The uniquely American “Kirkin’ of the Tartans” service originated at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, in 1941, when it was introduced by the Rev. Peter Marshall, a Presbyterian minister and chaplain to the U.S. Senate. The bagpipes, which traditionally accompany this service, originated in the first millennium. They are depicted in Babylonian carvings from before 1000 B.C. and are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Today’s modern “great pipes,” or Highland Pipes, originated as military instruments and are used to mark ceremonial occasions, typically outdoors.

This Morning Prayer service invites the singing of some of the many canticles composed for this Anglican liturgy. Today’s service includes two of the established canticles: the Benedicite (A Song of Creation; Song of the Three Young Men 35-65) and the Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah; Luke 1:68–79).

The Benedicite is sung to a setting in G by English organist and composer Francis Jackson (1917–2022). Jackson brings all of his hallmark compositional elements to this sublime text and uses a variety of different meters, keys, textures, and sounds to sustain interest in this lengthy canticle. Since the 1979 U.S. Book of Common Prayer does not prescribe that the Gloria Patri be sung at the end of the canticle, we will instead, on this Commemoration of St. Andrew, sing an alternative ending from the Scottish Book of Common Prayer (1929).

Charles Villiers Stanford’s (1852–1924) Morning, Evening, and Communion Service in C, Op. 115, provides music for the entire liturgical day. Common musical themes emerge across the various components of this service, potentially unifying the experience for a congregation present at two or more services in a single day. Indeed, worshippers familiar with the service of Choral Evensong will likely recognize Stanford’s setting of the Gloria Patri at the end of the Benedicuts. It is the very same music heard at the end of his Magnificat and Nunc dimittis.