MUSIC to make the heart race – that was the impact of Andrew Carter's stirring composition Musick’s Jubilee inspired by the enduring poetry of Marvel, Dryden and Tennyson.

The words are wonderfully matched by the music which, to quote comments by the singers, is a "joy and delight to sing".

It certainly was a joy and delight to hear.

Comprising eight short movements, it opened with a great swell of beautifully blended voices superbly supported by the Harrogate Festival Orchestra.

The mezzo soprano Lucy Appleyard, who hails from Great Ayton, made her debut performance with the HFC, and did full justice to the solo What Passion. This young singer has a strong flexible mezzo voice with an excellent range, and together with soprano Sarah Ogden produced a smooth blend of voices that was a pleasure to hear.

In this great feast of music, the HFCO was eloquently and sensitively conducted by Thom Meredith, principal of Kirklees Music School , who has a wealth of experience in teaching, directing and arranging, especially working with young people in the Kirklees Youth Symphony Orchestra.

It was a pleasure to welcome on stage the friendly and jovial Andrew Carter to receive enthusiastic applause.

Musick’s Jubilee, a relatively brief composition, was followed by Gounod’s Messe Solennelle de St Cecile, and once again, it was a feast of great music. To quote Saint Saens, who attended the first performance, " The appearance of the Messe St Cecile caused a kind of shock. This simplicity, this grandeur, this serene light which rose before the musical world like a breaking dawn troubled people enormously…at first one was dazzled, then charmed, then conquered".

That sequence of impressions proved true for this reviewer. It would be easy to comment on each and every stage of this great work, but space curtails. However, mention must be made of the superb solo performances by Ogden, Appleyard, Dunford and Brown, all of whom contributed beautiful voices singing heart-stirring music with power and passion.

Gounod’s Messe is widely known and acknowledged. Andrew Carter’s work was new to me, and I was certainly "conquered".

Irene MacDonald