It's hard to come away from a Chester Music Society choral concert and feel short-changed.
This weekend's offering was another marathon concert which showcased three major English works and was another event commemorating Ralph Vaughan Williams, who died half a century ago this year.
Did they bite off more than they could chew? Looking at the programme, that was always the risk. Yet, as always, the choir proved that it really is one of the best choruses in the region. The opening work, Gerald Finzi's For St Cecilia - a work extolling the virtues of the patron saint of music and performed, by chance, on her feast day - is a challenge, and the choir was for the most part, exemplary, though they were a little uncertain in the second stanza of the Blunden poem.
In Elgar's Sea Pictures mezzo-soprano Rosie Aldridge used her rich, intense voice to great effect. From the reposed, beautiful Sea Slumber song, through the reverential power of Sabbath Morning at Sea through to probably the most famous song of the set - Where Corals Lie - which felt a little rushed. But for sheer excitement, it had to be the performance of the final setting, The Swimmer, which saw conductor Graham Jordan Ellis accidentally pitch his baton into the orchestra at the conclusion of the piece.
Vaughan Williams's Sea Symphony is one of the greatest English symphonic works, placing huge demands on both choir and orchestra. In this, Liverpool Sinfonia felt assured, right from the powerful opening, to the barely heard conclusion.
The choir was controlled and disciplined throughout.
Liverpool Daily Post