THEIR concert’s title, New Horizons, suggested striving for distant ambitions, but the confidence with which The Ebor Singers tackled some demanding music demonstrated achievement here and now.

Paul Gameson directed -unobtrusively from the ranks - three English Renaissance pieces. A warm, rich sound was established immediately in Robert Parsons’s Ave Maria. Although occasionally entries were not instantly unanimous, Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices was smoothly done, the Gloria strong, the Credo bold and animated.

Byrd’s lamentation Ne Irascaris Domine was appropriately desolate. It is strange when listening to this polished music beautifully sung to recollect that the Catholic Byrd was so profoundly embroiled in the ecclesiastical turmoil of the Reformation.

Gameson assumed a more formal conductor’s role for Howells’s Salve Regina, the choir revelling in its intense harmonies. It made a satisfying bridge between the Tudor world and the two modern works to follow.

Kerry Andrew composed her York Mass for this group in 2008, and they clearly treasure it. Its oscillating harmonies and spacious textures indicate the resonant spaces of York Minster, for which it was conceived, but it all came over effectively in this smaller acoustic, the jazzily rhythmic Sanctus and penitential Agnus Dei making a strong impression.

James Macmillan’s Christus Vincit closed the concert: initially ignoring the triumphant aspects of its text, it built to an ecstatic climax, the high solo soprano part sung with warmth and clarity by Clare Steele-King.

Now in their 20th anniversary year, The Ebor Singers presented a thoughtful and enjoyable programme.