A clear early winter’s evening, with the welcoming Christmas tree twinkling outside Bury Parish Church, was the appropriate setting to Bury Choral Society’s seasonal programme ‘Silvern Light’.

The fascinating programme was an eclectic mix of choral music spanning three centuries that included the Northern Hemisphere premiere of Chris Artley’s ‘The Ashwell Carol.’ Although born in Leeds, the composer grew up in Bolton and is currently resident in New Zealand. The carol won the 2011 Amadeus Choir competition and is written in an eminently approachable idiom with an appealing and catchy melody. It rightly received one of the best performances of the evening.

At the beginning it took a little time for the Society to settle down. There was some unfortunate tuning and lack of attack in the opening group of items. But when Elin Rees, the newly appointed organist and Associate Music Director of the Parish Church, joined them matters improved. She gave a sparkling performance of John Rutter’s ‘God rest ye merry, gentlemen’ and together with the Society’s splendid conductor Sinead Hayes, contributed to joyous renditions of Handel’s Coronation anthem ‘My heart is inditing’ and Bach’s opening chorus from ‘The Christmas Oratorio’.

The baritone soloist was the sonorous Thomas Eaglen, accompanied by the sensitive playing of Jonathan Ellis

He sang Michael Head’s lovely ‘The little road to Bethlehem’ and was the full-throated protagonist in Vaughan Williams’s ‘Fantasia on Christmas Carols’ in which the choir provided their best singing of the evening.

Ken Bayliss