THE programme, Alleluia Nativitas: A Medieval Christmas and New Year, proved to be a delightful Christmas journey from the medieval times to the present, well, the 16th century anyway.

The first half was dominated by simple plainchant, and yet the performances created a real sense of spiritual depth. Partly this is due to the timeless quality in the plainchant lines themselves but also that they allowed some of the loveliest poetic lines to be heard, such as "Of royal lineage a virgin bore a flower: the fallen world did bloom" (Fulget Dies Celebris).

Having said that, Orientis Partibus (Notre Dame c. 1200) – "From Orient lands An ass came…Hey, ho, hey, Sir Ass…" - brought a very welcome earthy contrast. Here the singers clearly relished the vibrant, dancing rhythmic setting, and so did we.

The first half closed with an utterly compelling performance of Perotin’s Viderunt Omnes. The attention to detail was extraordinary and all the more rewarding for that.

The musical Tardis then landed in 15th century France and into a new sound world. Arnold de Lantins’ Tout Mon Désir was delivered with a beautiful, velvety quality, but it was the Dufay which really seemed to ring the changes. The singers clearly relished the musical dialogue and in the Hostis Herodes Impie the call and response narrative was a real joy.

So too was the sumptuous word painting in Ave Rex Angelorum, and, of course, the deeply moving There Is No Rose. The Orlando Consort are a Rolls Royce vocal ensemble, but what was refreshing was their informative, often very witty, engagement with the audience.