Berlioz meets Mahler: that’s a description you could apply to Bruckner’s Mass No 2 in E minor. Scored for wind, brass, and eight-voice choir, the blasts from trombones, and the sudden changes from very loud to whisper-quiet dynamics, distinctly recall Berlioz. Meanwhile, some of the choral writing seems to anticipate Mahler. The Mass is not often performed: as conductor Janet Lincé remarked beforehand, it is “challenging” for both singers and instrumentalists.

Bruckner produces his first challenge right at the start. The choir comes in cold, with no orchestral backing. After a while, the horns enter. If the two are not exactly in tune with each other, it is blatantly obvious. As the traditional sections of the Mass unfold, you are struck by how spare Bruckner’s setting is, compared with the luxuriant sweep of his symphonies. As this performance by an augmented Choros and the Oxford Sinfonia made clear, the emotional peaks of the work are the hushed Et Sepultus est, the full-blast Et resurrexit, and the impassioned Miserere nobis. Under Janet Lincé’s direction, all were delivered with enthusiasm and commitment. A challenge, yes, and one or two moments didn’t quite work, but this was a very powerful and exciting performance, of which all concerned should be proud.

Earlier, the Sinfonia alone gave performances of Mozart’s Wind Serenade No 11 in E flat, and Dvorak’s Serenade in D minor, opus 44. Both benefitted from Lincé’s incisive conducting style, and if the last pages of the Mozart could perhaps have been taken a spot faster, she expertly caught the work’s changing moods. The Dvorak Serenade drops the flute part, and adds a lone cello and double bass. The Sinfonia here produced a distinctly earthy sound that was entirely appropriate to the music, and delivered the rhythmic, off-beat accompaniment at an energising lick. Altogether this was a memorable and inspiring concert — and an amazing bargain at £12 a ticket.