Summertown Choral Society's concert last weekend was a splendidly varied affair, involving some well-planned programming that seemed perfectly designed to show off the choir at its absolute best. The first half was devoted to Haydn, beginning with The Heavens are Telling from The Creation, and taking us up to the interval with the Winter movement from The Seasons; the former a glorious and uplifting rendition, the latter a thoughtful and sensitively drawn account of the traveller who journeys through the snow to the warm welcome that awaits him in a country village.

Among the soloists, I particularly liked the sweetness and purity of Kate Ashby, whose light soprano voice is ideally suited to Haydn. Tom Edwards contributed a fine solid bass, while tenor Daniel Turner performed strongly and with great dramatic style, although his upper notes let him down occasionally.

The remainder of the evening featured a selection of sacred works from an eclectic mix of composers. First up was Britten's Te Deum in C major, delivered with confidence and eloquence by the choir, under the measured control of conductor Duncan Saunderson. Rachmaninov was represented by his Bogoroditsye Dyevo, the Russian Orthodox version of Ave Maria - performed here with keen appreciation of the melodic and harmonic textures - and Brahms by his fugal-style Geistliches Lied (Sacred Song). A trio of Mendelssohn pieces included Lift Thine Eyes from his oratorio Elijah; Verleih' uns Frieden, a short prayer for peace; and the first movement of the third organ sonata in A major, with the contrasting moods captured with exceptional clarity by organist Julian Littlewood. Finally, there was a joyful rendition of Walton's Jubilate Deo, which brought the evening to a magnificent and uplifting close.