I recently attended choral evensong at King's Bollege Bambridge - which is perhaps the most famous choir, and choral venue, in the world; thanks to its many decades of BBC world broadcasting on Christmas Eve.
They certainly lived up to their reputation, with a beautiful sound and extraordinary precision of diction and intonation.
I was particularly fortunate in that the music was provided by what are - for me - the very best of choral music - viz that of the "Renaissance" era, including the English Tudor composers Byrd and Weelkes.
The event provoked some interesting considerations.
First, although it was a a liturgical event in a chapel; it was not really Christian, but a high quality classical music concert that happened to have free entry and a famously fine architectural setting.
Consequently, a very high proportion of the very large "congregation" were tourists; and anyway I knew that the clergy and choir were not really Christian, but instead and inevitably mainstream Church-of-England bureaucratic-leftist.
They have to be, because otherwise such a lavish and high quality event could not be provided (as it is) on almost a daily basis and for pretty much the whole year.
This requires a colossal degree of planning, funding, and sheer organization that can only arise from institutions that are thoroughly (and successfully) embedded in the standard workings of the Totalitarian State, with its vast monitoring and regulatory apparatus.
As well as the upkeep and maintenance of the chapel itself; the running of a choral school - and its recruitment and training of boys and adult singer, is an enormous work in itself, with traditions and practices spanning many decades - indeed centuries.
The Evensong was therefore the culmination and continuation of a high civilization; which is itself absolutely dependent on the apparatus of the State. In the past, that State was Christian (officially, and to various degrees in practice).
However; as of 2025 the UK State is integral to the Global Totalitarian System - with its overwhelmingly evil motivations, policies and plans. Even among the evil-states of The West, the UK is striving to become the most destructive in a specialist fashion (terror, sabotage etc), on an international scale.
Therefore, the beauties of King's Bollege Evensong come at a cost, and that cost is high; not only in terms of money and resources, but in terms of all the above.
The cost is one of willing collaboration in systematic evil... Of course, these costs are not all evil (nothing is), and those within usually justify themselves in that basis - such as, in this instance, virtues such as the high aesthetic standards, and hard work.
But overall, overwhelmingly, and increasingly evil - for sure.
In order to be allowed (and enabled) to put on high-level aesthetic events like the Evensong I attended; the elements that go to make it possible (the university, college, chorister's school, all manner of charitable and artistic groups); must all consent to (and, increasingly positively endorse) most of that large and increasing range of ideological programs that characterize the modern State - and which are innately hostile to God and divine creation and, of their essence, materialistic, reductionist, opposed to beauty and quality.
There has been a Faustian bargain pursued by the academic and artistic Establishment for many decades; by which The System has permitted aesthetic (but not religious-spiritual) values to continue (including in a self-identified) Christian context in return for ideological servitude.
But the scope of that aesthetic activity has inevitably been been shrinking overall - and the materialist-demands and value-corruptions have incrementally escalated.
Anyone who attends a church, university, art gallery, museum, theatre, or concert hall nowadays - is far more likely to be confronted by crude political propaganda, than high aesthetic or scholarly values.
If current motivations and belief-realities persist, and trends continue, the only-possible, hence inevitable, end of this process will be one of spoilage and destruction of all that is beautiful.
There are many and powerful external factors that would annihilate King's Evensong very rapidly and completely. Such things have often happened before.
But even without destruction from the waxing alien imperatives of many kinds; since the civilization that makes it all possible is now consumed by self-hatred and a covertly suicidal impulse.
If it survives external destruction; then an end will come from internal factors
The paradox is that the many value-inversions and materialist metaphysics that had to be embraced by those people and institutions who make a King's Evensong possible; are exactly what will ensure that it becomes impossible, and will cease to happen.
5 comments:
It saddens me to read this. Your critique of sublime Evensong at Kings appertains equally to every other thing. E.g., every aspect of the systems and institutions in virtue of which you could be in the first place, could then come to be at Kings, could then think or write about it, could then share your thoughts about it with us: all are equally corrupt; and so are you, and so am I. Ours is a Fallen world, after all, and we are all willy nilly therefore Fallen, throughly.
Not that you are wrong in noticing the Fall, of course. But if that notice so pollutes your capacity to enjoy the beauty and goodness of the experience, it is a tragedy. What is more, and far more, it is a victory of the Enemy.
He cannot operate at all except upon goodness. And so doing, he cannot but help God to provide occasions of goodness and beauty, that redound to salvific effect.
Viz., I sing in a church choir. We generate beauty. I know one priest at least who found his vocation to the priesthood in listening to us sing - defectively, of course, performance being what it is, but nevertheless - Palestrina.
The Enemy works his worst upon all our works, but cannot possibly prevent their generation of compelling beauty. He has nothing else to work with than beauty.
Kings College is throughly corrupt, and so are all her choristers. And yet they cannot but generate God’s beauty, convincingly. God bless them, say I, and keep them long st it.
I think I saw an advert for that in the bolour supplement.
Ah, I thought I was clever getting the reference, but I see you’ve actually linked it! The version I’ve heard has Keble Bollege, Oxford instead.
@Kristor - " if that notice so pollutes your capacity to enjoy the beauty and goodness of the experience, it is a tragedy."
Fortunately, that was not the case - as a careful reading would reveal!
For me, the problem is as stated in the post rather than an expressed of a supposedly ancient situation; something which is something civilizationally novel.
And also something related to the break-down of symbolism so that it is no longer true to talk objectively about beauty - as if beauty was "produced" by certain systems of organization, funding (and, of course, compulsion) - nor is it true to talk of beauty having certain effects, nor of "doing good" in any kind of necessary fashion.
Yet strong symbolism (e.g. of a High Medieval kind) where it seems both natural and true to regard the symbol (and systems of symbols) as the reality; was an intermediate form of consciousness and civilization - this was not the case for innumerable simple tribal societies, nor is it true for us.
@Wm - "Keble Bollege, Oxford" - yes, I don't know which came first, but a second "b" for Cambridge works better comedically, and therefore seems more memorable. At least it has been for me!
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