Presenter Profile
Dr Hanna Rijken
Dr Hanna Rijken is an academic researcher in Theology and the Arts (Music) at Tilburg University, and a Lecturer in Liturgical Studies and Church Music at Rotterdam University of the Arts (Codarts). Her doctoral dissertation, ‘My Soul Doth Magnify’: The Appropriation of Anglican Choral Evensong in the Netherlands, has been published by VU University Press Amsterdam (2020). In addition to her academic work, she is the founder and conductor of the Vocaal Theologen Ensemble and the Vrouwenschola Hildegard.
Living Heritage Across Borders: Choral Evensong in the Netherlands
This paper presents findings from the research project titled Choral Evensong Experiences in the Netherlands, a large-scale national study of Evensong attendees. Framed through the lens of living heritage, the research examines how this distinctly English form of cathedral music and liturgy is experienced in another cultural and ecclesial context. This paper explores how participants engage with this tradition as a form of cultural heritage in practice, shaped in diverse Dutch contexts. Drawing on concepts such as specialness, appropriation, authenticity and cultural memory, this paper examines how the perceived ‘otherness’ of this explicitly non-Dutch heritage may enhance its attractiveness. The findings suggest that in the Netherlands, choral evensong exemplifies living heritage in motion as a transnational practice. By situating cathedral music within broader processes of heritage transmission and transformation, this paper contributes to discussions on how cultural heritage is reinterpreted across boundaries.