A ‘Sea Of Sound’ At Portsmouth’s ‘Cathedral Of The Sea’

Portsmouth Cathedral is pleased to host the London Choir’s first live performance since December 2019.

Until a few days ago, a three-day programme of magnificent English choral music at Portsmouth’s Anglican Cathedral this weekend (30 July–1 August) was but a post-lockdown dream for members of London’s Thames Philharmonic Choir (TPC). But they rehearsed anyway, and just a week before the event, it was finally confirmed that COVID restrictions would be lifted, allowing them to sing all the choral services while the Cathedral’s resident choir has a break.

TPC has sung at summer residencies in English cathedrals every year since 1994, but this will be their first with Harry Bradford, who was appointed their Music Director nearly two years ago. It will also be the first time that both conductor and Choir will have performed live and before an audience since Christmas 2019, shortly after Harry’s appointment.

“It’s bizarre that I’ve been director for nearly two years, but this will be only my second public performance,” said Harry.

“After the long lockdown, I’m so excited to be making live music again. There’s something so special for a conductor, to bathe in a sea of sound when all the voices come together.  It is particularly apt that this happening at Portsmouth’s ‘Cathedral of the Sea’.”

Harry became TPC conductor shortly after graduating with distinction from the Royal Academy of Music, but he’d been making an impression on the world of choral music for many years. He was BBC young male chorister of the year in 2008, and a choral scholar at King’s College under the late Sir Stephen Cleobury. Although he still sings professionally, his vocation since 15 was to be a conductor. In 2018-19, he was appointed conducting scholar with Harry Christophers’ renowned ensemble Genesis Sixteen.

Harry works closely with TPC’s accompanist, award-winning and resident organist at Westminster Cathedral, James Orford, who will be playing the Portsmouth Cathedral’s West Great Organ throughout the weekend, including some splendid voluntaries.

“We’ve planned a programme over the four choral services at Portsmouth that span an interesting variety of church music from the beautiful, transcendental simplicity of plainsong – the earliest form of musical composition in the Church – to the wonderfully euphoric anthems and canticles of the 20th-century,” said Harry.

“We’ll be raising the roof after a rather dormant 18 months.”

Contributing to the ‘sea’ of Anglican church music will be works at Friday evensong by one of the “finest proponents of early 17th-century choral style,” Orlando Gibbons. He and conductor Harry share the great honour of having been choral scholars of the Chapel Royal, the monarch’s choir, albeit some 400 years apart.

 “Gibbons combines interesting counterpoint with devious harmonic progression, while maintaining glorious melodic lines in every vocal part,” explained Harry.  

The 20th century works are by composers who contributed to a stirring revival of English church music. They inspired each other: Charles Wood taught Ralph Vaughan Williams (O Taste and See, Sunday Communion) and Herbert Howells. Vaughan Williams’ wife Ursula wrote the words to Howells’ A Hymn for St Cecilia (Saturday evensong). Herbert Brewer, whose Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D is a rousing standard of the Church repertoire, was, like Vaughan Williams and Howells, involved in the west of England Three Choirs Festival.

“Choir, organ and congregation will be able to bathe in the rich choral colours of the Anglican choral tradition,” said Harry.

By Gilly Cameron-Cooper, of the Thames Philharmonic Orchestra