CONCERT FOR CANDLEMAS, ST MARTIN'S CHURCH, SALISBURY

A full house greeted the Farrant Singers as they embarked on the first concert of their ambitious 50th anniversary year.

In store was an unashamedly popular but beautifully balanced programme, linked, as the informative programme notes made clear, by each composer having written music for his respective monarch.

The choir started with a lightness of touch in the dancing motifs of Purcell's I was glad, moving on with intensity and depth of feeling to Hear my Prayer and Jehovah - this moving music sung exquisitely by choir and soloists (Ian Wicks, tenor and Patrick Jordan, bass).

Britten's Choral Dances brought a change of mood, and included the seldom performed Spirit-Messenger linking interludes between each dance, Ian Wicks' mellifluous tenor voice accurate and flexible in some demanding passages.

A return to Purcell brought in the excellent chamber ensemble for Rejoice in the Lord. Led by Naomi Rump, they achieved an enviable period feel for this charming anthem. The soloists, joined by counter-tenor Andrew Stewart, sang with style and exemplary blend.

Choir and ensemble settled into the pace of Handel's Dixit Dominus, after a slightly shaky start. They demonstrated a grasp of the light and shade essential for this "concerto for voices".

Each soloist rose magnificently to the challenges Handel set and particular mention should be made of Pam Jackson's Virgam virtutis (stepping forward from the altos) and of the heart-rending duet, De torrente, between Augusta Hebbert and Mary Chelu, as well as of Tim Hone's sensitive continuo throughout the evening.

Colin Howard, in his final year as conductor, shaped and held together the concert with energy and intelligence, giving his all to choir, ensemble and soloists - Bravo!

Jonathan Plows