In Anglican church music, a service is a musical setting of certain parts of the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

, generally for

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

with or without

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

accompaniment.

Liturgical services

Morning Prayer

* Venite ( Psalm 95 — rarely set after the Restoration) *

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

Benedicite The Benedicite (also Benedicite, omnia opera Domini or A Song of Creation) is a canticle that is used in the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, and is also used in Anglican and Lutheran worship. The text is either verses 35–65 or verses 35–66 of ...

Benedictus Benedictus, Latin for "blessed" or "a blessed person", may refer to: Music * "Benedictus" (canticle), also called the "Canticle of Zachary", a canticle in the Gospel of Lukas * Part of the "Sanctus", a hymn and part of the eucharistic prayer in W ...

( Luke I, 68) or Jubilate (

Psalm 100 Psalm 100 is the 100th psalm in the Book of Psalms in the Tanakh. In English, it is translated as "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands" in the King James Version (KJV), and as "O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands" in the Book of C ...

)

Evening Prayer

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

or (rarely) Cantate Domino (Psalm 98) *

Nunc dimittis The Nunc dimittis (), also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a canticle taken from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 29 to 32. Its Latin name comes from its incipit, the opening words, of the Vulgate transl ...

or (rarely) Deus misereatur ( Psalm 67)

Holy Communion

*Responses to the Commandments *

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

Sanctus The ''Sanctus'' (, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' (, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition and parts of it are sometimes called "Benedictus". ''Tersanctus'' (Latin: "Thr ...

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the "Lamb of God" is honoured within Christian liturgies descending from the historic Latin liturgical tradition, including those of Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. It is the name given to a spec ...

* Kyrie Eleison * Gloria in Excelsis This follows the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

''. Modern Anglican liturgy has largely reverted to the order of the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. Unlike masses written in the Catholic tradition, however, masses by Anglican composers may choose to omit the Credo, which, in Anglican churches, is often recited rather than sung. Also, rather than setting the traditional Latin and Greek liturgy, several Anglican-composed masses use an English translation, such as that contained within the 1662

Full service and other services

A "Full Service" includes all three of these groups. But with the demise of daily "

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

" (choral morning prayer) from the Anglican liturgy and the reduction of the choral element in communion services composers are now more likely only to set the evening service. The "Burial Service" (see

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

) is sometimes set separately.

History

In the Tudor and early

Stuart period The Stuart period of British history lasted from 1603 to 1714 during the dynasty of the House of Stuart. The period was plagued by internal and religious strife, and a large-scale civil war which resulted in the Execution of Charles I, execu ...

s, services were described as "Short", "Great" or "Verse" services: * Verse services incorporated sections for solo voices. * Short services were simple settings for four-part choir which could be sung

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

. * Great Services (of which the most famous is the '' Great Service'' by

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

) were long and elaborate and presumably kept for special occasions. Following the Restoration this classification gradually broke down and services became known by the key in which they were written; hence the common shorthand terminology "

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...

in G minor" or "

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

in B flat". From the twentieth century, compositions are often named after the college chapel or cathedral for which they were written: examples are the ''Collegium Magdalenae Oxoniense'' of Kenneth Leighton for

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

and the ''Gloucester Service'' of Herbert Howells for

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishme ...

External links

Church music UK
Church of England Christian liturgical music {{Christian-music-stub