Compline 2024: The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Manuscript illumination depicting the Ascension of Jesus

Compline is open to the public. For current restrictions or 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 Seventh Sunday of Easter — Sunday after Ascension Day

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then (on most days) reads a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir and Saint Mark’s Cathedral acknowledge 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 all the Coast Salish Tribes.

PROCESSION: O clap your hands – Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)

O clap your hands, all ye peoples,
Sing unto God loud songs of joy!
God is gone up, gone up with a shout,                          
And the LORD with the sound of the trumpet!
Sing praise to God, sing praise to our king,
The king of the earth, the king of all nations.
O clap your hands, all ye peoples,
Sing unto God loud songs of joy!

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 92 – John Fenstermaker (b. 1942)

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, *
and to sing praises unto thy Name, O Most Highest;

To tell of thy loving-kindness early in the morning, *
and of thy truth in the night season;

Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the lute; *
upon a loud instrument, and upon the harp.

For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy works: *
and I will rejoice in giving praise for the operations of thy hands.

O LORD, how glorious are thy works! *
thy thoughts are very deep.

An unwise man doth not well consider this, *
and a fool doth not understand it.

When the ungodly are green as the grass,
and when all the workers of wickedness do flourish, *
then shall they be destroyed for ever;
but thou, LORD, art the Most Highest for evermore.

For lo, thine enemies, O LORD, lo, thine enemies shall perish; *
and all the workers of wickedness shall be destroyed.

But my horn shall be exalted like the horn of an unicorn; *
for I am anointed with fresh oil.

Mine eye also shall see his lust of mine enemies, *
and mine ear shall hear his desire of the wicked that arise up against me.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm-tree, *
and shall spread abroad like a cedar in Lebanon.

Such as are planted in the house of the LORD, *
shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.

They also shall bring forth more fruit in their age, *
and shall be fat and well-liking;

That they may show how true the LORD my strength is, *
and that there is no unrighteousness in him.

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 READER speaks the following lesson in Eastertide:

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  — [Hebrews 13:20-21]

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

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

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: Alleluia, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, alleluia.

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: God is ascended (Tune: GEN HIMMEL AUFGEFAHREN IST) – German, 16th cent.; adapt. Peter R. Hallock

God is ascended up on high, Alleluia, alleluia!
with merry noise of trumpet’s sound, Alleluia, alleluia!

And princely seated in the sky, Alleluia, alleluia!
he rules o’er all the world around. Alleluia, alleluia!

In human shape and flesh he went, Alleluia, alleluia!
his passion’s scars he did present. Alleluia, alleluia!

Lord, raise our fallen souls therefore, Alleluia, alleluia!
and purify us evermore. Alleluia, alleluia!

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 VII; harm. Thomas Morley (1557-1602)

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. Alleluia, Alleluia!

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 to be 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:

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER: THE SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY
O God, the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven: We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless, but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Savior Christ is gone before; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. 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: ‘Õnnis on inimene’, Taaveti laul nr. 1 – Cyrillus Kreek (1889-1962); arr. for men’s voices by Gregory W. Bloch (b. 1977)

Blessed is the man who has not walked in the council of the ungodly. Hallelujah!

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous: but the path of the wicked shall perish. Hallelujah!

Serve the Lord with fear: rejoice in him with trembling. Hallelujah!

Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. Hallelujah!

Rise up, O Lord; save me, O my God. Hallelujah!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit both now and forever. Hallelujah!

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 2024: The Sixth Sunday of Easter

May in Seattle; rhododendrons in Washington Park Arboretum (2012)

Compline is open to the public. For current restrictions or 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 Sixth Sunday of Easter — Rogation Sunday

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then (on most days) reads a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir and Saint Mark’s Cathedral acknowledge 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 all the Coast Salish Tribes.

Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  –  [ John 15:12-13 ]

ORISON: ‘Beloved, let us love one another’ from In Praise of Singing – Alice Parker (1925-2023)

Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God;
and everyone that loves is born of God
and knows God.

