Bathphil with Patricia Rozario Bath Abbey

Thousands of aspiring pianists will have tackled Debussy's Clair de Lune with varying degrees of success: it has become iconic, and this orchestral arrangement by Capelet gave us a sensitive balance between the soothing legato sound and the rich harmonies which are its hallmark.

It created exactly the right mood for Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne and Patricia Rozario, using the original language Occitan.

The opening Bailero is the best known of the eight songs and its lovely haunting melody, with a gorgeous accompaniment, including harp and woodwind, is absolutely enchanting.

What an artist she is, moving from one song to the next, adapting to the spirit and temper as the different stories require, from the Cradle Song, through the forsaken girl, and the clumsy hunchback to the coquettish, flirty spinning girl.

Each character was wonderfully realised and it was unfortunate that the Abbey acoustic had one of its more obtuse fits, which muffled the sound somewhat, even of this big luxuriant soprano sound.

The oboe and the clarinet, though, came through with exemplary clarity and the horn had some lovely limpid moments.

De Falla's Ritual Fire Dance asserted itself, percussive and brassy as ever, hurtling along to the whirlwind finale, before Copland's Appalachian Spring.

Its rather spare introduction develops into a flourish of rich and varied orchestrations, jaunty and quirky, with the well-known tune we know as The Lord of the Dance, giving a range of different treatments, leading to the final tranquil conclusion, peaceful and serene. Jason Thornton's reading reached all the right highs and lows, with some outstanding ensemble playing: the players did him proud in a really authentic performance and a very appreciative audience wished him well as he hurried off to be with his wife for the imminent birth of their third child.

Peter Lloyd Williams