A GREAT MUSIC.(God's Secretaries)(Book Review)

Every afternoon in England, between about three and six o'clock, candles are lit in the great cathedrals and abbeys and college chapels, and the antique rite known as Evensong is observed. "Sung"would be more accurate than "observed”; the choir, boys first and then men, shuffles in at chain-gang pace, enters the carved stalls, and proceeds with what might be a brief concert. There is no need for anyone else, except an organist and a precentor, which is just as well, since often the shadowy nave and transepts are void of worshippers; perhaps a few tourists hover at the very back of the church, foggily attempting to gauge the event's exact religiosity.

This ...