Margaret Aagesen Hughes and Clare Bryden will lead plainchant and polyphony with prayers for Lent at St Olave’s Church on Thursdays in February and March.
Lent is a period of 40 days, excluding Sundays, which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, it offers a period for reflection before Easter.
The services will feature anthems from On the Holy Mountain, a piece written for this series by composer Andrew Wilson, with instrumental arrangements including the first three movements of Serenade by German composer Hans Werner Henze on Thursday 2 March.
Performers include soprano Margaret Aagesen Hughes and alto Clare Bryden with Catherine Bradley on cello, Andrew Maries on oboe, Sophie Brewer on flute and John Draisley on keyboards.
St Olave’s Church was founded in 1053 by King Harold’s mother, Lady Gytha.
The church was rebuilt and further modified during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, with final alterations made during the Victorian era.
St Olave’s joined the parish of central Exeter in 1971. The parish also includes the churches of St Stephen, St Petrock’s, St Pancras and St Mary Arches.
Compline: A contemplative journey through Lent will take place at 8pm on Thursday 23 February, then Thursday 2 March, Thursday 9 March, Thursday 23 March and Thursday 30 March 2023, at St Olave’s Church in Fore Street.
The event is free to attend and unticketed. Warm clothes are recommended and donations to St Olave’s Church will be welcome.
For more information visit Clare Bryden’s website.
Photo of The Church of St Olave by Hugh Llewelyn licensed under Creative Commons.
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