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overview of the music at the Chapel of the Cross overview of the music at the Chapel of the Cross overview of the music at the Chapel of the Cross overview of the music at the Chapel of the Cross

Compline

“Ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord, lift up your hands in the
Holy place.” (Psalm 134)


On Sunday evenings at 9:30 p.m. (when the university is in session) the ancient rite of Compline is sung in our church. The service is sung in its entirety by a special choir (called a schola cantorum) that has been gathered solely for this purpose. While Compline is, in a sense, the simplest of services, our observance is perhaps the most radical of our liturgical offerings since it addresses one of the deepest and most urgent imperatives of our lives: the need for openness to the leading of God in moments of genuine transcendence. This openness is the only thing asked of those who come to Compline. Those who come seeking this deeper knowledge of God, from whatever place in their spiritual pilgrimage, are asked only to engage in active, prayerful, spiritual listening and the indwelling of sacred sound. In the extraordinary serenity of this sacred space and time many feel the presence of God despite doubts, and fears, and confusion.

The Office of Compline originated and developed in Southern Europe and the Middle East during the first six centuries of the Christian era. It was the last of the monastic “offices” of the day, “completing” the work of the day that had already gathered the community for worship at six specific times over its course. The quietness of the late evening hour, reflection on the course of the day, anticipation of the opportunities or threat of the coming day, and perhaps anxiety about the darkness and possible dangers of the night itself were all addressed by scripture, prayer, and hymns. The service consists as it always has in the singing of psalms, short passages of scripture called “chapters,” an “office” hymn, the Song of Simeon (Nunc dimittis), collects, and a hymn extolling the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The music consists for the most part of “Gregorian” chant, ranging from simple psalm tones and strophic hymns to the complex unfolding of an entire musical universe in something like the Ave Regina Coelorum or Salve Regina. From time to time a magnificent flowering of polyphony interrupts the monophonic flow: one voice becomes many and then one again.

Our service is offered in a darkened church illuminated by candles and adorned as of old by the sacred smell of incense. All are welcome to this intensely spiritual service. It is hoped that this offering will be especially compelling, as it has been elsewhere, to many of the thousands of students whose lives are lived in close proximity to our church. The service of Compline lasts about 25 minutes and is followed by a brief organ voluntary or improvisation, except during Advent and Lent when silence will follow the rite. If you are interested in singing in the choir or assisting with the service in some other way, please contact the choirmaster, Dr. Quinn.