St Bartholomew's Church was packed for the visit of Resonet, a band specialising in medieval and early music, to BREMF, the Brighton Early Music Festival. They were supported by the BREMF Community Choir, and all performers wore medieval costume.

Resonet are from Santiago de Compostela in the far north-west of Spain, and their programme was of music from the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim trail to the shrine of St James the Great, one of the most sacred and popular medieval pilgrimage routes.

Resonet consists of co-founder Mercedes Hernandez, soprano, and three highly versatile musicians who sang and played various percussion, wind and stringed instruments including a hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, and a lute played by co-founder, Fernando Reyes. The acoustic of St Bartholomew's is perfect for this music; Hernadez's penetrating but expressive voice filled the church yet every word was audible; the choir and instruments were equally clear.

The music of the Pilgrim Trail was a mixture of popular folk music and dance with sacred polyphony; when the pilgrims reached their destination the emphasis became more devotional but the continuous worship at the shrine was accompanied by folk music and dance too.

Much of this music was written down in the 12th century but some is based on music that is much older. Resonet and the BREMF Community Choir found a convincing balance between the sacred and the popular, and the programme moved seamlessly from the vigorous plainchant style that most choirs now favour to the people's music and dance.