YORKSHIRE Bach Choir present a 7.30pm programme of Monteverdi and Croce at St Michael le Belfrey, York, on Saturday as part of the York Festival of Ideas.

"We'll be performing Monteverdi’s extraordinary Missa In Illo Tempore, based on the motet by the Flemish composer Nicolas Gombert," says conductor Peter Seymour. "Published alongside his Vespers of 1610, the mass is a masterpiece of the six-voice polyphonic style.

"Our two-hour programme will also feature rarely heard motets and psalms by Giovanni Croce and Teodoro Clinio, specially edited for this concert, showcasing mastery of the Cori Spezzati style favoured by Venetian composers of the age."

All the music for Saturday's concert has been edited by choir member Edd Ingham. "He's a scholar of this fascinating period of Italian music history, so alongside the Monteverdi, it's really fantastic to be performing some music by Croce and Clinio, composers also based around Venice, some of which hasn't been heard since the 16th century," says Peter.

"As well as traditional settings of the psalms and standard texts like the Magnificat and psalm setting, we're performing a unique 13-part motet called Nuptiae Factae Sunt, which begins with a colourful description of the Wedding at Cana. The rest of the text is a play on numbers, counting up to and back down from 12, creating an elaborate music puzzle.

‘The Croce is a perfect fit alongside the Monteverdi Mass, which starts off with intricate, elaborate counterpoint of the Kyrie before ending with a truly beautiful Sanctus and the tranquility of a spacious Angus Dei."

Tickets cost £18, concessions £16, on 01904 658338, at bit.ly/YBCMonteverdi or in person from the National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate.