Performer: Claire Seaton

That Rossini was a wag. The master of the bon mot, you suspect he probably had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he entitled his 1864 choral work the Petite Messe Solenelle.

Many composers would be delighted to be sharing the bill with Pergolesi, particularly if the ratio of programmed pieces were 2:1 in their favour. Judith Bingham combined composing and singing careers for many years, but she now concentrates solely on composing. However, she does – as she confessed in a YouTube interview – compose unconsciously in “breath lengths”.

A place of worship was the stage; stained glass windows cast light on a choir that massed over a hundred and sixty members, and the Truro Symphony Orchestra, led by Martin Palmer and heralded by soprano Claire Seaton, mezzo Susanna Spicer, tenor Anthony Mee, and bass Edward Price wrought tragedy and triumph out of a magnificent performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem at Truro Cathedral.