks.org
Livestream at St. Mark’s Cathedral Facebook page

Video livestream archive:
(link to the livestream archive on saintmarks.org after the service)

Audio stream feeds:
Live broadcast on KING-FM (Sundays at 9:30 pm PDT)
(link to the podcast on complinepodcast.org when uploaded)

Compline for The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir, a shared ministry of the Peter R. Hallock Institute, St. Mark’s Cathedral, and the Diocese of Olympia, acknowledges that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of the Duwamish Tribe.

Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth: The LORD is his name.  [Amos 5:8]

ORISON: Hope of the world, thou Christ of great compassion (Tune: Donne secours) – mel. from Trente quatre pseaumes de David, 1551; harm. Claude Goudimel (c. 1514-1572)

Hope of the world, thou Christ of great compassion:
speak to our fearful hearts by conflict rent.
Save us, thy people, from consuming passion,
who by our own false hopes and aims are spent.

Hope of the world, afoot on dusty highways,
showing to wandering souls the path of light:
walk now beside us lest the tempting byways
lure us away from you to endless night.

Hope of the world, who by thy cross didst save us
from death and deep despair, from sin and guilt:
we render back the love thy mercy gave us;
take thou our lives and use them as thou wilt.

PREPARATION

READER: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
CHOIR: Amen.

READER: Beloved in Christ, be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith. [I Peter 5: 8, 9a]

READER: But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following is chanted.

CANTOR: O God, make speed to save us;
CHOIR: O Lord, make haste to help us.

CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

CANTOR: Praise ye the Lord;
CHOIR: The Lord’s name be praiséd.

The READER announces the Psalm to be sung. The appointed psalms for Compline are Psalm 4 (Cum invocarem), Psalm 31:1-6 (In te, Domine, speravi), Psalm 91 (Qui habitat), and Psalm 134 (Ecce nunc). Other psalms may be used as appropriate to the church year. Many of the psalm settings sung in the service have been composed by Peter Hallock or Jason Anderson.

PSALM 116 – Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)

[ANTIPHON:] I will walk in the presence of the LORD,  in the land of the living.

I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.

The cords of death entangled me; the grip of the grave took hold of me; *
I came to grief and sorrow.

Then I called upon the Name of the LORD: *
“O LORD, I pray you, save my life.”

Gracious is the LORD and righteous; *
our God is full of compassion.

The LORD watches over the innocent; *
I was brought very low, and he helped me.

Turn again to your rest, O my soul, *
for the LORD has treated you well.

For you have rescued my life from death, *
my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.

I will walk in the presence of the LORD *
in the land of the living.

I believed, even when I said, I have been brought very low.” *
In my distress I said, “No one can be trusted.”

How shall I repay the LORD *
for all the good things he has done for me?

I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon the Name of the LORD.

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD *
in the presence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the LORD *
is the death of his servants.

O LORD, I am your servant; *
I am your servant and the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from my bonds.

I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and call upon the Name of the LORD.

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD *
in the presence of all his people,

In the courts of the LORD’S house, *
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

[ANTIPHON:] I will walk in the presence of the LORD,  in the land of the living.

The READER speaks the following lesson on the Sundays after Pentecost:

Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy Name. Leave us not, O Lord our God. Jeremiah 14:9

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

CANTOR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: I commend my spirit.

CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

The READER announces the hymn to be sung. The hymn appointed for Compline is Te lucis ante terminum (Before the ending of the day). Other hymns may be sung as appropriate to the church year.

HYMN: Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow (Tune: Cross of Jesus) – John Stainer (1840-1901)

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect Man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!

Here the King of all the ages,
Throned in light ere worlds could be,
Robed in mortal flesh is dying,
Crucified by sin for me.

O myster’ous condescending!
O abandonment sublime!
Very God Himself is bearing
All the sufferings of time!

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect Man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!

The following is chanted:

CANTOR: Keep me as the apple of an eye;
CHOIR: Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.

NUNC DIMITTIS – Plainsong, Tone I; harm. Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560-1627)

A setting of the Nunc dimittis (from Luke 2:29-32, with Gloria Patri) is sung. The text may be from the King James version or from one of several modern translations. An antiphon precedes and follows it:

ANTIPHON: Preserve us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: * according to thy word;
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, * which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: * and the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Apostles Creed is intoned by the choir. The Assembly rises.

