THIS beautiful old church has a fine acoustic and it was a stirring musical experience to hear North-East soprano Emily Smith and her partner David Pisaro do full justice to the music of Robert and Clara Schumann.

Smith has a fine soprano voice with special qualities of strength and range, while Pisaro matched her in his unusually powerful tenor. His is not a lyric tenor voice, prompting the thought that he could also do full justice to a light baritone role, perhaps something for the future.

Pisaro introduced the programme with a series of Dichterliebe (Poets Love) poems by Heine set to music by Robert Schumann. All were well rendered, some particularly so, being beautifully expressed.

This was followed by six songs arranged by Clara Schumann from Hermann Rollet’s text, sung by Smith. These lieder demand changes of tone and mood and are far from easy to sing. Smith tackled them with style and confidence.

The pair joined voices in duets by Robert Schumann and two by Robert Burns, the second of which was a comic scolding of a wayward husband by an implacable wife. Nothing would move her to let him into the house after his late-night shenanigans! These Burns pieces were very well received by an appreciative audience.

These two young singers perform really well together, their voices being pleasingly matched in strength and range.

Linthorpe-born Smith is involved in a host of musical disciplines and gives a great deal of her time to working with and inspiring children in needy areas to sing, love and perform music. Pisaro is active in church music, vocal coaching, leading workshops and performing in Streetwise Opera.

They were well supported by Ben Horden on piano. Horden is also engaged in many areas of musical activity, including assistant organist at Ripon Cathedral and collaborating with other musicians as accompanist and continuo player.

Irene Macdonald