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 67 – Patricia Van Ness (b. 1951)

GOD be merciful unto us, and bless us : and shew us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us:

That thy way may be known upon earth : thy saving health among all nations.

Let the people praise thee, O God : yea, let all the people praise thee.

O let the nations rejoice and be glad : for thou shalt judge the folk righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.

Let the people praise thee, O God : let all the people praise thee.

Then shall the earth bring forth her increase : and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing.

God shall bless us : and all the ends of the world shall fear him.

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 READER speaks the following lesson in Eastertide:

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  — [Hebrews 13:20-21]

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

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

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: Alleluia, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, alleluia.

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: For the beauty of the earth (Tune: LUCERNA LAUDONIAE) – David Evans (1874-1948)

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies.

Refrain:
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale and tree and flower,
sun and moon and stars of light, [Refrain ]

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild, [Refrain]

For yourself, best gift divine,
to the world so freely given,
agent of God’s grand design:
peace on earth and joy in heaven. [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 setting, Tone V.1

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. Alleluia, Alleluia!

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 to be 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:

THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
O God, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee in all things and above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; 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: i thank You God for most this amazing day – Tyler A. Morse (b. 1990)

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

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 2024: The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Committal of Peter Hallock’s ashes in the Compline Corner, St. Mark’s Cathedral (2014).

Compline is open to the public. For current restrictions or 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 Fifth Sunday of Easter — The 10th Anniversary of Peter R. Hallock’s Death

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then (on most days) reads a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir and Saint Mark’s Cathedral acknowledge 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 all the Coast Salish Tribes.

PROCESSIONAL: Kontakion for the Departed – Kievan chant; adapt. Jason A. Anderson (b. 1976)

Give rest, O Christ,
to thy servant with thy saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more;
neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Thou only art immortal,
the Creator and Maker of man;
and we are mortal, formed of the earth,
and unto earth shall we return;
for so thou didst ordain
when thou createdst me, saying:
‘Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’
All we go down to the dust,
and, weeping o’er the grave we make our song:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Give rest, O Christ,
to thy servant with thy saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more;
neither sighing, but life everlasting.

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 84 – Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)

[ANTIPHON]: O LORD of hosts, happy are they who put their trust in you.

How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
by the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
they will always be praising you.

Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.

Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, *
for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.

They will climb from height to height, *
and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.

LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
hearken, O God of Jacob.

Behold our defender, O God; *
and look upon the face of your Anointed.

For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, *
and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the LORD God is both sun and shield; *
he will give grace and glory;

No good thing will the LORD withhold *
from those who walk with integrity.

O LORD of hosts, *
happy are they who put their trust in you!

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]: O LORD of hosts, happy are they who put their trust in you.

The READER speaks the following lesson in Eastertide:

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  — [Hebrews 13:20-21]

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

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

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: Alleluia, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, alleluia.

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: We walk by faith, and not by sight (Tune: SAINT BOTOLPH) – Gordon Slater (1896-1979)

We walk by faith, and not by sight;
no gracious words we hear
from him who spoke as none e’er spoke,
but we believe him near.

We may not touch His hands and side,
nor follow where He trod;
but in His promise we rejoice;
and cry, “My Lord and God!”

Help then, O Lord, our unbelief;
and may our faith abound,
to call on you when you are near
and seek where you are found.

that, when our life of faith is done,
in realms of clearer light,
we may behold you as you are,
with full and endless sight.

The following is chanted:

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

NUNC DIMITTIS (Tune: MARILYN) – Peter R. Hallock

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. Alleluia, Alleluia!

Lord, let your servant part in peace, your word is now fulfilled.
These eyes have seen salvation’s dawn, this child so long foretold.

This is the Saviour of us all, the Gentiles’ promised Light,
God’s glory dwelling in our midst, the joy of Israel.

All glory to the Father be, All glory to the Son,
All glory, Holy Ghost to thee, while endless ages run.

