WHAT better place to go to escape the winter chill than Settle Parish Church to hear the Langcliffe Singers with Christmas favourites, old and new. A concert entitled “Tidings of Joy” and indeed it was so!

The programme started with Part I of Handel’s oratorio, The Messiah. It is 70 years, almost to the day, that as a young teenager I was taken to hear the Messiah with the famous soprano soloist Isobel Baillie. I’ve heard many live performances, with professional and amateur choirs, since and I came to the conclusion some years ago that one can judge from the first few parts of the oratorio whether the performance is going to be worth listening to or not.

The Overture, curtailed in this performance because of time restraints, was a superb opening from the organist Shaun Turnbull. The first tenor solos were clear and smooth, ably sung by Felix Packard and Tom Emmett. And then came the first chorus for the full choir “And the Glory of the Lord”! It was a stunner, - no nerves and no hesitation from all parts.

The crucial moment, which can affect the whole performance it if goes awry, is the sopranos hitting the top A. This was done with ease, so I knew it would be an evening to remember. The rest of the Messiah flew by in a blur of blissful listening.

All the soloists played their part with panache and sensitivity in the Messiah and in the other pieces, and are members of the choir, so ably led by conductor Darren Everhart. Darren also let the audience have their sing, as we were invited to join in a rousing Hallelujah Chorus to end the first part of the concert.

The soloists for this concert were the sopranos Anne Beasley, Margaret Coleman and Sheila Hartley, contralto Lindsay Young, and tenors Tom Emmett, Kenn Green and Felix Packard.

The bass soloist, Richard Williams, whose performance of the recitative and air (The people that walked in darkness) was particularly moving and a foretaste of his excellent rendering of the long solo parts in Gerald Finzi’s “In Terra Pax” in the second part of the programme. This not-so-well known piece, written in 1913, was probably the most difficult in the evening’s repertoire. But Langcliffe Singers, with soloists Sheila and Richard, were undaunted and gave us a stimulating performance.

“Christmas Day” by Gustav Holst is a delightful piece with many familiar carols following each other in a combination which is both unusual and memorable. The diction was excellent which made listening easy, particularly when The First Nowell is sung simultaneously with other well known carols.

The final piece, Vaughan Williams’ popular “Fantasia on Christmas Carol”, concludes with the Sussex Carol which brought an enjoyable and entertaining evening to a close. Definitely an evening to remember.