France Tour 2025
The Choir are very excited to be travelling to France this summer on our annual Choir Tour. Please find details of our engagements below:
Dates: 25th-30th July
Saturday 26th July - reception for Old Members featuring the Choir
Sunday 27th July - 10.30am Mass at Saint-André Cathedral, Bordeaux; 6pm concert for Festival de Gensac (Église Notre-Dame à Gensac)
Monday 28th July - 7pm concert at Saint-Sernin Basilica, Toulouse (free with a retiring collection)
Tuesday 29th July - 8pm concert at La Madeleine, Paris (free admission)
Please find further details on the Choir’s performances below:
Sunday 27th July
Mass at Saint-André Cathedral, Bordeaux
Join the Choir for a morning service at 10.30am in Bordeaux’s stunning Saint-André Cathedral.
Evening Concert: Festival de Gensac
The Choir are delighted to be performing as part of Festival de Gensac this year in the beautiful Église Notre-Dame. A sacred first half features some of the twenty- and twenty-first century’s most prevalent composers, from Duruflé and Leighton to Rutter’s masterpiece Hymn to the Creator of Light. The second half celebrates nature and summertime, with madrigals and partsongs from Bennet and Wilbye paving the way for Chilcott and Britten.
Time: 6pm
Tickets will be available locally in the library, and can be purchased on the day.
Address: Pl. De L'église Gensac
Monday 28th July
Evening Concert: Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse
Join the Choir for an evening of sacred music in Toulouse’s stunning Saint-Sernin Basilica. Featuring composers spanning from the sixteenth- to the twenty-first century, this concert celebrates the very best of sacred choral composition, moving from Victoria, Purcell, and Gibbons, to Leighton, Holst, and Clarke. Further details on our programme can be found below.
Time: 7pm
No tickets required; free with a retiring collection.
Address: Saint-Sernin Basilica, 13, Saint-Sernin Square, 31000 Toulouse
Programme:
Ave Maria – Robert Parsons (c. 1530–1572)
Ave Jesu Christe – Peter Philips (c. 1560–1628)
Remember not, Lord, our offences – Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
O clap your hands – Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625)
Hymn to the Trinity – Kenneth Leighton (1929–1988)
Blessed is the man – Harold Darke (1888–1976)
Ubi caritas et amor – Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986)
Ave Maria – Gustav Holst (1874–1934)
O brother man – Harold Darke
Beati quorum via - Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
Ave Maria - Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979)
Nunc dimittis - Gustav Holst
Hymn to the Creator of Light - John Rutter (b. 1945)
Tuesday 29th July
Evening Concert: La Madeleine, Paris
Our final concert of this summer’s tour is in Paris’ sublime La Madeleine. Featuring composers from across the centuries, this concert promises to wrap up a truly special tour with some of Queen’s most loved choral pieces.
Time: 8pm
Free admission
Address: 1 Place de la Madeleine
75008, Paris – France
