Portsmouth Cathedral Choir

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Portsmouth Cathedral Choir is made up of 24 boy choristers and 12 Lay Clerks and  Choral Scholars who contribute to the pattern of daily cathedral worship. The choristers rehearse on weekday mornings at 8.00am before a normal school day in preparation for the week's music. In any normal week, the Cathedral’s Choirs sing for at least 6 services.

The Choir also sings at various special services and events both locally across the diocese and internationally, and has toured Holland, France, Estonia, Sweden and more recently Denmark and Belgium. At home in the UK, they have also sung at St Paul's Cathedral, the Queen's private chapel at St George's in Windsor Castle and at Westminster Abbey. The Cathedral Choir maintains strong links with the Royal Navy and takes part in a number of services for them. Highlights include the annual Royal Marines Band Service and the Second Sea Lord’s carol service on HMS Victory and we were particularly delighted to board HMS Queen Elizabeth for her commissioning in the presence of the late Queen.

In the Summer of 2025, they broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 for Choral Evensong and for a live broadcast of Midnight Mass on BBC One Christmas 2024. We are looking forward to a busy schedule in 2026 including BBC Radio broadcasts, tours in Europe and playing our role in key events in Portsmouth and our Diocese.

Portsmouth Cathedral Choir Tours

Our tours include:

1998 Estonia: Tallinn, Rapla, Viljandi, Parnu (men and boys)
1999 Belgium and Holland: Antwerp, Gent, Vlissngen (men and boys)
2000 France: Bec, Rouen, St Wandrille(men and boys)
2001 Belgium: Antwerp, Brussels (men and boys)
2003 Sweden: Stockholm, Uppsala (men and boys)
2004 Belgium and Holland: Antwerp, Vlissingen, Arnhem (men and boys)
2004 France: DDay 60 – Caen, Bayeux (men and boys)
2006 Estonia: Tallin, Viljandi, Parnu (men and boys)
2007 Estonia: Tallinn, Tartu (men)
2007 Denmark: Copenhagen, Roskilde, Aarhus(men and boys)
2008 France: Alpe d’Huez, Chambery, Allemont (men)
2008 France: Paris, Rouen (Cantate)
2009 France: Alpe d’Huez, Chambery, Annecy (men and boys)
2009 Austria: Salzburg (Cantate)2010 Belgium: Antwerp (men and boys)
2011 France: Alpe d’Huez (senior choristers and men)
2011 Germany: Berlin (men and boys)
2012 France: Alpe d’huez and Lyon (Cantate)
2013 Sweden: Uppsala and Stockholm (men and boys)
2013 Malta: Gozo (Cantate)
2014 France: Alpe d’Huez (men)
2014 Belgium: Antwerp and Ypres (men and boys)
2015 Estonia: Tallinn (men)
2015 Italy: Florence (Cantate)
2016 Germany: Cologne (men and boys)
2017 Cyprus (Cantate)
2018 Finland (men)
2018 Belgium: Antwerp (men and boys)
2019 Iceland (Cantate)
2020 Poland: Kraków (men and boys)
2020 Finland (Consort)
2020 Belgium (Cantate)
2022 Sweden (men and boys)
2023 Belgium (men and girls)
2024 Denmark (adults and boys)

Recordings & Broadcasts

The Choir has also made a number of recordings including a reconstruction of music from Admiral Lord Nelson’s Funeral and ‘I look from afar’ – a recording of Advent and Christmas carols- all of these are available through the HeraldAV label. We collaborated with Convivium Records for a number of high-profile projects over the last 10 years and we have also released ‘Portsmouth Remembers’ through Guild Records- a re-release of a 1984 LP recording with an extra half-an-hour from the present-day choir. More recently we released Verbum Caro Factum Est (Christmas music) in 2018 which has featured regularly on ClassicFM and Te Deum Laudamus, a CD of organ music played by David Price on the Cathedral’s Nicholson organ.

In 2025 we were the featured choir for the BBC Music Magazine Christmas edition including a cover CD of Advent and Christmas carols. This album was re-released on Signum Classics.

In 2026 we look forward to the release of ‘A Year in Portsmouth’ on Regent Records.

Reviews of Verbum Caro Factum Est:

Rubert Hugill:
“wonderfully unhackneyed, and though many pieces are perhaps familiar to choristers and choir members, they form an attractively unusual selection”
“a delightful disc, and there is plenty of interest in it to brighten up a dull … evening”

Andrew Palmer, Cathedral Music magazine:
“A splendid mix of contemporary and well-known pieces”
“I thoroughly enjoyed this CD … Quite a gem.”
“The ancient carol Gaudete, complete with drums and organ, opens this enterprising disc”
“The performance here is appealing”
“Great accompaniments provided by Sachin Gunga”

Our recordings (all available from the cathedral shop, or click the title to order online):

1996 Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis Volume 4 (Priory)

1997 Hymns from Portsmouth Cathedral (Herald)

1999 I look from afar - A sequence for Christmas (Herald)

2001 The State Funeral of Horatio, Lord Viscount Nelson K.B. (Herald)

2004 Portsmouth Remembers - Music for Remembrance (DDay 60) (Guild)

2006 Heavenly Harmonies (Herald)

2009 Sing to the Lord (Convivium)

2010 Valete in Pace/Requiem in Blue - Harvey Brough (Smudge Recordings)

2010 In your Image (Carols for Advent & Christmas) (Convivium)

2012 Music for Seafarers (Convivium)

2013 To Sing thy Love: The church music of June Clark (Convivium)