TONY COOPER A visit to the wonderful Broadland church of Michael and All Angels at Barton Turf is always a pleasurable experience but never more than when the choral society is performing.

TONY COOPER

A visit to the wonderful Broadland church of Michael and All Angels at Barton Turf is always a pleasurable experience but never more than when the choral society is performing.

Under the direction of Jeannie Peel, the concert had at its heart a performance of Vivaldi's Gloria.

This great favourite of the choral repertoire was sung with relish and enthusiasm by 40 singers on particularly good form. The Maggini String Quartet accompanied them, augmented by trumpet and oboes with organ.

The bright, opening trumpet introduction by Bevin Mack in the Gloria was a joyous and triumphant sound and the perfect introduction for the choir. In the Laudamus te, Suzanne Chapman (soprano) and Ruth Peel (alto) balanced their parts alongside the crisp and sensual playing by the Maggini. It was pure delight, as was the oboe in the soprano solo, Domine Deus, by Sandra Knights and Juliet Ricard. Haydn's String Quartet in B flat major, the opening movement an evocation of the sunrise, opened the concert and brought a dash of colour.

Haydn's Salve Regina for solo quartet, organ and strings also brought some well-balanced singing along with some exemplary organ playing by Ron Watson.