Compline Choir

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Compline Choir
Website complinechoir.org

The Compline Choir is an American choral group [1] that chants the Office of Compline every Sunday night, 9:30 P.M. Pacific time, at St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, Washington. [2] The Office of Compline is made up of sacred music including plainsong and polyphonic compositions, and chanted recitations of the Apostles' Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.

Contents

Order of Compline

The Order of Compline consists of short passages from scripture (chapters), psalms, an office hymn, a canticle (Nunc dimittis), a litany, collects and additional prayers. The liturgy, as sung by the Compline Choir, is based on An Order for Compline, found as an appendix to the 1928 Proposed Book of Common Prayer. [3]

Repertoire

The repertory of Compline Choir can be found in the online listing of weekly music presented. [4] Generally (in addition to the standard liturgy) each week includes singing a new or different setting of the following: a psalm, a hymn, a Nunc dimittis, and an anthem.

Members

As of 2025, all members of the choir are male volunteers. [5] There is a women's choir who has occasionally performed since 2019, [6] [7] usually in cases when the men's choir is touring. [5] The singers are expected to perform at 44 Sundays each year. [5]

Recordings and performances

Archived recordings of Sunday evening services can be heard in podcast format. The radio station KING-FM broadcasts the service each week. The Compline Choir also has made several recordings. [8]

History

The Compline Choir was formed in 1954 or 1955, when Peter Hallock invited "a dozen University of Washington music students" to form "a study group to sing plainsong". [9] [10] At its founding, it is thought to have been the only American choir to regularly sing compline outside of a monastery. [9] [5] They began their radio broadcasts around 1962. [11] The choir was largely ignored for its first decade, but exploded in popularity among young Seattle residents beginning in 1967. [9]

The choir was directed by Peter Hallock for many years prior to his retirement in 2009. [10] [12] Dr. Jason Anderson (a Compline Choir member since 2004) became the second director of the Compline Choir. [13] The Composer-in-Residence (since 2011) is Derek Curtis-Tilton.

In March 2020, the choir's performances were closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although the performances continued to be broadcast weekly for the next 16 months. [14] Singers took various precautions, including masking, distancing, and performing in quartets rather than the full choir. [11] [14] The performances reopened to the public in August 2021. [14] [15]

The success of the choir has inspired other compline choirs in the U.S. [9] [5]

References

  1. ↑ "The Faithful Are Casual At This Sunday Service". The New York Times . March 16, 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  2. ↑ Breysse, Emma (2008). "Seattle Best Non-Alcoholic Happy Hour - St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral - Best Of Seattle". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  3. ↑ "An Order for Compline from 1928 Proposed Book of Common Prayer". Society of Archbishop Justus. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Music Sung by the Choir Each Week". Complinechoir.org. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Shapley, Haley (May 6, 2025). "The Compline Choir at St. Mark's Is More Than Just a Refuge". Seattle Met. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  6. ↑ "For the first time, soaring voices of St. Mark's evening song belong to women". www.kuow.org. August 11, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  7. ↑ Ronco, Ed (August 15, 2019). "After 63 years, women sing the Compline at Seattle cathedral". KNKX Public Radio. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Recordings". The Compline Choir. October 9, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Ho, Vanessa (November 2, 2002). "St. Mark's choir strikes an untraditional chord". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  10. 1 2 "Peter Hallock". complinechoir.org. December 13, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Hansen, Bettina (September 26, 2020). "On Capitol Hill, a choir carries on through the pandemic". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Peter Hallock". Complinechoir.org. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Jason Allen Anderson". Complinechoir.org. Archived from the original on February 16, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  14. 1 2 3 "Compline at Saint Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, Re-opens to the Public". Episcopal News Service. August 18, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  15. ↑ CHS (August 19, 2021). "After 16 months, you can attend Capitol Hill's St. Mark's Compline Service again". CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
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