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:

THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF PETER R. HALLOCK’S DEATH (April 28)
O Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life: We pray to you for Peter Hallock, whom we have lived without for ten years, and for all those we love but see no longer. Grant them your peace; let light perpetual shine upon them; and, in your loving wisdom and almighty power, work in them the good purpose of your perfect will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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: Peace – Peter R. Hallock

My soul, there is a country
Far beyond the stars,
Where stands a wingèd sentry
All skilful in the wars:

There, above noise and danger,
Sweet Peace sits crown’d with smiles,
And One born in a manger
Commands the beauteous files.

He is thy gracious Friend,
And—O my soul, awake!—
Did in pure love descend
To die here for thy sake.

If thou canst get but thither,
There grows the flower of Peace,
The Rose that cannot wither,
Thy fortress, and thy ease.

Leave then thy foolish ranges;
For none can thee secure
But One who never changes—
Thy God, thy life, thy cure.

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 2024: The Fourth Sunday of Easter

“Good Shepherd” mosaic (5th c.) – Galla Placidia Mausoleum, Ravenna, Italy

Compline is open to the public. For current restrictions or 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 Fourth Sunday of Easter

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then (on most days) reads a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir and Saint Mark’s Cathedral acknowledge 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 all the Coast Salish Tribes.

ORISON: The Lord is my Shepherd – Bobby McFerrin (b. 1950)

The Lord is my Shepard, I have all I need,
She makes me lie down in green meadows,
Beside the still waters, She will lead.

She restores my soul, She rights my wrongs,
She leads me in a path of good things,
And fills my heart with songs.

Even though I walk, through a dark & dreary land,
There is nothing that can shake me,
She has said She won’t forsake me,
I’m in her hand.

She sets a table before me, in the presence of my foes,
She anoints my head with oil,
And my cup overflows.

Surely, surely goodness & kindness will follow me,
All the days of my life,
And I will live in her house,
Forever, forever & ever.

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 23 (Setting I) – Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)

[ANTIPHON:] I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The LORD is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.

He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

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 dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

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 in Eastertide:

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  — [Hebrews 13:20-21]

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

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

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: Alleluia, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, alleluia.

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: Victimae Paschali laudes – Plainsong, Mode I; melody att. Wigbert (d. 1050?) and Christ the Lord is risen again (Tune: CHRIST IST ERSTANDEN) – harm. Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)

Christians, to the Paschal victim
offer your thankful praises!
A lamb the sheep redeemeth: Christ, who only is sinless,
reconcileth sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous:
the Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
what thou sawest, wayfaring:
“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
the glory of Jesus’ resurrection;
“Bright angels attesting,
the shroud and napkin resting.
“Yea, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he will go before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining;
have mercy, victor King, ever reigning
Amen. Alleluia!

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 First Fauxbourdon Service – 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 Spirit;
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:

THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of thy people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calleth us each by name, and follow where he doth lead; who, with thee and the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth, 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: Abendgebet [U.S. premiere] – Jacob Beranek (b. 1998)

[German]
Herr, mein Gott, Ich danke dir, daß du
diesen Tag zu Ende gebracht hast;
ich danke dir, daß du Leib und Seele
zur Ruhe kommen läßt.
Deine Hand war über mir und hat mich
behütet und bewahrt.

Vergib allen Kleinglauben und alles
Unrecht dieses Tages
und hilf, daß ich allen vergebe,
die mir Unrecht getan haben.

Laß mich in Frieden
unter deinem Schutz schlafen
und bewahre mich vor den
Anfechtungen der Finsternis.

Ich befehle dir die Meinen,
ich befehle dir dieses Haus,
ich befehle dir meinen Leib und meine Seele.
Gott, dein heiliger Name sei gelobt.

[English Translation]
Lord, my God, I thank you that you
​have brought this day to a close;
I thank you that you have allowed
my body and soul to come to rest.
Your hand was over me
and has protected and preserved me.

Forgive all the lack of faith and
all the injustice of this day,
and help me to forgive all
who have done injustice towards me.

Allow me in peace
to sleep beneath your protection,
and defend me from the
spiritual crises of darkness.

I commend to you all that is mine,
I commend to you this house,
I commend to you my body and my soul.
God, your holy name be praised.

