Oxford has more church organs than it has dreaming spires, but finding the right instrument for Poulenc’s Organ Concerto isn’t necessarily an easy task. Choros decided to go for St Margaret’s in North Oxford, which completely rebuilt its two-manual organ in 2006. As Carleton Etherington — organist of Tewkesbury Abbey — ably demonstrated, the instrument has a range of attractive solo stops and gentle mixtures, which brought out Poulenc’s lighter, quieter sections very well. Missing was the almost animal power of, say, a big Cavaillé-Coll organ, usually heard thundering out the work’s contrasting full-belt passages. All was by no means lost, however, for the concerto instead gained an intimate quality as Poulenc’s string writing came to the fore — here expressively played by the Brandenburg Sinfonia, conducted by Janet Lincé.

Lincé’s Choros choir had a rest during the concerto, of course, but had already sung Poulenc’s motet Timor et tremor, composed during 1938-39, and his later Exultate Deo. Sandwiched in between were Philippe Mazé’s Salve Regina, dating from March 2000, and Pierre Villette’s Christmas motet O magnum mysterium. Choros’s trademark transparent sound, crisp diction, and well-controlled balance across the vocal parts served these four short pieces well — the Choros performances pointed up the interesting new harmonic territories being explored by each composer, but also showed that there was nothing to cause alarm and mass exoduses from the pews.

Finally choir, organ, and orchestra combined for Duruflé’s Requiem. Conductor Lincé was able to indulge her love of tightly controlled, well-disciplined dynamics here: “The pains of Hell” and “Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory” hit you between the eyes while, in contrast, the Agnus Dei felt deeply intimate and personal, as did soloist Lorna Perry’s Pie Jesu. Occasionally the choir seemed uncharacteristically backward and unfocused, no doubt owing to lack of rehearsal time to fine tune the overall sound balance. But this was an impressive, often moving performance.