Starting December 7, 2008

Daryl Bichel, Artistic Director, Email Us
Carolyn Darr, SSM, Associate Director

Ben Schwendener, Jazz Coordinator, Email Us
       

What is Night Song?
Night Song is a joint ministry of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain and the Society of St. Margaret in Roxbury. It offers an hour of meditation and contemplation every Sunday evening - a refuge from the stress and frantic pace of our daily lives. Through the stillness of the evening, burning candles and incense, bells, sacred art, and most especially music, Night Song is intended to bring serene beauty and quiet peace into your life. Let your prayers and hopes rise up with those of others as incense, the lifting up of hearts and hands as an evening sacrifice. The music is a unique fusion of contemplative instrumental jazz with ancient and modern chant, as well as sacred motets from the Renaissance, and is offered within the framework of the ancient monastic office of compline.		 Where and when does Night Song take place?
Night Song is held at St. John's Episcopal Church, Revere Street and Roanoke Avenue in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston.
See www.stjohns-jp.org for directions. Night Song will begin on the first Sunday in December 2008 and continue weekly through May 2009. The starting time is 7 PM, but if you desire a briefer experience, come a little later.
Do I have to be an Episcopalian to attend Night Song?
Not at all. While Christian in nature, Night Song is open to people of all faiths as a supplement to their current spiritual practice. There are no creeds, sermons, coffee hours, or other requirements. Simply take from it what meets your needs.
Who will be singing at Night Song?
Two small choral ensembles are being formed by Daryl Bichel, Artistic Director of Night Song, and Sister Carolyn Darr, SSM, Associate Director. Auditions are being conducted through the first weekend in October. We're searching for singers with excellent sight-reading skills, accurate pitch, musicality, and a strong interest in early music who will commit to singing twice a month during the choral term. One ensemble will be mixed, with two singers on a part. Another will be all men. A third, just for women, is being considered. Rehearsals will be on some Saturdays, and immediately before singing Night Song. Thus, singing in a Night Song ensemble will not preclude church musicians from continuing to sing in their own parish choirs. For further information and to schedule an interview please contact Daryl Bichel at darylbichel@aol.com or 617.312.8328.		 Who will be playing jazz at Night Song?
Boston's rich cultural environment includes many fine jazz musicians. We offer a unique setting for jazz, combining the resonant acoustics of St. John's Church with the reflective quietness of Night Song. The setting is far from the noise and distraction of clubs, and allows jazz musicians to explore the soft dimension of jazz in a spiritual and introspective direction. The jazz is intended to foster a sense of meditation and prayer, rather than to overtly intrude with urgent energy. Musicians who would like to participate are invited to read the section that follows and to contact Ben Schwendener at Gravity Arts, 617.522.0288, ben@gravityarts.org. Sample audio clips of appropriate music can be found below.

Play Clip Of Ben Schwendener
What specifically is expected of the jazz musicians?
The role of jazz musicians at Night Song is to offer jazz as prayer, or to put it another way – as a vehicle to transport the listeners into a realm of tranquility, meditation, and introspection. A specific part of the challenge is to use elements of Gregorian chant, such as free rhythm and modal scales, as an expression of beauty and musical excellence within the jazz idiom. Musicians will be provided with a compilation of plainchant hymns in modern notation from which they may select one or more on which to base some of the music for the first half-hour; the remainder of the music during that time may be jazz that has no obvious connection to or recognition as secular texts or melodies.

For the second half hour, during which there will be singing of Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphonic motets by a choral group within the monastic office of compline, the jazz musicians take on a different role. Brief strings of jazz will be used to “intone” (introduce choral selections and give the cantor or singers the starting pitch), and as a “comment” or an “elaboration” on lines of chant sung by the vocalists. A “script” for the service with instructions and the chant in modern notation will be provided in advance. Here a lone instrument – such as a soprano sax - might be more effective, rather than a group of jazz musicians, but not necessarily so. A half-hour rehearsal with the choral group from 6:15-6:45 PM will build a comfort level and understanding of this portion of Night Song for the jazz musicians.

Payment for jazz musicians will be from the free will offering taken at the door. Inviting those who follow your performances will increase your take home fee.

The church is of moderate size and has beautiful resonance. No amplification is needed, nor will it be allowed. Percussion instruments are not advised due to the nature of Night Song. The grand piano is by Mason & Hamlin and is well-maintained.

To apply please submit the following to Ben Schwendener who is coordinating the jazz component of Night Song:617.522.0288, ben@gravityarts.org . You can copy Daryl on it at darylbichel@aol.com:

1. The names of those who will be performing, along with the name of the group if it’s an established entity.
2. A sound clip or CD.
3. A photograph and a brief biographical sketch for our use in publicity--best submitted electronically.