The counter-tenor Andreas Scholl seemed subdued in this appearance with the Accademia Bizantina. Scholl is an engagingly unshowy platform performer, but fans who came expecting the power and richness he regularly lavishes on everything he sings might have been surprised by what they heard: a less than overwhelming sound with a distinctly reedy edge, as if Scholl might have been suffering from a cold.

The musicality and elegance of his singing were unaffected, however, and the two Bach solo cantatas that were his contribution to the programme were unfurled with easy assurance. The first, No 35, Geist und Seele Wird Verwirret, took a while to click into focus, and then it was the recitatives rather than the arias, in which a few phrases were awkwardly negotiated, that captured Scholl's powers of communication. But in Cantata No 170, Vergnügte Ruh, Beliebte Seelenlust, he was on the button from the start, singing the serene opening aria with perfect poise, even if the sound was not as velvety as it could have been, and turning the cantata into a sustained piece of drama, perfectly judged and lucid.

The period instruments of Accademia Bizantina, directed from the keyboard by Ottavio Dantone, accompanied Scholl scrupulously. They seem to take an austere view of historical accuracy, creating a soundworld that is quite raw-edged and undernourished, though there is no shortage of rhythmic energy about their playing. On their own account, with Dantone as soloist, the group had played Handel's F major Organ Concerto, connecting neatly with the first of the Bach cantatas, whose two instrumental sinfonias have concertante roles for the organ too. Later they played Bach's Concerto for Two Violins, in which some exaggerated expressiveness from the solo violinists seemed out of character with their generally sober contributions.