CANTOR: I believe in God,
CHOIR: the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE PRAYERS

CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Christ, have mercy upon us.
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Lord’s Prayer and the following versicles and responses are intoned:

CANTOR: Our Father,
CHOIR: who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

CANTOR: Blessed art thou, Lord God of our fathers;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.

CANTOR: Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Let us praise him and magnify him for ever.

CANTOR: Blessed art thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.

CANTOR: The Almighty and merciful Lord guard us and give us his blessing.
CHOIR: Amen.

The Confession and Absolution are spoken:

READER: Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.
CHOIR: We confess to God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, through our own grievous fault. Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us.

CHOIR: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us all our sins and deliver us from all evil, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to life everlasting. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

READER: May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto us pardon and remission of all our sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit.
CHOIR: Amen.

The following versicles and responses are chanted:

CANTOR: Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us;
CHOIR: That thy people may rejoice in thee?

CANTOR: O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us;
CHOIR: And grant us thy salvation.

CANTOR: Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin;
CHOIR: O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.

CANTOR: O Lord, hear our prayer;
CHOIR: And let our cry come unto thee.

CANTOR: Let us pray.

At least three but not more than five prayers (or collects) are intoned by the CANTOR. The first collect is proper to the day:

COLLECT FOR HOLY CROSS DAY (September 14)

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world unto himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Other collects offered address the needs and concerns of the choir, or local or global community. The final collect is chosen from the following:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake.

Or

O Lord, who by triumphing over the powers of darkness didst prepare our place in the new Jerusalem: Grant us, who have this day given thanks for thy resurrection, to praise thee in that city, whereof thou art the light; where with the Father and the Holy Ghost, thou livest and reigned one God, world without end.

CHOIR: Amen.

The READER announces the anthem to be sung. 

ANTHEM: We adore you, O Christ – Richard T. Proulx (1937-2010)

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
Because by your cross you have redeemed the world.
We glory in your cross, O Lord God,
We pray and glorify your holy resurrection,
By virtue of your Cross, joy has come into the world.
O Savior, by your holy cross, save us, and help us, O Lord.
By your holy cross you have redeemed us all. Amen.

FINAL RESPONSES and BLESSING

The CHOIR sings the final versicles and responses, using a setting composed by Peter Hallock in 1956, the year of the Compline Choir’s founding:

CANTOR: We will lay us down in peace and take our rest:
CHOIR: For it is thou, Lord, only that makest us to dwell in safety.

CANTOR: The Lord be with you:
CHOIR: And with thy spirit.

CANTOR: Let us bless the Lord:
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The closing blessing is spoken:

READER: The Almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless and preserve us.
CHOIR: Amen.

Compline 2021: The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Compline has re-opened to the public! For more information, go to the Compline Choir website.

The Compline Choir at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle presents the Office of Compline live via video livestream and audio broadcast on Classical 98.1 KING-FM. Singers are fully compliant with current health guidance. The Compline Choir is a ministry of the Diocese of Olympia and of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. The Compline service is offered every Sunday night at 9:30 PM Pacific Time.

Video livestream feeds:
Livestream at complinechoir.org
Livestream at The Compline Choir Facebook page
Livestream at saintmarks.org
Livestream at St. Mark’s Cathedral Facebook page

Video livestream archive:
(link to the livestream archive on saintmarks.org after the service)

Audio stream feeds:
Live broadcast on KING-FM (Sundays at 9:30 pm PDT)
(link to the podcast on complinepodcast.org when uploaded)

Compline for The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir, a shared ministry of the Peter R. Hallock Institute, St. Mark’s Cathedral, and the Diocese of Olympia, acknowledges that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of the Duwamish Tribe.

ORISON: Maker of all things, God most high – Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585)

Maker of all things, God most high,
Great Ruler of the starry sky,
Who rob’st the day in beauteous light,
In sweet repose the quiet night.

That sleep may weary limbs restore,
And fit for toil and use once more;
May gently soothe the careworn breast,
And lull our anxious griefs to rest.

We thank Thee for the day now gone,
We pray Thee that the night comes on;
Help us poor sinners as we raise
Our wonted offering of praise.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Who with the Holy Ghost, and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

PREPARATION

READER: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
CHOIR: Amen.

READER: Beloved in Christ, be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith. [I Peter 5: 8, 9a]

READER: But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following is chanted.

CANTOR: O God, make speed to save us;
CHOIR: O Lord, make haste to help us.

CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

CANTOR: Praise ye the Lord;
CHOIR: The Lord’s name be praiséd.

