Schola Cantorum’s recital on Saturday marked both a beginning and an ending; the beginning of Lent, and a final wrapping-up of their year-long 50th anniversary celebrations. The programme aptly reflected both events, with a selection of devotional music spanning 600 years that demonstrated the adventurous spirit that has characterised this choir since its formation.

The start of the concert, with a solo soprano (Lucy Cox) intoning the opening lines from Malcolm Hayes’s Corpus Christi, was as attention-grabbing as a full-bodied choir, that lone voice eerily disembodied and startling in its purity. It was clear that Schola was out to impress — and impress they did, both in their intrepid exploration of little-known works and their earnest delivery.

It was interesting to hear two versions of O bone Jesu, both by Scottish composers separated by almost 500 years. Robert Carver’s early 16th-century version, written for a 19-part choir, gradually built up from a spare, stark opening into a densely-textured piece, while that of James Macmillan (2002) was chiefly notable for its falling glissando phrases, representing the shedding of Christ’s blood — a vocal challenge to which Schola rose admirably. Similarly, Macmillan’s Miserere was paired with that of Gregorio Allegri, the contrasting styles again obvious, while Kenneth Leighton’s Mass for Double Choir — by turns haunting, impassioned, sombre and reflective — brought the evening to a powerful and moving finish.