It was carnival time at the Sheldonian Theatre on Saturday night, when the Oxford Bach Choir performed a splendid 20th century programme entitled Sacred and Profane.

The mixed chorus of 130 adults in red, blue and yellow shirts opened quietly with Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs featuring the serene voice of baritone Owen Webb and a fine piano accompaniment by Steve Kings.

The pace hotted up with the Latin American rhythms of Ramirez’ Misa Criolla. The choir sang the complex Credo with apparent ease and obvious enjoyment. In Sanctus the crescendo to “Osana en las Alturas!” (Hosanna in the highest) rang to the roof. The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Percussion ensemble added spice, and soprano Jennifer Walker inspired all with her pure voice and a high, sustained final note, to rapturous applause.

The popular Cnductor of the Oxford Bach Choir, Adrian Partington, said afterwards that singing music with ‘fizz’ improves a choir throughout its repertoire and this was clearly true when the Oxford Bach in all their glory sang Stanford’s Magnificat in B Flat with gentleness, warmth and a lively exuberant Gloria.

In two short bursts, the stage was taken over by 60 young people from Pegasus School , Blackbird Leys, and St Nicholas’ School, Abingdon. They filed on in a disciplined way in a rainbow of coloured T-shirts to perform Spanish songs impeccably, from memory and with great enthusiasm, a credit to their excellent conductor Liz Stock.

The evening ended with the jazzy Rio Grande by Constant Lambert, in which the choir evoked the atmosphere of Brazil: ‘As the great Rio Grande rools down to the sea” (fff with cymbal clash) Pianists Steven Kings and Christopher Williams and the Welsh Percussion Ensemble set the tone with a piano solo by Kings reminiscent of Gershwin. The chorus was joined briefly and with good humour by contralto Martha McLorinan.

All too soon it was over. A joyful end of season.

Eileen Caster