France Tour 2025

Please find a blog of our choir tour to France below:

On 25 July 2025, the Choir set off from St Pancras International bright and early for what would be a fantastic five-day tour across France, visiting Bordeaux, Gensac, Toulouse, and Paris. After making sure we had all our ducks (and music folders) in a row, we boarded the Eurostar, crossed the Channel, and continued our journey south towards Bordeaux.

Saturday 26 July - Gensac

Our first engagement of the tour was a particularly special one. Generously hosted by one of the College’s Old Members and organised in collaboration with the Old Members’ Office, the Choir was invited to perform a programme of madrigals at a beautiful reception, with the River Dordogne providing a stunning backdrop. The performance began with John Bennet’s All Creatures Now and transitioned to the charming French part-song Il est bel et bon. Afterward, the Choir joined the guests for a delightful buffet dinner, accompanied by wines handpicked by the College’s Wine Steward, Robert Taylor.

Charles Villiers Stanford’s The Bluebird provided a fitting soundtrack for the swallows swooping to their nests for the night, and the concert closed with a firm tour favourite: Somewhere Over the Rainbow. We extend our sincerest thanks to our hosts and the Old Members’ Office for their warm hospitality and generous support.

Sunday 27 July - Mass at St André Cathedral, Bordeaux, & Evening Concert for Festival de Gensac

A tale of two halves, Sunday began with Mass at the magnificent St André Cathedral in Bordeaux. After enjoying a coffee in the square, the Choir rehearsed for the service, opening with Harold Darke’s Be Strong and of a Good Courage as the entrance procession. The mass setting was Rheinberger’s Cantus Missæ, with Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine as the communion motet. Our organ scholars, Rudyard and Arthur, accompanied the Choir, with Rudyard performing an improvised voluntary on the Grand Orgue.

That evening, we travelled back to Gensac for a concert as part of the Festival de Gensac, held in the beautiful Église Notre-Dame. The Choir was warmly welcomed, with the church packed to support the festival’s first choral concert in 38 years. Featuring a varied programme of sacred and secular music, the performance included highlights from this academic year. Especially captivating were Eric Whitacre’s spellbinding A Boy and a Girl and Caroline Shaw’s And the Swallow (clips can be found on our Instagram). After the concert, we enjoyed a reception in the church square, which was a wonderful chance to mingle with the audience and soak in the French countryside. A successful evening was topped off by a historic win for the Lionesses, watched on an iPhone in the square. A triumphant night, indeed!

Monday 28 July - Evening Concert at Saint-Sernin Basilica, Toulouse

Monday saw the Choir leaving Bordeaux for Toulouse. After a morning on the train, we had a few hours to explore the city before heading to the Basilica of Saint-Sernin for a tour and rehearsal. The evening concert was well attended, with the audience praising the Choir’s performance, particularly our closing piece, Rutter’s awe-inspiring anthem Hymn to the Creator of Light. We ended the evening with pizza and fun in the square outside the Basilica, enjoying the final rays of sunshine and our short but sweet stay in Toulouse.

Tuesday 29 July - Evening Concert at La Madeleine, Paris

On Tuesday morning, the Choir travelled to Paris for our final performance, held at the iconic La Madeleine. After grabbing lunch and enjoying a few hours in the city, the choir gave another stunning performance of sacred repertoire. Our senior organ scholar, Rudyard Cooke, also delivered a solo performance of a piece by Allain on the Orgue de Chœur. We closed our tour with Ēriks Ešenvalds’ spellbinding O Salutaris Hostia, before heading off to enjoy our last evening in the City of Light.

After a hugely successful tour, and what has been a fantastic year for the Choir, we look forward to a long vacation before returning to many exciting engagements in 2025-26. The Choir also looks forward to returning to France, with several hosts extending immediate invitations for future visits.

You can hear more about our activities on our social media pages below. Thank you for your continued support, and we very much hope to welcome you to a Queen’s Choir performance again soon!

Written by Alaw Grug Evans (Choir Administrator 2024-25)