'Interesting," I wrote in my notebook. "Some choral problems are worldwide." My first impression of the St Paul's University Chapel Choir, from Nairobi, Kenya, was that they were light on tenors and basses - I was expecting a deeper sound from an African choir. The reason, I assumed, was that good tenors and basses are as hard to come by in Nairobi as they are in the UK. Wrong. I learned during the interval that half the men had been denied visas to travel to Britain.

In spite of the problems, however, the choir - whose core function is to lead the community of St Paul's in worship - quickly adjusted both to its reduced numbers, and the concert, rather than liturgical, ambience. While the music remained predominantly religious in theme, there was no feeling of happy-clappy fervour, which many people either love or loathe. Instead joy radiated from the warm sound produced by the singers - although there was plenty of hypnotic swaying as the music was delivered, and the choir more than once enthused its staid Oxford audience into clapping along as an impromptu rhythm section. Indeed, towards the end choir joined audience in literally dancing in the aisles - I wonder if that's ever happened in Jesus College Chapel before?

Under joint music directors Richard Njoroge and Dan Odhiambo, the choir delivered crisp ensemble, and sounded particularly in its element in the more rhythmic pieces, where there was enthusiastic back-up from a two-person percussion section. Unfortunately spoken introductions weren't always clear, but I particularly relished the extremely cheerful Niwara Nono (He died to be free), Land Uru, with its contrasting bongo drum rhythm, and Bolingo Bwazambe (Congolese Magnificat), with its blood-curdling shrieks of enthusiasm. There was a premiere too, a brief Salve Regina by Oxford composer John Caldwell, who with his wife Janet organised the visit of this breath-of-fresh-Kenyan-air choir to Oxford.

The St Paul's University Chapel Choir gives a further concert tonight in St Aloysius Church, Woodstock Road, Oxford at 8pm. Entrance free on the door.

Giles Woodforde