Last Thursday, the Choir of the Queen’s College, Oxford, were delighted to sing at a service attended by King Charles III and the President of Portugal celebrating UK-Portugal 650. The service was sung in The Queen’s Chapel in St James’ Palace, alongside the Choir of the Chapel Royal. It was a truly wonderful occasion, with the choir singing both English and Portuguese music including both national anthems.
Celebrating the oldest surviving diplomatic alliance between two nations, Portugal-UK 650 are the commemorations of the 650th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. To date Portugal-UK 650 has organized more than 300 activities and projects in partnership with 210 institutions. The beginning of the formalisation of the Alliance, based on the perpetual friendship between the two countries, occurred with the signing of the Treaty of Tagilde on the 10th of July 1372.
Here is what choral scholar Matthew Rogers said about the event: “To be able to sing in the presence of His Majesty and the President of Portugal was an honour, and I know we’ve all formed core memories that will surely make good conversation starters for years to come! It was particularly special to be able to perform Salve Regina by the renaissance Portuguese composer Melgás.”
In the evening, part of choir were invited to perform for the opening of Joana Vasconcelos’ extraordinary new structure ‘Wedding Cake’ in the stunning grounds of Waddesdon Manor.
We are very grateful for the team at UK-Portugal 650 for inviting us to lead the musical aspects of this important international and cultural relationship.