A CANDLELIT Christmas concert will be given when the South West Baroque Orchestra returns to the Culm Valley for a third successive year on Saturday (December 6).

The 3 pm concert will be in Culmstock Village Hall, which the orchestra also uses for its monthly rehearsals.

The Westcountry’s only period instrument orchestra, which will be four years old in the New Year, is directed by Michael Williamson and Jacqui Robertson-Wade and features soprano Catherine Bass and baritone Jesse Giulani.

They will perform traditional carols and Christmas music by Scarlatti, Charpentier, Schutz, Pez, and Bach.

Admission is free and will include tea and mince pies, with a retiring collection.

Among the instruments played by orchestra members are strings, recorders, theorbo, and the harpsichord.