RUSSIA came to Newbury on Saturday night in an impressive performance of All Night Vigil (Vespers) by Sergei Rachmaninov. St Nicolas' Church was packed with people wise enough to take time off from capitalist Christmas and enjoy a musical experience of spiritual depth and rich harmony.

Under the baton of their dynamic conductor, Leo Hussain, the Newbury Choral Society brought their term's hard work to fruition, singing unaccompanied for almost an hour, without a break, to produce the most impressive range of harmonies, dynamics and precise intonation.

Their disciplined approach and attention to detail, with the performance entirely in Slavic, resulted in a most authentic sound.

The choice of soloists was appropriate to the overall Russian effect. The contralto, Ruth Massey, stood at different levels among the women's choir for her emotive solos. Tenor Allan Clayton contributed a chorister's tone and bass baritone, Daniel Jordon, sang with mellifluous depth.

The 12 movements sung in this concert allowed the choral society to demonstrate their immense vocal range, especially in the basses. Hussain elicited a soothing plainsong mood and in contrast some punchy moments, especially in the "Alleluia" passages: bright beacons for non-Russian listeners.

The smiles of the singers at these points enhanced their already warm sound. The charm of the tenor solos was broken momentarily when the choir stood up as he was in full flow, but the overall effect was spellbinding and the performance received plenty of enthusiastic and well-deserved applause at the end.

Newbury Choral Society's next performance will be Brahms' German Requiem on Saturday March 24 at St Nicolas' Church, Newbury.