I joined a capacity audience (including some very welcome youngsters) for the premiere of Robert Hammersley’s Fragile Earth on October 15, writes Martin Noble. The work was inspired by the wonders of the Earth and the need to conserve the environment. The texts were chosen from the six main faiths in Britain, thereby showing how many different cultures share these issues. Hammersley’s music reflected the texts in a warm, approachable style in such a way that clarity of words was suitably matched with dramatic choral and orchestral writing.

The Oxfordshire County Youth Choir and Percussionists joined the Schola Cantorum of Oxford and the Oxford Philomusica under the Schola’s inspired conductor, James Burton, who moved the performance magically from big choral numbers to single chanters, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim sikh and Jewish placed throughout the Abbey. The extraordinary achievement of this work was in the blending together of so many disparate elements into a real work of art.

The soloists were outstanding. Laura Mitchell (soprano) captivated with her exquisitely controlled singing, while Oxford’s favourite Roderick Williams’s imperial tone and exemplary diction ensured the powerful delivery of his solos. Choral sound of youthful intensity has always been a hallmark of the Schola Cantorum and it was exciting to witness how well they worked with the Youth Choir especially in the Christian movement. Oxford Philomusica produced just the right moments of drama and stillness. The audience gave a deserved standing ovation.

Part One of Haydn’s Creation, with Ben Hulett (tenor), brought the evening to an appropriately vigorous and thrilling conclusion.