If I were the vicar of All Saints, I would be looking for an electrician to check the lights.

The Brighton Festival Chorus Christmas concert was worryingly marred by the random flicking on and off of some of the lights.

It was distracting but not distracting enough, thank goodness, to spoil the magic of this concert, which offered a distinct difference for this time of year.

Yes, there were the traditional carols, sacred and secular, sung by the choir with audience participation but the concert also included a range of pieces from composers not frequently heard.

There was lots of lively music by Britten, as well as songs by Hawkins and Pateman, Bela Bartok and John Rutter, all magnificently sung by Brighton Festival Chorus, its Youth Choir and augmented by James Hearn on the church's splendidly refurbished organ, Helen Cole on harp and the London-based ensemble Onyx Brass.

As a confirmed non-believer, this Christmas concert in the magnificent interior of Hove's premier church was a marvellous opener to the holiday.

It deserved to make pots of money for the children's charity NCH.