THE Durham Singers provided a perfect ending to a hot summer day with a concert in the cool surrounds of St Brandon’s Church, Brancepeth.

Directed by Professor Julian Wright, the programme saw the linking of joyful psalm settings in English and German, as the choir prepares for an appearance at the prestigious concert series at Tübingen’s Stiftskirche in September.

The singers burst into life with a radiant delivery of Tompkins' O Sing unto the Lord.

James MacMillan’s A New Song opened gracefully; its ornate contrapunctal passages lucidly laid out, with inflexions of Scottish folksong never far from the surface. The organ postlude was both empathic and jubilant.

The anthem in Purcell’s setting of Psalm 96 was one of several written for the baritone John Gosling of the Chapel Royal in the 1680s. Stepping into his shoes, Anthony Smith rose to the challenge with an assured account of his florid lines, backed by ravishing singing from the choir.

It included a lovely quartet from Hilary Ions, Jane Shuttleworth, Euan Ross and Nigel Day and a delightful duo from Jane Noble and Maria Fleming.

The complexities of contemporary composer Julian Anderson’s piece were nimbly negotiated, ending in a spirit of awe with a wonderfully drawn out last note.

The second half of the evening focused on German Baroque and was also a chance to enjoy Durham Cathedral’s sub-organist Francesca Massey in full flow, with brilliant renditions of works by Buxtehude and Praetorius; the latter breathtaking in its scope.

Bach’s Singet dem Herrn was the crowning glory of the evening, with two choirs bouncing off each other in the first section and enjoying full rein in a thrilling Alleluia.

Gavin Engelbrecht