Whale noises greeted us for the second of these two chamber concerts, on the opening evening of this year's City of London festival. This was to get us in the mood for an unusual performance of Vox Balaenae - The Voice of the Whale - by the American composer George Crumb, whose music features in several of the programmes.

Written in 1971, the piece is for piano, cello and flute (all amplified) and the players wear masks to seem less human and more elemental. Crumb specifies odd playing techniques. The flautist sings down his flute and the pianist strums inside the piano lid, producing an evocative, low-frequency throb. The cello plays a "Sea Theme" on high harmonics, which is worked out through several variations.

The theme's final version is so nearly romantic that it should sound twee. Indeed, the whole presentation ought to make you giggle. Yet it is so finely judged that you don't, and it doesn't. What emerges is a vivid impression of the size and majesty of these animals, and of a different way of measuring time. The polished performance from three members of the chamber group Conchord was a huge help.

Premiered in the same programme, Eleanor Alberga's Tiger Dream in Forest Green was less evocative than its title, painting a picture of the animal with a prowling alto flute, but without giving it any teeth.

The evening's first premiere, by the Karol Szymanowski Quartet, was Deirdre Gribbin's What the Whaleship Saw, inspired by the improbably long survival of a group of castaways. At first urgent, then still and eerie, it is atmospheric, and Gribbin hints at a gruesome story. But we need more if the piece is to convey anything other than general desperation.

· Conchord's concert will be played on Radio 3 on July 3.