Fifty-fifty, phone a friend, ask the audience? These are some of the choices on the TV Quiz show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Ask the audience seems to be the choice of Lindsay Armstrong, the director of the Bach Cantata Cycle which has run for the past ten years each Spring in Dublin's St Anne's Church. A succession of wonderful musicians, soloists and visiting choirs has brought almost the entire repertoire of Bach's Sacred Music to Irish audiences.

Now that the cycle is drawing to a close, the ever-growing audience is being asked what should figure next year. There are two suggestions to kick off. The first is to perform the Secular Cantatas, which would take about two years. The second is to abandon choral music and to switch to Haydn's symphonies. With over one hundred of these, this is a project which could also run for years. But the audience is asked to come up with ideas and readers of The Irish Catholic are also asked to throw in a vote.

Sacred music

Already some have suggested performing some of Mozart and Haydn's Sacred Music. The setting of the 18th Century church on Dawson Street is well suited. How about hearing Mozart's incomparable Mass in C or Coronation Mass? And the superlative Vespers for a Confessor, which contains the popular Laudate Dominum for soprano, choir and orchestra? Give it some thought. If you have a view, contact Lindsay Armstrong, 9 Bass Place, Dublin 2. Tel: 01- 6621683. Website: orchsc@eircom.net. It is not every day we have the choice of programme.

The Palestrina Choir showed themselves to be in top form when they sang Cantatas 28, 90, 121 and 140. Under the directorship of Blanaid Murphy, the choir has gone from strength to strength. In particular the counter tenors, tenors and bass lines have developed an excellent sound. The great choral Zion hÎrt die WÌchter singen, demands a firm line and the tenors declaimed in a commanding style as the strings wove their way around the voices. Jeffrey Ledwidge was once Head Chorister of the Palestrina Choir and now he is the regular Bass soloist in this season's cantatas. His voice is capable of the subtlest modifications, and is perfectly suited to Baroque music.

Talent

Soprano Lynda Lee has also been soloist of the season and brings her enormous talent to the challenge of some difficult writing. A new-comer is Polish tenor Jacek Wislocki. A member of the Irish Chamber Choir, he also has a distinguished career as a soloist and I certainly hope we will hear a lot more of him. Alison Browner's performances appear effortless and are totally engaging. With her regular performances outside Ireland, she is a first class ambassador for the best of what our country can produce.

You will have the opportunity to hear some of these soloists on March 21 at Dublin's Pro-Cathedral when the Palestrina Choir, the Dublin Bach Singers and St Mary's Pro-Cathedral Girl's Choir perform Bach's St Matthew Passion. It is rarely performed in Ireland. Part One begins at 4.30-6pm and Part 2 continues from 8pm-10pm.

Tickets (€25) are available from the Pro-Cathedral Office Tel (01) 8745441. Early booking is advised (and so are cushions for the hard pews!).