FROM the moment the first notes of Shenandoah echoed around St Peter’s Church members of Mosaic brought a touch of magic to a warm Saturday evening.

The 19 voices of the St Albans-based chamber choir were in perfect pitch from the very start of the concert which was packed with easy listening – if difficult to sing – goodies, mainly from light music composers of the 20th Century.

Far removed from many of the choir’s other fine performances which have often included ecclesiastical music by some of the truly great classical composers, Saturday’s concert simply proved the versatility of this outstanding group of singers – and its director, St Peters Church’s director of music, Nicholas Robinson.

With numbers such as Blue Moon, The Way You Look Tonight and Ain’t Misbehavin’, this was a relaxing, fun-packed event , and it was clear throughout that the singers were enjoying themselves as much as their audience.

The choir’s superb intonation and vocal blend added tremendous feeling to such numbers as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Summer is Gone and Elgar’s As Torrents in Summer as well as Sherwin’s classic A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.

Adding extra spice to an already rich and delectable confection were outstanding solos by soprano Juliet Hall in Summertime and bass Ed White in the Londonderry Air. These simply added to one of the finest evenings of choral music it was been my pleasure to hear in quite a time.

Mosaic is a choir which constantly thrills and delights with its sheer excellence as well as its diversity of programme. One simply awaits its next appearance in the city when it is to give the premiere of a new work by composer Michael Oliva.

In addition to the choir’s outstanding performance of Saturday, the concert also served as an introduction to Peter Holder, the 19-year-old Royal Academy of Music student who is to take up the post of Organ Scholar at St Albans Abbey in September.

Peter provided two solo piano spots in the programme with music by the English composer Billy Mayerl and in doing so proved that his appointment will be a great asset to music in the city.

JOHN MANNING