THE Vacation Chamber Orchestra was welcomed back to Aysgarth, on August 30 for its 16th concert in the church.

As its musical director, Xenophon Kelsey, commented: "We do think of this as our home. It is a beautiful church with fantastic acoustics especially now it has new staging."

There was an enthusiastic response to this popular ensemble's programme of chamber music for strings and wind.

Mr Kelsey introduced a surprise aperitif, the Three Sea Shanties for wind quintet by Malcolm Arnold.

These sparkling pieces demonstrated perfectly the musicians' technical accomplishment and their togetherness. Sinuous oboe and clarinet stood out, but all was pleasing, not least the rumbustious slurring and staggering in What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor.

Brahms' Sextet in B flat Major for Strings was a daunting challenge.

The acoustic of the venue, generally warm and full, was unforgiving to exposed high violins and there were some problems with intonation, and occasionally in ensemble, during the outer movements.

In the andante, apparent geniality yields to the composer's typical melancholia; closer part-writing and more straightforward rhythms assisted a convincing account.

These players will present the work better when more experienced both as chamber musicians and in life itself, yet this was an enjoyable performance.

After the interval, the first movement of Rossini's String Sonata no 2, was notable for some witty double bass playing. This set the tone for the first three movements of Prokofiev's Quintet in G Minor, opus 35. Their sustained bustling energy makes for an appealing lightweight piece, played with enthusiasm and spirit.

Jan Novak's Baletti a 9, is an unpublished rarity by a little-known mid-20th century Moravian composer.

This is a jolly, rollicking - but not strikingly original - work: the spirit of Martinu, one of Novak's teachers, is present throughout, as are the rhythms and textures of Stravinsky.

The (appropriately) raucous horn was a delight in the first movement, and the high, exposed oboe line in the third movement was beautifully played. All in all, the piece provided an excellent end to the evening, showcasing the players' strengths and sending the audience away with the buzz of having encountered the new as well as the old, the unknown as well as the familiar.

It is to be hoped that Mr Kelsey will keep his word and return to let us hear the "other" Brahms sextet and the rest of the Prokofiev.