The READER announces the Psalm to be sung. The appointed psalms for Compline are Psalm 4 (Cum invocarem), Psalm 31:1-6 (In te, Domine, speravi), Psalm 91 (Qui habitat), and Psalm 134 (Ecce nunc). Other psalms may be used as appropriate to the church year. Many of the psalm settings sung in the service have been composed by Peter Hallock or Jason Anderson.

PSALM 146 – Plainsong, Tone IV.2

Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD, O my soul! *
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *
for there is no help in them.

When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *
and in that day their thoughts perish.

Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! *
whose hope is in the LORD their God;

Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
who keeps his promise for ever;

Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
and food to those who hunger.

The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; *
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

The LORD loves the righteous; the LORD cares for the stranger; *
he sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked.

The LORD shall reign for ever, *
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Hallelujah!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit *
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The READER speaks the following lesson on the Sundays after Pentecost:

Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy Name. Leave us not, O Lord our God. Jeremiah 14:9

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

CANTOR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: I commend my spirit.

CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

The READER announces the hymn to be sung. The hymn appointed for Compline is Te lucis ante terminum (Before the ending of the day). Other hymns may be sung as appropriate to the church year.

HYMN: Abide with me (Tune: Eventide) – William Henry Monk (1823-1889)

Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and strength can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.

I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless,
ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes.
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

The following is chanted:

CANTOR: Keep me as the apple of an eye;
CHOIR: Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.

NUNC DIMITTIS from The First Service – Plainsong, Tone IV; harm. Philip Moore (b. 1943)

A setting of the Nunc dimittis (from Luke 2:29-32, with Gloria Patri) is sung. The text may be from the King James version or from one of several modern translations. An antiphon precedes and follows it:

ANTIPHON: Preserve us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: * according to thy word;
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, * which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: * and the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Apostles Creed is intoned by the choir. The Assembly rises.

CANTOR: I believe in God,
CHOIR: the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE PRAYERS

CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Christ, have mercy upon us.
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Lord’s Prayer and the following versicles and responses are intoned:

CANTOR: Our Father,
CHOIR: who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

CANTOR: Blessed art thou, Lord God of our fathers;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.

CANTOR: Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Let us praise him and magnify him for ever.

CANTOR: Blessed art thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.

CANTOR: The Almighty and merciful Lord guard us and give us his blessing.
CHOIR: Amen.

The Confession and Absolution are spoken:

READER: Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.
CHOIR: We confess to God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, through our own grievous fault. Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us.

CHOIR: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us all our sins and deliver us from all evil, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to life everlasting. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

READER: May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto us pardon and remission of all our sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit.
CHOIR: Amen.

The following versicles and responses are chanted:

CANTOR: Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us;
CHOIR: That thy people may rejoice in thee?

CANTOR: O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us;
CHOIR: And grant us thy salvation.

CANTOR: Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin;
CHOIR: O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.

CANTOR: O Lord, hear our prayer;
CHOIR: And let our cry come unto thee.

CANTOR: Let us pray.

At least three but not more than five prayers (or collects) are intoned by the CANTOR. The first collect is proper to the day:

COLLECT FOR FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (September 5)

Grant us, O Lord, we pray thee, to trust in thee with all our heart; seeing that, as thou dost alway resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so thou dost not forsake those who make their boast of thy mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Other collects offered address the needs and concerns of the choir, or local or global community. The final collect is chosen from the following:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake.

Or

O Lord, who by triumphing over the powers of darkness didst prepare our place in the new Jerusalem: Grant us, who have this day given thanks for thy resurrection, to praise thee in that city, whereof thou art the light; where with the Father and the Holy Ghost, thou livest and reigned one God, world without end.

CHOIR: Amen.

The READER announces the anthem to be sung. 

ANTHEM: Look down, O Lord – William Byrd (c. 1540-1623)

Look down, O Lord, on me poor man,
in Thee I live, I move and am,
O clear my soul and conscience,
that I in Thee my peace find,
rest to my heart, joy to my mind,
freede from my sin and mine offence.

FINAL RESPONSES and BLESSING

The CHOIR sings the final versicles and responses, using a setting composed by Peter Hallock in 1956, the year of the Compline Choir’s founding:

CANTOR: We will lay us down in peace and take our rest:
CHOIR: For it is thou, Lord, only that makest us to dwell in safety.

CANTOR: The Lord be with you:
CHOIR: And with thy spirit.

CANTOR: Let us bless the Lord:
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The closing blessing is spoken:

READER: The Almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless and preserve us.
CHOIR: Amen.