NICOLA LISLE talks to Roderick Williams about his new jazz-style Choral Evensong, which premieres at the University Church this week

Baritone singer and composer Roderick Williams or Roddy as he prefers to be known is a delightful person to meet, as entertaining off the concert platform as he is on it.

As we wander through the grounds of Magdalen College, his alma mater, he is soon reminiscing about his undergraduate days, and chuckling heartily at some of his madder escapades. His laugh is infectious and it's easy to see why he has become such a popular performer, both at home and abroad.

But we're not here to talk about his singing, or his student pranks. We're here to talk about his latest project a jazz setting of the traditional Anglican Evensong, due to be performed next Wednesday by Schola Cantorum and broadcast live on Radio 3. It's a bold move, and Roddy acknowledges that it might upset a few traditionalists.

"It's never been my intention to change the course of the Anglican service as we know it, just to give it a new dimension," he insisted. "It gives the congregation, who've heard these words again and again, a chance to hear them set in a way that makes them sit up and listen to those same words differently.

"If anyone is offended by what I've done, in many ways I see that as a good thing, because it will force such a person to say, Why am I offended? What's wrong with this music?' I'm looking forward to a bit of healthy debate."

Roddy's inspiration came from Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert, which he was introduced to by Jamie Burton, Schola's conductor. Then, by chance, he heard the piece on his car radio while driving to a concert last year.

"During the broadcast they were talking about Duke Ellington's religious views, particularly to do with the notion that jazz is in some way inherently sinful, which of course he thought was rubbish.

"His view was that sexuality is God-given, and therefore it's not just that jazz isn't inherently sinful, it's also to do with the whole thing of having fun and being spiritually alive. And I had a resonance with that.

"Then I thought, wouldn't it be great to write a set of jazz canticles in his style, but more for cathedral use. His concerts are for big band and choir. I was thinking of something for choir and organ, but with a piano jazz trio to give it a bit of jazz integrity.

"Before the end of the journey I'd got the theme for the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in my head, and I thought this'll be fantastic, I'll write this down when I get home."

As the idea took hold, Roddy realised that it would be incongruous to have jazz canticles sung alongside traditional anthems, so he resolved to write the whole service in the jazz style.

"I then emailed Jamie Burton, because he'd mentioned it to me in the first place, and said This is my idea, what do you think?' I expected him to say Don't be so silly,' but he emailed me back and said: I think that's a great idea.' So that got me going."

Before long, Burton had managed to get Radio 3 to agree to broadcast the piece on their long-running Choral Evensong series, and made the necessary arrangements with the vicar of the University Church, Canon Brian Mountford, who just happens to be a jazz fan.

"Before I'd written a note it was all sorted. So the onus was on me to get cracking.

"And it's been so much fun to write. I've had a broad grin from ear to ear, because it's just such a lot of fun."

Roddy describes his new setting as "jazz with counterpoint". Structurally, it reflects the Anglican tradition, but incorporates strong jazz harmonies and rhythms.

"It's coming from a classically-trained musician writing jazz, rather than the other way around. I wrote this partly to see if it's possible to write a jazz service that's got massive compositional integrity. I'm not sure whether I've succeeded that's for other people to judge but it's been a lot of fun writing it."

So is he excited or nervous as the premiere approaches?

"I'm excited, because I love handing music over to performers. I will be singing a bit in the service, but I'll be mainly there to enjoy myself. But let's not forget that this is a service, rather than a concert, so I hope the enjoyment will be within that context."

The Oxford Blues Service will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 from the University Church, Oxford, at 4pm on Wednesday, performed by Schola Cantorum, Robert Houssart (organ) and a jazz trio, conducted by Jamie Burton. For further details, visit www.schola-cantorum.net