Portsmouth Choral Union News

Portsmouth Choral Union Requiem – Maurice Duruflé St Mary’s Church, Portsmouth Saturday 25 May 2024   Like a lunchtime recital, there is something enticing about a short early evening performance. Somehow the listening experience becomes more poised and...

Duruflé’s increasingly popular Requiem exists in three versions: one with organ accompaniment alone, one with organ and string orchestra and one for organ and full orchestra.  For Portsmouth Choral Union’s performance on Saturday 25th May they will be performing the...

Concert review written by Geoff Porter. 'Of all the settings of The Passion of Christ, the St. John Passion by Bob Chilcott is probably the most personal; it speaks to the listener directly, not just through the words, but also through the music. The early evening...

With the ghost of J S Bach looming over his or her shoulder, it is a brave composer who will tackle writing a new setting of ‘The St. John Passion’, yet Bob Chilcott has done just that.  Written for the choir of Wells Cathedral, its first performance took place there...

Over three hundred people gathered together in the middle of December? Fratton Park? No. In that glorious building, St Mary, Fratton. An audience of over 200 met to hear a choir of 75 supported by an orchestra of 20 held together by Ringmaster, David Gostick. This was...

A fabulous festive time yesterday at Gunwharf Quays - singing Carols and raising funds for Christian Aid. Thank you to all the shoppers who kindly donated and thanks to PCU members who sang so brilliantly! Our caroling was certainly appreciated by the passing crowds....

Verdi’s Requiem has frequently been described as his best opera, and it certainly displays all the features that contributed to his enormous success as an operatic composer. It is dramatic, gentle and reflective when needed and full of wonderful melodies and glorious...

NEWS RELEASE Christian Aid supporters in Portsmouth are warming up their vocal chords for some festive fundraising to support vulnerable communities around the world. The international development charity has launched its 2023 Christmas Appeal which this year is...

For their 2023 Winter season Portsmouth Choral Union will be performing two of the most well-known works in the choir’s repertoire: Handel’s Messiah and Verdi’s Requiem. In their long history of over 140 years, the choir has sung Messiah over 80 times – the first time...

Verdi Requiem Singing day is a huge success! Thank you to member of Medici Choir for making the journey from London to join us yesterday. We loved your company and it was a joy to sing with you. Thank you to our guests and of course, special thanks to David Gostick...

For their 2023 Winter season Portsmouth Choral Union will be performing two of the most well-known works in the choir’s repertoire: Handel’s Messiah and Verdi’s Requiem. In their long history of over 140 years, the choir has sung Messiah over 80 times – the first time...

Portsmouth Choral Union at St. Mary’s, Portsea, 24 June 2023 It was fitting that on the day which celebrates the birth of John the Baptist that PCU should perform St. Nicolas by Benjamin Britten which includes the phrase ‘he climbed up to the font to be baptised’....

Portsmouth Choral Union’s summer concert will feature a rare Portsmouth performance and a first Portsmouth performance. The rare will be Benjamin Britten’s Cantata ‘St Nicolas’.  Written for the centenary of Lancing College in 1948, this cantata tells the life of the...

As chance would have it, in the morning I heard the contemporary composer, Bent Sørensen, on the wireless quoted as having written, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is maybe the greatest work of art in any genre ever to be created in our culture. So it was nice for David...

Portsmouth Choral Union Bach St Matthew Passion  The St. Matthew Passion is the largest single composition that Bach ever wrote and is considered by many to be one of the greatest creations of Western Civilization.  Originally planned for performance before Covid,...

Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ was the chosen work for this year’s ‘Come and Sing’ hosted by Portsmouth Choral Union on Saturday 28th January.  The choir was delighted to welcome the large number of enthusiastic visiting singers that joined them for this most enjoyable...

The Salvation Army Band and singers from PCU performed a Community Carols Charity event on the Board Walk at Port Solent on 21 December 2022. This was the first event of its kind at Christmas at Port Solent - and a large crowd quickly formed and joined in...

The Angels Approved -  The angels looked down from the roof of St. Mary’s, Portsea as over 100 young musicians of The Hampshire County Youth Orchestra and nearly 100 singers of Portsmouth Choral Union performed to a packed audience. The programme began in a lively...