Linda McAuley joins Portico's community choir The NewQuay Singers as narrator for the annual Tenebrae Service. This year the choir will sing Gounod’s beautiful Madeline Requiem, written on the death of his grandson.

In this service, the story of Christ’s arrest at Gethsemane through to his death at Calvary, as told in the Gospel of St Matthew, is divided into a series of ‘shadows’. As each shadow is read the lights are dimmed a little, a candle extinguished and the choir, supported by the orchestra and organ, sing a movement from the Requiem. Eventually, as the final lesson is read, in total darkness, the great noise or ‘Strepitus’ is sounded before the choir sing the Requiem’s final movement. Everyone then leaves in silence. This is an emotionally charged and poignant way to mark Good Friday and everyone is very welcome no matter what, if any, their religious beliefs.