A singing group has recorded its first CD in a 600-year-old chapel after discovering that its acoustics were perfect for their voices.

The seven-strong Concordia group was given permission by Lord Barnard to do the recording in the medieval chapel at Raby Castle, his ancestral home at Staindrop near Barnard Castle, County Durham.

Singing teacher Jane Ford, founder of the group, speaking at the launch of the CD yesterday, said that the chapel proved to be the ideal venue for their performance of 16 unaccompanied Elizabethan madrigals.

The disc, Sanctus Spiritus, includes numbers such as Fair Phyllis, Now is the Month of Maying and In Pace In Idipsum.

The women singers are aged from 12 to over 50.

"There is a mixture of young and mature voices harmonising to create a beautiful sound," said Ms Ford.

The group, all from the Staindrop area, had one of their songs broadcast on BBC Radio 4 recently and received many compliments from listeners.

The CD is available from the Raby Castle shop and some other shops in the area, as well from the founder via www.janefordsinging.co.uk