Combining contemporary circus with Renaissance music was a bold move.

When it worked, the clashing a cappella harmonies of I Fagiolini’s singers and the astonishing acrobatics of Circa melded together with haunting effect.

Dressed all in white, Circa’s six acrobats showed off their immense strength, skill and balance as they used each other as human climbing frames.

The angelic voices of I Fagiolini echoed around the cavernous space of Hove’s All Saints Church, setting the ethereal tone for the evening.

Occasionally a voice would ring out from within the audience, as dark figures emerged and paraded around the church.

Lights went up and down on the various performance spaces as we followed the voices, not knowing where they would pop up next.

The evening veered from the sublime to the bizarre, such as when a black satin sheet was passed over the audience’s heads and a male acrobat repeatedly threw himself to the floor with a loud bang.

But there were several breathtaking moments, including when one of the male acrobats used a rope to scale the church walls and a dramatic finale on the pole.

Bringing the singers on stage to involve them with the performance was perhaps a step too far and while the singing and circus worked well together, they were best kept at a slight distance.