Royal Northern Sinfonia embarked on a varied journey through the music of Baroque composer Johann Christian Bach with an opening concert at Sage Gateshead that lived up to its title – glorious.

The week-long festival, with guest conductor and period specialist Laurence Cummings, began with lithe account of Bach’s Orchestral Suite No 4.

Conducting from the harpsichord, Cummings galvanised the players as he bobbed and weaved and occasionally bounced up from his seat. Exchanges between the strings and woodwinds were keenly articulated.

Kyra Humphreys then gave a towering rendition of Bach’s Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor, eloquently building up the rich material of the opening movement. The Andante was nothing short of sublime, with Humphreys weaving lovingly-crafted lines over the spacious tread of the strings and continuo. The Allegro was driven to a thrilling climax.

The RNS was joined by the Chorus for two of the most dramatic of the 300 cantatas Bach composed as the resident Kantor at Leipzig’s main churches,

The rich textures of Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft were laid out in all their glory. The second choral work, Gloria in Excelsis Deo, featured sterling singing by soprano Mhairi Lawson and tenor Daniel Norman, who stepped into the breach at short notice when Thomas Walker fell ill. Their duo entwined magnificently with playing by flautists Eilidh Gillespie and Clare Robson.

The concert was rounded off with Bach’s Orchestral Suite No 3, featuring a sublime Air for strings and a concluding Gigue that bristled with energy.

Bach and his Contemporaries, including works by Scarlatti and Couperin, will be staged at 8pm tonight (Sunday, October 12).

The festival concludes with Coffee with Bach at 7.30pm on Thursday (November 16).

Box office: 0191443 4661 or visit www.sagegateshead.com.