THE delightful setting of Giggleswick School Chapel was the venue for this year's Langcliffe Singers' spring concert. The choir and soloists were in good voice, presenting an interesting, thought-provoking and varied programme to a very appreciative audience who comfortably and safely filled the chapel.

Director of Music Darren Everhart and accompanist Brian Heaton led the obviously well-rehearsed and balanced choir through two major pieces, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha's Wedding Feast and John Rutter's Feel the Spirit and several sympathetic and wholly appropriate incidental pieces.

The concert began with a John Rutter arrangement of A Ukrainian Prayer, his response to the current situation in that country. The choir then performed Hiawatha's Wedding Feast as the main piece of the first half. Coleridge-Taylor, an English composer active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is little known now but was much admired during his short career. Hiawatha is his best known work and although some audiences may find it a little old fashioned, the choir and tenor soloist, David Wood, performed it with spirit and a vigour that guided the listener through Longfellow's charming poem. David Wood and Brian Heaton then performed two more short pieces by Coleridge-Taylor. The first half was completed by a rendition of Amazing Grace and the audience were encouraged to join in.

The second half of the concert featured John Rutter's Feel the Spirit, a cycle of seven familiar spirituals. The choir and Mezzo-soprano soloist, Elinor Carter superbly presented Rutter's powerfully evocative arrangements that showcase the rich heritage of the spiritual. The final piece, When The Saints Go Marching In, called for more audience participation which left the choir and audience with very large smiles on their faces. An encore was obviously called for and the choir did not disappoint with a sensitive version of The Ashokan Farewell. A thought- provoking and very fitting end to a splendid evening of music.

A collection after the concert raised more than £200 for the people of Ukraine