The East Oxford Community Choir’s joint concert with Grenoble choir Interlude last weekend was a wonderfully joyous occasion, which celebrated The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with appropriately festive music, as well as continuing to wave the flag for Anglo-French friendship. The two choirs have been twinned since 2001, and here was proof of just how successfully the two have flourished together since.

Perhaps surprisingly, the choirs joined forces for just one item — Fauré’s gorgeous Cantique de Jean Racine, for which they were also joined by the Witney-based Voice Box. Under conductor James Longstaffe, this was a gloriously fluent rendition, with singers and orchestra clearly relishing the graceful, elegant melodies and harmonies.

Elsewhere in the first half, EOCC and Voice Box premiered local composer John Duggan’s setting of Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright, imbuing it with great passion and energy. I felt they could perhaps have made more of the contrast between the dramatic sections and the more reflective verses, and sadly the voices were frequently overwhelmed by the brass ensemble.

Interlude’s selection of songs by Debussy, Hummel, Fauré and Vaughan Williams put them in a spotlight that they didn’t seem entirely comfortable with, and there were moments when their timing and intonation seemed decidedly shaky. Their enthusiasm was palpable, but musically a lot more polish was needed.

The second half was perhaps the more successful of the two; once more, EOCC and Voice Box took centre stage, and delivered Elgar’s setting of Give Unto the Lord with all the boisterousness demanded of this grandiose piece.

The evening came to a spectacular finale with Poulenc’s Gloria, with the singers once again clearly enjoying the often playful nature of the piece, particularly the unusually buoyant Laudamus te. Soprano Baptistine Mortier contributed some wonderfully lucid, eloquent solo passages, her voice floating effortlessly above the choir’s in the final movement, ending in glorious, breathtaking tranquillity.