From the very start of the Bach Choir's performance of Handel's Messiah last Saturday, I felt as though I were hearing this music almost for the first time. The whole piece sparkled with clarity and freshness as though it had been taken apart, scrubbed and reassembled. Nicholas Cleobury directed tirelessly, with barely a detail escaping his attention.

All the performers contributed hugely. The English Chamber Orchestra played with characteristic brilliance. Their phrasing had the clarity and lightness that this style of music requires, but the use of modern instruments gave the sound warmth and fullness.

Among the four soloists, Sophie Bevan proved an accomplished soprano, with fluid technical mastery. She sang I Know That My Redeemer Liveth beautifully with a wonderful swelling intensity on the word risen' and lovely ornamentation of first-fruits' on the repeat.

Anna Stephany, the alto, has a voice of character and warmth, especially in the lower register, and her arias had a gentle simplicity and grace.

Daniel Norman, the tenor, struck an appropriately joyous note as the herald of good news at the opening of the work, and was particularly convincing later on in Thou Shalt Break Them, his singing bristling with righteous scorn.

The star' of the four though was the bass, Derek Welton. His expressive singing seemed effortless; the extraordinary voice perfectly controlled, and the effects dramatic. The final air, The Trumpet Shall Sound, was particularly splendid with fine accompaniment from the trumpet, a wonderfully uplifting expression of hope.

Last but not least the choir's magnificent singing matched the quality of both orchestra and soloists. Their diction was excellent, the sound clean and each entry clear. The disciplined attention to dynamics was also impressive, for example in For Unto Us, the swelling crescendos and diminuendos emphasising key words. The ritornello at the end finishing quietly on peace' was masterly.

Equally effective was the way the words And With His Stripes fell like lashes in wave after wave, Cleobury's slashing gestures indicating exactly the effect he wanted. Again the quiet ending on "of us all" was dramatic.

The final master stroke was Cleobury's decision to take the Amen at an unusually slow pace, mirroring his approach in the overture. The bass entry in the choir started hushed and controlled, each part entering in like fashion and the orchestra playing with similar quiet intensity. The volume of sound built slowly to a glorious climactic close, stately and dignified.

This was a heartfelt and immensely engaging performance.