THIS was an interestingly varied recital given by James Oxley (tenor), Caroline Dowdle (piano) and Matthew Gunner (French horn).

It began with Schubert's Auf dem Strom for voice, piano and horn, a beautiful combination of sound.

Debussy's Fetes Galantes followed: the music and timbre of the French language created atmosphere, the first of the group set in the singer's lower and darker register. Fantoches was well characterised by Oxley, and the piano part was superbly executed. Clair de Lune (the final song in this cycle), atmospheric again, was sung with admirable control.

The settings by English composers lifted the singer to yet a higher plane. Frank Bridge's songs were thoughtfully interpreted: the narrative of Goldenhair, then the perfectly placed line of Come to me in my dreams, moving on to It sometimes comes into my head contrasted passionately with O, that it were so, and finally the quiet moments in When you are old and grey.

Still Falls the Rain, by Britten, scored for voice, piano and horn again, suited the musicians very well, and they delivered an emotionally intense performance. The concluding vocal statement of Still falls the rain with the horn only, moving simultaneously with the voice, was quite harrowing.

The final group, folk-songs by Grainger, was entertaining in narrative style: Brigg Fair - unaccompanied and well-decorated, and Bold William Taylor stylishly characterised by Oxley, singing in a four-square rhythm, against a lively and ornate piano accompaniment.

Oxley's diction was clear always; by giving a brief synopsis of the tests in foreign languages, he gave further helpful insight into the music.

Jill Hopkins