There are few places more pleasant than St George's, but the Bohemian castle of Kromeriz must have been one of them. And, since there are few people more brilliant than Andrew Manze, artistic director of the English Concert, at bringing music to life, both in words and in performance, this concert was decidedly special. Metaphorically transported to the mid-17th century and to the seat of Prince Karl Liechtenstein-Castelkorn - the first man to appreciate Biber's genius and in whose archives Biber treasures have been unearthed - the audience was quickly captivated. While there is a nonchalance about Manze's technique and an unaffected (though profoundly expressive) tone, he shows sparkling wit and ingenuity; the irrepressible musical energy he creates is tossed around the band of players, with the exchange of motifs and phrases as relaxed as the smiles and glances.

Five sonatas from Biber's Fidicinium Sacro-Profanum formed the backbone of this concert: their succession of contrasting emotions was deeply felt, yet so spontaneous as to seem improvised. But it is the gift for representing sounds in music - whether those of bells, as in the Sonata Campanorum, or of nature, as in the Sonata Representativa - that makes Biber so fascinating, a programmatic composer before his time. He used techniques of pizzicato and bowing to achieve highly descriptive effects centuries ahead of the likes of Bartok. And, as Manze pointed out, the quirky cacophony of the collision of tunes in Battaglia could have been by Ives.

The English Concert's collective delight in showing off all these as well as their party-piece, the Nightwatchman's Ciacona, was infectious. They can't fail to charm America on their forthcoming tour.

· The English Concert play Wigmore Hall on October 14. Box office: 020-7935 2141.