THE Gabrieli Consort’s latest visit to Chester Summer Music was an inspired triumph.

The concert explored music for morning and evening, interspersing parts of William Byrd’s monumental Great Service with works by contemporary composers and plainsong hymns.

Director Paul McCreesh remarked on the dry acoustic of Chester Cathedral which allows no performer to hide in the cavernous acoustics common in other church buildings. So, the small audience heard perfection of phrasing and diction, both precision sharp at all times. Intonation never slipped and, while there are fine solo voices in this ensemble, they all blended to produce a mellifluous, fine sound which was an absolute joy to hear.

There was also a particularly fine performance of the opening piece: Gabriel Jackson’s To Morning. McCreesh allowed the choir to wallow in a big sound, with some dense, fascinating harmonies. The same was true of the piece which closed the first half – Jonathan Dove’s Full many a glorious morning.

Another Dove piece opened the second half – his Care Charmer Sleep. The tone clusters which built up here were, again, spine-tingling and quite beautiful.

The concert closed with a piece by Eric Whitaker. Sleep was a slow, chordal piece where each chord was spread over the entire range of the choir. Dense harmonies and a gradual build-up from barely audible pianissimo to a massive fortissimo climax was intensely dramatic.

To choose Tallis’s exquisite Canon as an encore was blissful, especially as it was performed as a solo, in two-part and then four-part canon.

Glyn Mon Hughes