Ensemble 45 is a relatively new addition to Oxford’s rich choral scene. Judging by last Wednesday night’s concert at Christ Church Cathedral, its current home, the group is set to become more widely known.

The 28 singers are conducted by Will Dawes (right), a young musician who is making a name for himself as a conductor as well as singing with Stile Antico, another young Oxford-based group. Dawes’s direction is meticulous and he produces a pure and well-balanced sound from his talented singers. This was a glorious and confident performance.

The concert featured three works for double choir, spanning three centuries. Bach’s motet Komm Jesu, Komm opened the concert. Here Bach uses the two choirs in a fairly equal way, with each carrying the melody by turns and much repetition of the text. The piece finishes with a four-part chorale, creating a feeling of unity.

Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, composed two centuries later, owes a debt to Bach, but makes use of the choirs in a very different way. Martin was a devout Christian and the music is deeply felt. He uses some wonderfully astringent dissonances to express anguish and divine mystery. The opening Kyrie in which isolated voices gradually build into a complex texture of sound was beautifully sung. In the Agnus Dei the moving accompaniment from the second choir, with its sustained low notes in the bass part, was superbly executed.

Hieronymus Praetorious, the earliest of the composers featured in the concert, was the first north German composer to write for double choir. He composed nine settings of the Magnificat, one of which we heard. It alternates plainsong verses with eight-part polyphony. This joyous celebratory music weaves some complex textures, with elaborate word painting.

My advice is to look out for future concerts by Ensemble 45. Meanwhile Stile Antico, with which Dawes sings, has recently released its fourth CD, Media Vita, featuring music by John Sheppard.