A celebratory mood permeated the society’s spring concert, as befits a programme to mark Woodstock’s 900th anniversary. Both choir and orchestra were in exuberant mood, spurred on by decisive direction from conductor Paul Ingram, and they delivered an inspiring programme of choral delights – amongst which nestled a newly-discovered gem.

The anthem When Saul was King Over Us, by the now little-known Italian composer Giovanni Bononcini – a rival to Handel – was the trump card in a pack of aces. Unearthed from the Blenheim archives, this piece was written for the funeral of the first Duke of Marlborough, and both the solemnity and the grandeur of the occasion are reflected in its dramatic scoring. The choir’s enjoyment of the powerful opening and closing choruses was evident in their animated and articulate delivery, while the soloists handled the middle sections with great sensitivity and eloquence.

I would have liked a slightly stronger and more controlled sound from tenor Andrew McAnerney, who occasionally seemed to struggle with his upper register, but bass Alexander Learmonth produced a wonderfully sonorous sound for ‘Thou shall be captain over Israel’, and the sparkling tones of soprano Katherine Walker and alto Rebecca Mitchell-Farmer were a particular joy.

Bononcini’s piece was sandwiched between works by his better-known contemporaries Bach and Vivaldi. Bach’s cantata Singet Dem Herrn Ein Neues Lied was a magnificent opening, and contrasted nicely with his Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major. The latter was an opportunity for the orchestra to shine, and they seized it with relish, their enthusiasm perhaps responsible for the occasional shaky intonation and slightly ‘scratchy’ sounds from the violins.

No such problems, though, with Vivaldi’s glorious Dixit Dominus, which brought the programme to a rousing conclusion. As an encore, the choir and orchestra repeated the opening chorus of Bach’s cantata, bringing the programme neatly full circle and ensuring a magnificent finale.