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 2024: The Third Sunday of Easter

“Queen of Heaven, rejoice!” – sung at the end of Compline from Easter to Pentecost

Compline is open to the public. For current restrictions or 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 Third Sunday of Easter

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then (on most days) reads a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir and Saint Mark’s Cathedral acknowledge 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 all the Coast Salish Tribes.

ORISON: This joyful Eastertide (Tune: VRUECHTEN) – mel. from Psalmen, 1685; harm. Charles Wood (1866-1926)

This joyful Eastertide, away with sin and sorrow!
My Love, the Crucified, hath sprung to life this morrow.

[Refrain:]
Had Christ, that once was slain,
ne’er burst his three-day prison,
our faith had been in vain;
But now hath Christ arisen,
arisen, arisen, arisen.

Death’s flood hath lost its chill since Jesus crossed the river;
Lord of all life, from ill my passing soul deliver. [Refrain]

My flesh in hope shall rest and for a season slumber,
’til trump from east to west shall wake the dead in number. [Refrain]

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.

PSALMS 134 & 4 – Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)

Psalm 134 (antiphon):

Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, *
you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.

Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD; *
the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
you set me free when I am hard-pressed; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

“You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *
how long will you worship dumb idols and run after false gods?”

Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; *
when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.

Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.

Offer the appointed sacrifices *
and put your trust in the LORD.

Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see better times!” *
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.

You have put gladness in my heart, *
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.

I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

(antiphon)

Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, *
you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.

Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD; *
the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

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 in Eastertide:

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  — [Hebrews 13:20-21]

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

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

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: Alleluia, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, alleluia.

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: Lift your voice rejoicing, Mary (Tune: FISK OF GLOUCESTER) – Thomas Foster (1938-2024)

Lift your voice rejoicing, Mary,
Christ has risen from the tomb;
on the cross a suffering victim,
now as victor he is come.
Whom your tears in death were mourning,
welcome with your smiles returning.
Let your alleluias rise!

Raise your weary eyelids, Mary,
see him living evermore;
see his countenance, how gracious,
see the wounds for you he bore.
All the glory of the morning
pales before those wounds redeeming.
Let your alleluias rise!

Life is yours for ever, Mary,
for your light is come once more
and the strength of death is broken;
now your songs of joy outpour.
Ended now the night of sorrow,
love has brought the blessed morrow.
Let your alleluias rise.

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. Thomas Morley (1557-1602)

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 Spirit;
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:

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
O God, whose blessed Son did manifest himself to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open, we pray thee, the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of 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: Regina caeli – Robert White (c. 1538-1574)

[Latin]
Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia;
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia:
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

[English]
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
The Son you merited to bear, alleluia,
Has risen as he said, alleluia.
Pray to God for us, alleluia.

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 2024: The Second Sunday of Easter

St. Mark’s Cathedral – Morning

Compline is open to the public. For current restrictions or 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 Second Sunday of Easter

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then (on most days) reads a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir and Saint Mark’s Cathedral acknowledge 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 all the Coast Salish Tribes.

ORISON: Alleluia! O sons and daughters, let us sing! (Tune: O FILII ET FILIAE) – mel. from Airs sur les hymnes sacrez, odes et noëls, 1623)

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

O sons and daughters, let us sing!
The King of heaven, the glorious King,
o’er death and hell rose triumphing.
Alleluia!

That night the apostles met in fear;
amidst them came their Lord most dear,
and said, “My peace be on all here.”
Alleluia!

When Thomas first the tidings heard,
how they had seen the risen Lord,
he doubted the disciples’ word.
Alleluia!

“My pierced side, O Thomas, see;
my hands, my feet, I show to thee;
not faithless but believing be.”
Alleluia!

No longer Thomas then denied;
he saw the feet, the hands, the side.
“Thou art my Lord and God,” he cried.
Alleluia!

How blest are they who have not seen,
and yet whose faith has constant been,
for they eternal life shall win.
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

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 133 – Anglican Chant setting based on a theme from Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990); adapt. Jason A. Anderson (b. 1976)

Behold, how good and pleasant it is, *
when brethren live together in unity!

