CBSO/Norfolk and Norwich Festival Chorus/Parry (St Andrews Hall, Norwich, 2/5/09)

Last night saw the world premiere of a major new work by Jonathan Dove at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. Titled 'There Was a Child', the piece commemorates the life of a teenager who drowned in Thailand ten years ago. It sets a variety of texts - including poems by Traherne, Wordsworth, Keats and Whitman - and unfolds over almost an hour. There are moments of contemplation, nostalgia, rapture, fun and sadness, but it's fundamentally an expression of joy - joy in life, joy in music making, joy in poetry and sound; an incredibly moving experience.

Dove's music is immediate and accessible - sharing a shimmering, pulsating soundworld with John Adams, but also channelling Britten in occasional moments of austerity with simple, almost naive melodic phrases. For me, 'There Was a Child' had strong resonances of Gerald Finzi's gorgeous works 'Dies Natalis' and 'Intimations of Immortality' (not least through the choice of pastoral/mystical texts expressing the wonder of childhood and nostalgia for its passing). Although the idiom is unashamedly tonal, the piece bordered just the right side of sentimentality and neo-romantic indulgence; totally committed to the text and to the ideals of communal music making, Dove has created a work that should endure in the repertoire. It's not difficult, but it is contemporary.

The CBSO were on good form, having warmed up to Mendelssohn's third symphony in the first half. The chorus sadly felt a little underprepared and underpowered - the lush orchestration needed bigger choral forces to contend with. But it was a valiant effort - particularly on the part of the children's choir, who tackled some tricky passages with laudable dexterity. Soloists Toby Spence and Mary Plazas gave committed performances; Spence in particular was radiant and gripped the audience with every utterance.

Of course classical music is still alive.