AS the nights draw in, the leaves fall from the trees and temperatures plummet, music lovers could be forgiven for hiding themselves away with their CD collections.

Those who do, however, will miss out on a feast of winter concerts over the coming weeks.

One such treat, taking place at All Saints’ Church in Marcham this Saturday, is being given by chamber choir The Crown Singers who rehearse in Grove.

In a programme 'to lighten the mood and heart', the group will be joined by Bath-based jazz group Adam’s Apple for a joint concert showing off the sacred side of the jazz repertoire.

The centrepiece of the programme is by Bob Chilcott, whose music is known for its tuneful accessibility, and his Little Jazz Mass is a joyful, foot-tapping take on the traditional Latin mass text.

Written originally for the Crescent City Choral Festival, New Orleans, it is a piece that has won the hearts of many a choir and audience across the world, and is infectious in its enthusiasm.

With an experienced jazzer like Adam Biggs (head of jazz studies at Bath Spa University) at the keyboard, this promises to be a treat for a winter evening.

The Crown Singers's director Paul Hedley (who also runs the professional choir Musica Beata, and has recently taken over the Arcadian Singers of Oxford), has put together a fascinating partner to the Chilcott in the form of a medley of spirituals, arranged by Purley-based composer Jeremy Rawson.

These are tunes that not only speak from the historic basis of jazz in America, but form part of more of Western culture than many would recognise.

Why else would the terraces at Twickenham reverberate to the sound of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot on England match days throughout the Rugby Union season?

And, as Adam Biggs himself says, 'Jazz and life are synonymous', with there being 'no distinction between jazz and the hymns and psalms heard in church'.

Concert-goers on Saturday will have the pleasure of hearing Mr Biggs improvise on well known hymn tunes in a church setting – the activity for which Adam’s Apple is best known, across the South and West of the country.

This promises to be an enjoyable and uplifting evening in a beautiful sacred space.

- The Crown Singers and Adam’s Apple, All Saints Church, Marcham. Saturday, November 11, at 7.30pm. Tickets: £10, available from the Vale and Downland Museum in Wantage, on the door, or by phoning 01235 762146. Refreshments will be served.