SIR, For their spring concert, Monmouth Choral Society delighted a large and appreciative audience at St Mary's Priory Church, Monmouth, with two works written 150 years apart. The main work in the first half was Vaughan Williams' Benedicite, a vibrant and joyful piece written for the jubilee of the Leith Hill Festival in 1929 with biblical text and English poetry. The choir maintained a good line with a rich balance of voices and good diction. Soprano soloist Eleanor Stowe provided effective contrasts in the middle section and also soared gloriously above the choir to bring this song of praise to a superb conclusion. Dating from 1799, the Maria Theresa Mass filled the second half. This is the fourth in a series of late masses written by Haydn to celebrate the name day of the Princess Esterhazy, wife of his patron. It uses text from the Latin Mass, and at times has a martial flavour, possibly reflecting the mood of the Napoleonic Wars. Conductor Steven Kings expertly captured the sombre mood of the opening Kyrie, with the choir and orchestra responding well in the exultant praise of the Gloria and the colourful and exuberant Credo. Haydn cleverly interweaves the choral writing with contrasting solo voices throughout the work and the assured singing of the solo quartet of Eleanor Stowe (soprano), Olivia Gomez (alto), Daniel Joy (tenor) and Meilir Jones (bass) was much in evidence, notably in the meditative Et incarnartus est and the reflective Benedictus. A dramatic intensity from all performers in the Dona nobis pacem brought the work to an exciting close. The Regency Sinfonia provided sterling support throughout and provided a stylish account of Elgar's Serenade for Strings to open the concert. Keith Ellerington (Monmouth)