THE annual visit of this outstanding choir, promoted by the Classical Music Society, is like switching on the Christmas lights.

It provides a magical sparkle that puts you in the festive mood - a feeling more welcome than usual during this damp December which shows little inclination to go seasonal and provide us with a proper Christmas backdrop.

There is no doubt that director Adrian Lucas has his charges in fine festive fettle after another excellent concert which majored on the traditional with a sprinkling of the modern.

Audience participation always comes in large portions with this Christmas feast and the "congregation" seemed to be up for it more than ever this year, although some misunderstood the starter's orders and struck up different verses of Once in Royal David's City simultaneously to get the evening off to a unique start!

There were no such trips by the choristers on an evening when they "followed that star" across the Holy Land with their customary exquisite precision.

There was also no doubting the rich talent of Daniel Phillips who provided a musical contrast with The Coventry Carol and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen on the town hall organ.

A delightful reading by chorister Ian Bell about the difficulties Father Christmas faces in visiting children across the world produced some statistical humour.

He would have to travel 75.5 million miles to visit everyone and would need 214,200 reindeer travelling at 650 miles per second to pull his sleigh's huge payload in order to get the job done on time.

Worcester Cathedral Choir have no such problems travelling up the A449 - thank goodness!

CSJ.