The late and much missed Oxford broadcaster Humphrey Carpenter once read out a complaint from an irritated listener: “Why do you keep referring to ‘Snivel’?” The snivel in question turned out to be Sir Neville Marriner, founder and director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Some of Sir Neville’s huge catalogue of recordings with his orchestra have been labelled “bland” by critics, but there was nothing over-smooth about the slimmed down, strings-only, ASMF giving the opening concert in this year’s North Wall Summer Festival.

Working under conductor Nicholas Cleobury, ASMF gave the UK and World premieres of two short works by Sir John Tavener. Dhyana (Meditation) and Song for Athene were both written in 2007, and both suggest a world of repose and contemplation – did Tavener foresee how necessary such a world would be, only two years later? Dhyana opens in an appropriately calm manner, led by a solo violin (Ruth Palmer), and arrives at a melodious conclusion – this could have been Elgar picturing a gently setting, English summer sun. Song for Athene is better known as a choral piece, written in memory of Athene Harriadis, who was killed in a cycling accident in 1993. Tavener went to her Russian Orthodox funeral, and was plainly inspired by the music he heard there. In this beautiful arrangement, the ASMF strings demonstrated Tavener’s immense ability to generate an atmosphere and mood by apparently spare and simple means. Meanwhile, the violin soloist, working at the bottom of her register, gave a feeling of Russian basses singing at the funeral.

Tavener was framed by Bach, with Nicholas Cleobury conducting a perky account of Brandenburg Concerto No 3, and Ruth Palmer leading his Concerto in A minor from the violin: she particularly relished the dance-infused last movement. There were muscular rhythms, too, in the concluding work: Dvorak’s Serenade for Strings. This was a thoroughly satisfying, if rather short, concert.