Portugal & Galicia Tour 2026
On the morning of Saturday 12 September, the choir set off from Gatwick in high spirits to embark on a nine-day tour of Portugal and Galicia. The choir has links with Portugal and Spain, as our director of music, Professor Owen Rees, is a specialist in Spanish and Portuguese early music, so we were all very excited to visit somewhere with which we had a strong musical connection. For some choir members, this was not their first time touring to Portugal: the choir toured there in 2021, so it was exciting to take newer members of the choir to explore. The choir had a wonderful time across the nine days; it was a trip filled with wonderful music, architecture, food, and great weather – not to forget some swimming, a Queen’s Choir staple activity!
Braga Cathedral
Mass
Sunday 13 September, 11.30 am
Our first stop was in Braga, where we sang mass in the cathedral. Our repertoire spanned centuries: we sang the Missa de beata virgine mass setting by Portuguese composer Duarte Lobo (c.1565-1646), alongside Eric Whitacre’s Lux Arumque. The service was very well attended, and it was lovely to sing such a variety of music in a cathedral setting. We all had the chance to look around afterwards and got some well-earned lunch before heading off into Spain…
Royal Basilica of Santa Maria, Pontevedra
Concert
Monday 14 September, 8.45 pm
The first concert of tour is always a special one, and the beautiful architecture of the Basilica brought it close to perfection. We opened with some Portuguese and Spanish polyphony, including Melgás’ Salve Regina – a hit with the choir and the audience. To contrast, the second half was made up of later English music, such as Rutter’s Hymn to The Creator of Light, Britten’s Hymn to the Virgin, and Leighton’s Hymn to the Trinity, the last of which the choir recorded on their recent disc, The Crown of Life. We received a standing ovation and lots of lovely comments from people afterwards, which is always a joy.
The choir after their concert in Pontevedra
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
Pilgrim Mass
Tuesday 15 September, 12 pm
On Tuesday we headed to Santiago de Compostela, the famous destination of the Catholic pilgrimage route – the Way of St James – since the 9th century. In the morning, we sang mass at the cathedral, to people who had come from all over the world to take the famous walk to Santiago. It was exciting to be inside a building of such historical and religious significance.
Monastery of San Martín Pinario
Concert
Tuesday 15 September, 8 pm
That evening, the choir gave a concert in the monastery of San Martin Pinario. This concert was also packed full, and we received a standing ovation as well as some commemorative coins as a thank you gift!
On Wednesday, the choir had a full day off in Santiago, which gave us lots of time to explore the city. We filled the day with visiting more religious buildings, eating lots of food and some of us even bought matching clothes!
Matching coats in Santiago
Braga Cathedral
Concert
Thursday 17 September, 9.30 pm
On Thursday we went back to Portugal and back to Braga, this time for a concert. We all ate in the square outside the cathedral and soon realised that the massive queue forming was for us! The audience was 1000 strong and it was very special. We all celebrated afterwards, and said goodbye to our chaplain, who was leaving the next morning.
Porto Cathedral
Concert
Friday 18 September, 9.30 pm
We then travelled to Porto for our penultimate concert. There was lots to do in Porto: lots of markets to visit, walks by the river, and some port tasting!
Our concert in Porto cathedral was lovely, and it was a pleasure to sing some joint pieces with the Porto cathedral choir. Another highlight was the two organ solos from our organ scholars Rudyard Cook and Arthur Barton. There was a beautiful sunset as we exited the cathedral, which provided a lovely ending to the day.
Sunset outside Porto Cathedral
Monastery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra
Concert
Saturday 19 September 6.30 pm
On Saturday we took a day trip to Coimbra for our last day. We had an excellent lunch put on by Aeminium restaurant, which made us all rather sleepy for our rehearsal! The concert was a great success, apart from frequent hilarious interruptions by some band music in the square. We had some lovely organ solos again from our organ scholars. It was a brilliant way to finish the tour and we all had a very celebratory evening. For some, this was their last performance as a member of the choir, so it was also an evening not without tears!