Sydney Chamber Choir’s People’s Choice concert was a celebration of the rich choral repertoire, featuring a diverse selection of popular favourites as voted by the choir’s loyal audience.

The choral sound under artistic director Sam Allchurch was perfectly blended yet texturally clear, elucidating the details of each score. The ensemble was unified and the intonation pure, notwithstanding one or two exposed moments.

As conductor, Allchurch was consistently engaged and sensitive to the changing moods of the texts.

The first item, Vivaldi’s Gloria in excelsis Deo, began with an energetic introduction from organist Thomas Wilson, and continued with sparkling brilliance in the vocal entries. From where I was sitting, the lower voices might sometimes have been more prominent in the balance, especially in fugal entries.

Sydney Chamber Choir: People’s Choice. Photo supplied

Victoria’s O magnum mysterium captured the quiet wonderment of onlookers beholding the infant Jesus, while Duruflé’s Ubi caritas – my personal highlight from the concert – was magical in its mix of tenderness and tonal richness.

The network of imitative entries in Monteverdi’s ode to the dawn, Ecco mormorar l’onde, conjured the diverse sounds of nature, bearing out the composer’s credo that words...