I HAD the pleasure of joining nearly 200 members of the audience and around 80 performers, in Giggleswick School Chapel, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Langcliffe Singers and what a joy it was.

The musical director Darren Everhart conducted the choir, a professional orchestra and soloists, and had them all playing and singing at the top of their game.

The sound was pleasantly balanced throughout; a concert of contrasts, light and shade, delicate and strident.

The first half of the concert opened with members of the orchestra playing Gabrieli’s Canzon almost as a fanfare, welcoming us all to the celebration. The concert continued with choir and orchestra beautifully performing Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus followed by his Laudate Dominum and Haydn’s magnificent Te Deum.

The second half was devoted to Mozart’s Requiem. Whilst the programme reminds us that a Requiem is a Roman Catholic mass for the dead, this Requiem was joyous and uplifting, the Communio particularly rousing.

The choir, orchestra and soloists: Jessica Harper, soprano; Wendy Sharrock, alto; David Woods, tenor, and Robert Gildon, bass, all acquitted themselves superbly and made this a memorable evening. Probably one of the best concerts that I have ever attended, it would not have been out of place on a London Stage.

The hard work that had prepared the choir for this performance was obvious and the audience showed their appreciation at the end with lengthy applause.

I could spend time here giving you the history of the choir, but that information is readily available elsewhere save to say that previous choir directors were there to help celebrate or had sent best wishes; they can be very pleased with their legacy.

A joy and a privilege to be there and to send the choir very best wishes for the next 40 years.