CONCERTGOERS who love a church atmosphere could hardly do better than to attend St Eadburgha's on Twelfth Night.

The ancient church, off the Snowshill Road in Broadway, lit by candlelight and bedecked with traditional Christmas foliage, will be providing the perfect setting for a musical celebration.

The age-old Twelfth Night tradition, which marks the close of the 12 festive days that follow Christ's birth, is being marked by Peter Medhurst and friends.

They will be bringing to Broadway a little old-world charm and festivity in an ingenious recital of Christmas carols, arias, duets and instrumental pieces.

Good music, humour and surprise will be the order of the day, with St Eadburgha's Church providing the perfect setting. The concert features James Bowman - universally acclaimed as one of the finest countertenors of our age.

His voice has illuminated the world of early music and the 20th century for more than 30 years and he is equally at home on the stage as in the choir stalls.

Peter Medhurst is well known not only for his bass voice, but also for his work as a deviser and presenter of concerts throughout the UK, for the National Trust and many other organisations worldwide.

The accomplished pair will be accompanied by award-winning pianist Carol Wells, who has made numerous appearances at all the major concert halls in Britain, and has worked extensively in opera and music theatre.

Concert organiser Sara Sanford is a personal friend of Peter Medhurst. "He played the organ at our wedding and said at the time he would love to put on a concert in our church. Peter said the acoustics were marvellous and the church had terrific atmosphere."

Twelfth night, she said, marks the arrival at Bethlehem of the three wise men and the end of the seasonal celebrations. However the Victorians were responsible for shortening the festive season.

Mrs Sanford said: "They did not want people to have a jolly time for so long so Twelfth Night cake was changed to Christmas cake and eaten on Christmas day. It explains why we are supposed to eat Christmas pudding at lunch time then heavy cake at teatime."

The concert starts at 6.30pm on January 6. Tickets, at £10 or £5 restricted view, include mulled wine and Twelfth Night cake in the interval.

The fast selling tickets are available from Broadway's post office and S & D Jelfs newsagents in the High Street.

All the proceeds from the concert will go to the upkeep of St Eadburgha's.