Ancient music to be sung once again in Worksop Priory

Worksop Priory by James@hopgrove - Wiki Image

Source: University of Nottingham

Music written more than 1000 years ago and thought to be some of the oldest surviving music in England, is set to be performed in a special church service as part of a project from the University of Nottingham.

The Music in the Shadows project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), will see the congregation of the Worksop Priory (CoE) conduct a service honouring St Cuthbert, including the music, along with public talks and family activities.

The highlight will be a candlelit night service for St Cuthbert, performed as it might have been known some 700 years ago, around the time of Worksop's famous Tickhill Psalter.

Composed around 930 AD for King Athelstan, in honour of Saint Cuthbert, these special liturgical chants were sung every year in the town's medieval Priory. They will resound again for the first time in 500 years at 5am on Sunday 1 September.

For the better part of a millennium, Christian religious communities across Western Europe awoke from their sleep each night to offer prayer in church. During the Middle Ages this form of daily worship - known as Nocturns, Matins, or Night Office - was a significant and immovable presence in religious life.

The 'Music in the Shadows' project offers the first dedicated investigation of this remarkable historical phenomenon and will see the research from the team come to light and reanimate these forgotten forms of worship.

Dr Henry Parkes, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Nottingham, led on the project and collaborated with the Worksop Priory to bring the service to life.

He explained: "We wanted to put on one of these services to see how all the pieces fit together with the music, the roles people play in the service and all the different moving parts.

"Worksop was an ideal partner, as the parish has magnificent medieval buildings and a strong tradition of liturgy and choral singing. The choir in particular have embraced the challenges set before them. We hope this service will build local understandings of the Priory's history, as well as a renewed sense of pride in the town's medieval heritage."

Rev Nicolas Spicer, from Worksop Priory said: "I'm excited and looking forward to it. There is a great deal of interest amongst members of the congregation and local community.

"We always celebrate St Cuthbert at this time of year, and this is giving us a new dimension on his life and understanding how other people in the past have honoured his memory, and how they have been able to get encouragement and strength in their Christian discipleship.

"Part of what we're doing is looking to do the same, in looking at how he was honoured here in Worksop, how we can reflect that in our celebration."

Family activities relating to the Tickhill Psalter - a 14th-century Gothic manuscript currently kept at the New York Public Library and originally produced by the Worksop Prior - will also be available on Saturday 31 August to help educate children and their families on the historical value of the event.

LINK

Worksop Priory: https://worksoppriory.co.uk/