The Athenaeum Singers gave a noteworthy concert when they performed Paul Carr’s Requiem for an Angel, which many will remember was composed for the choir and given its first performance at St Denys Church, Warminster, eight years ago.

It was written in memory of the mother of Paul and Gavin Carr, who was then the musical director. This performance was particularly special since the choir dedicated it to Martin Carr, their father, who died recently.

The work starts with a placid Requiem Aeternam and lead into Te Decet introduced by percussion (of which we will hear more) on through a brief Father Forgive Us to a reprise of the Requiem.

The appealing Pie Jesu, admirably sung by soprano Rhiannon Llewellyn, contained the enigmatic quotation from a poem by Emily Dickinson: “Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me”. This movement was sadly impaired by the lack of a harp. A Chorale followed with beautiful harmonies, sung with admirable restraint by the choir and baritone Gavin Carr.

The mood changed spectacularly for the Sanctus, introduced by bongo drums in an almost wildly rhythmic style. The movement closed with a tranquil rendering of Sanctus followed by an explosive seven bars of percussion.

The Agnus Dei came next, featuring another quotation from Emily Dickinson: “The world feels dusty when we stop to die” with both soloists. Again, the brass threatened the balance. The song Do I Love You, More than a Day? is nicely scored for baritone with a discreet choral part ending in a sensitive pianissimo. The Kyrie followed, interestingly mingled with Father Forgive us. This movement calls for pinpoint accuracy, not always easy when singing very slowly and very quietly.

Finally, the Lux Aeterna with its persistent tonic pulse, relieved by Hebrew quotations from the psalms and taken up again when the soloists joined in for an extended offering of no less than four pages of fortissimo Lux Aeterna (one had got the message by two, really). The work closed with a calm “How good it is … to live together in unity” and a final Requiem.

Not at all an easy work to sing with limited combined rehearsal time, and at times it was hard to hear the men’s voices against the brass and percussion. If there was an occasional loss of unanimity, it was still a fascinating departure from the more familiar repertoires.

After the interval, we heard Samuel Barber’s exquisite Adagio for Strings, a piece which calls for consummate artistry which, sadly, was lacking in this performance.

The final work was the topical Elgar Spirit of England. With the splendid contribution of Rhiannon Llewellyn, the choir seemed more confident than before, with the balance and contrasts well marked.

Overall, it is difficult to escape the feeling that the space and the dead acoustics of St Denys’ Church had a job to cope with the volume of sound demanded by the Carr Requiem.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the collection for the charity Combat Stress, with the magnificent sum of £515 raised.