"When I work, God regards me, but when I sing, He loves me." (Tagore)
Portsmouth Cathedral has a thriving and diverse music programme. The boys' choir of the Portsmouth Cathedral Choir consists of 24 boys' voices and 12 adult male voices. The choir members rehearse on weekdays at 8.00 am before a normal school day, where they rehearse the music for that week's services. There is also a girls' choir and an adult choir. They share the various musical tasks in the cathedral and in the diocese.
The choir has already made several successful tours through Belgium, Germany, Estonia, France, the Netherlands and Sweden. At home, in the United Kingdom, they have sung in St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London as well as in the Queen's private chapel at St. George's in Windsor Castle.
As Portsmouth is one of the three naval bases of the United Kingdom, it is not surprising that this choir also maintains close ties with the Royal Navy and participates in a number of services for them. Highlights include the annual Royal Marines Band Service and the carol service of the Second Sea Lord on HMS Victory.
The Portsmouth Cathedral Choir has built a special bond with Antwerp for decades. On Saturday 24 May, the choir was guest for the third time in the Sint-Walburgiskerk in Antwerp as part of the "Walburgis Proms".
Under the direction of Dr David Price, the choir performed the programme "Cathedral Echoes", taking the audience on a thrilling journey through the fascinating world of England's great cathedrals. The choir effortlessly switched from polyphony via baroque to romantic and contemporary repertoire. They sang intimate works as well as breathtaking works that reflected the rich history and grandeur of these sacred places in an inimitable way. With the unique sound so characteristic of a boys' choir, the heavenly voices filled the intriguing art deco church building.
The tone was set immediately with Byrd's "Haec dies": it would be a festive evening. Parsons' "Ave Maria", a classic of English choral literature, provided the first goosebump moment. Sarah MacDonald's "Crux fidelis" may have seemed a strange one at first glance, but this contemporary work fitted perfectly into the series of mighty compositions and tasted for more.
Several pieces were performed with solo voices. These were interpreted at a very high level by members of the choir. We listened in amazement to the boy's solo in "How beautiful are the feet" from Handel's "Messiah", only to be blown away afterwards by two boys' voices in Mendelssohn's "Hear My Prayer". The baritone solo in "Rise, heart, thy Lord is risen" from Vaughan Williams' "Five Mystical Songs" immediately touched the heart. Of course, we must also mention the fine performances in Amner's "Consider all, ye passers by" and Purcell's "Thy word is a lantern".
The concert was structured in three parts, each featuring choral works from a specific period. In between, an organ work resounded each time. With Amy Beach and Philip Moore, no beaten paths were trodden, but thanks to organist Sachin Gunga we got to know new works.
Finally, a compliment for the accompanying programme booklet, in which each choral work was briefly contextualised, so you could enjoy each gem even more.
After the strains of Handel's "Hallelujah", in which the audience was invited to sing along, we could look back on a heartwarming evening. In these uncertain times – O for the wings, for the wings of a dove! – we were allowed to catch a glimpse of another, better world…
