GAZETTE & HERALD: A COMBINATION of the contemporary and the baroque came to Calne Choral Society's annual spring concert on Saturday evening.

The event took place at the Methodist Church in Silver Street, Calne, with two contrasting musical works.

It opened with a work recently commissioned for the society, An African Elegy, described as an exciting and vibrant work by composer Sean Gregory.

An African Elegy was set to the words of Booker Prize winner Ben Okri.

It was followed by one of Handel's lesser-known works, Acis and Galatea his first dramatic work in English.

The story is taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses, and incorporates lines by contemporary poets of the time, including Pope and Dryden.

It is a tale of two lovers, ultimately doomed by fate, with interludes from the half humorous, half-menacing character of Polyphemus.

The choir and orchestra were conducted by Jenny Brand, with solos from Chloe Barnett, David de Strother, Philip Borg and Sebastiano Cipolla.