Mansfield's local choir with the worldwide reputation showed just why they have been headline news at home and abroad for four decades with a varied programme that ranged from King Henry VIII's aptly named 'Pastime With Good Company' to modern composer Judith Bingham's specially commissioned 'Lacemaking,' a tightly textured piece reflecting the heydays of one of the area's industries.

There was another local connection with an excerpt from Newark-born John Blow's 'Venus and Adonis,' while for travelling further abroad Cantamus showed their linguistic skills with works in Hungarian and Japanese as a prelude to a short selection of of Gilbert and Sullivan songs, complete with dramatic movement, depicting life in Japan ('The Mikado') and Cornwall ('The Pirates of Penzance').

The 34-strong Cantamus Training Choir showed promise of great things to come with two expressive works by Bob Chilcott ('Look to This Day' and 'Can You Hear Me?') plus the spiritual 'Goin' Up a-Yonder' and the Israeli favourite 'Have Nageela.'

Traveller Michael Palin said in his recent 'New Europe' series on TV that Estonia — whose near neighbours include Russia, Finland and Sweden — had a complicated language, consisting of 33,000 characters.
I'm not sure how many the Estonian Girls' Choir used on Saturday evening, but they lived up to Cantamus secretary Sheila Haslam's introduction that they were a "knockout choir."

The 30 girls showed in their 15-song showcase why they are the country's top choir, whether it was their haunting opening folk hymn 'Awake, My Heart' ; 'Peace upon you, Jerusalem' (Psalm 122/121) composed by their prolific countryman Arvo Pärt, or three energetic swing songs, reflecting the simple pleasures of meeting and greeting.

Before heading off to concerts in Cheltenham and London, the Estonian girls gave a word-perfect rendition of 'I Feel Pretty' from 'West Side Story' before joining their Cantamus hosts on stage for a double encore, which ended with John Lennon's 'Imagine.'

Cantamus are back in the spotlight in just under two months in 'Fabulous at Forty,' when they join forces with BBC Radio Nottingham for a joint 40th birthday bash complete with some big-name guests at the city's Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 6th September.

Tickets (2nd tier only) are £12, and available from Sheila Haslam on 01623-627764, or by email to:
sheilahaslam@ntlworld.com