It is like fine oil upon the head *
that runs down upon the beard,

Upon the beard of Aaron, *
and runs down upon the collar of his robe.

It is like the dew of Hermon *
that falls upon the hills of Zion.

For there the LORD has ordained the blessing: *
life for evermore.

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 in Eastertide:

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  — [Hebrews 13:20-21]

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

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

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: Alleluia, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, alleluia.

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: That Easter Day with joy was bright (Tune: PUER NOBIS) – mel. from Trier MS., 15th cent.; adapt. Michael Praetorius (1571-1621); harm. George R. Woodward (1848-1934)

That Easter day with joy was bright:
The sun shone out with fairer light
When to their longing eyes restored,
Th’apostles saw their risen Lord.

His risen flesh with radiance glowed,
His wounded hands and feet he showed;
Those scars their solemn witness gave
That Christ was risen from the grave.

O Lord of all, with us abide
In this, our joyful Easter-tide;
From ev’ry weapon death can wield
Thine own redeemed forever shield.

All praise, O risen Lord, we give
To thee, who dead, again dost live;
To God the Father equal praise,
And God the Holy Ghost, we raise.

The following is chanted:

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

NUNC DIMITTIS – Anonymous [No. 29], Lumley Books, c. 1547-1552

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 Spirit;
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:

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you 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: Haec est dies – Jacob Handl (1550-1591)

This is the day which the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Alleluia.

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 2024: Easter Day

Cherry blossoms at the University of Washington, Seattle, 2023

Compline is open to the public. For current restrictions or 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 Easter Day

The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then (on most days) reads a  short passage selected from scripture.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir and Saint Mark’s Cathedral acknowledge 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 all the Coast Salish Tribes.

PROCESSIONAL: Easter Canticle – Peter R. Hallock (1924–2014)

Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
Therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and evil,
But with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
Death hath no more dominion over him.
For in that he died, he died unto sin once:
But in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
But alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Christ is risen from the dead,
And become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death,
By man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

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.
Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

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 114 – Plainsong, Tonus Peregrinus (Ninth psalm tone)

Hallelujah!
When Israel came out of Egypt, *
the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech,

Judah became God’s sanctuary *
and Israel his dominion.

The sea beheld it and fled; *
Jordan turned and went back.

The mountains skipped like rams, *
and the little hills like young sheep.

What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? *
O Jordan, that you turned back?

You mountains, that you skipped like rams? *
you little hills like young sheep?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, *
at the presence of the God of Jacob,

Who turned the hard rock into a pool of water *
and flint-stone into a flowing spring.

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 in Eastertide:

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  — [Hebrews 13:20-21]

CHOIR: Thanks be to God.

The following Respond is chanted:

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

CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: Alleluia, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, alleluia.

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: Ad cenam Agni providi – Plainsong, Mode VIII; harm. Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397-1474);

The Lamb’s high banquet called to share,
arrayed in garments white and fair,
the Red Sea past, we now would sing
to Jesus our triumphant king.

Protected in the paschal night
from the destroying angel’s might,
in triumph went the ransomed free
from Pharaoh’s cruel tyranny.

Now Christ our passover is slain,
the Lamb of God without a stain;
his flesh, the true unleavened bread,
is freely offered in our stead.

O all-sufficient Sacrifice,
beneath thee hell defeated lies;
thy captive people are set free,
and endless life restored in thee.

All praise be thine, O risen Lord,
from death to endless life restored;
all praise to God the Father be
and Holy Ghost eternally.

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 setting, Tonus peregrinus; harm. William Byrd (c. 1540-1623)

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 Spirit;
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:

THE SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION: EASTER DAY
Almighty God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by thy life-giving Spirit; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same 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. 

Cпасение coдeлaл (Salvation is created) – Pavel Chesnokov (1877-1944); arr. for men’s voices by Vladimir Morosan

Cпасение coдeлaл еси посреде земли, Боже. Аллилуия.
Spaseniye sodelal yesi posrede zemli, Bozhe. Alliluiya.

Salvation is forged in the depths of the earth, O God. Alleluia.

—Psalm 74:12

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.