The Portland Symphony Orchestra, under guest conductor Hugh Floyd, staged a Christmas concert for adults Sunday afternoon at Merrill Auditorium. It included ancient airs and dances, a novelty piece, a Christmas Concerto and a Bach cantata, with the Choral Art Camerata, predicting the advent.

Floyd is known as a choral director and did not seem quite at home in the instrumental works, all of which were pleasant, if not memorable.

The program began with the Suite No. 1 of “Ancient Airs and Dances,” by Ottorino Respighi, a piece that was also played last week by the USM Youth Ensembles. The dances are delightful, in spite of modern orchestrations that would have been inconceivable to their 16th-century composers. The stately Villanella, with its oboe solo, sounded surprisingly like Sibelius.

It was followed by a strange and wonderful “Battalia” by Heinrich von Biber (1644-1704).which presaged Charles Ives in a section that included eight tunes in eight different keys, plus an extended moment of silence, a la Cage’s “4’33”.”

A full review will appear in the Portland Press Herald.