The Jay Singers

06 March 2007

St Andrew's Church, Eaton

This popular Norfolk a capella choir believe in doing things a little differently so they began yesterday afternoon's programme in the Eton Concert Series with the overture.

And the arrangement of Mozart's music was full of skilful articulation and first-class diction - the latter, particularly, being a feature throughout the concert.

The set of English Folk Songs was built on bright and confident soprano tone but the whole group was always well balanced and neat and nimble under the guidance of conductor Jeremy Jackman.

The following group of cathedral music showed the singers' precision and atten-tion to detail to complement wide tonal gradation.

But Ravel posed problems, not least with intonation. The Jays' real forte is in the lighter fare where they relaxed into well-known songs such as Billy Joel favourite And So It Goes' which emphasised the choir's fine blend.