THESE ENCHANTED ISLES Exciting programme of international instrumental and vocal music by top artists including founder Priya Mitchell. OCMF24 is going to take us on a joyful adventure of nostalgia and discovery through an intriguing variety of our native musical landscapes. Some works are already known and much loved, but we’ll also celebrate unfamiliar masterpieces that are significant landmarks in the musical heritage of these islands. September’s concerts, lectures and events again feature outstanding artists that include: Quatuor Ébène, Elisabeth Leonskaja, O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra, Hugo Ticciati, Natalie Clein, Julius Drake and other distinguished performers in a programme exploring a spectrum of musical expression through the centuries. Beginning with the Renaissance and early masters – Dowland, Byrd, Purcell, Handel – and on to Elgar, Britten, Vaughan Williams, Bridge, Walton, Tippett, Adès, Clarke, Frances-Hoad, Tavener, MacMillan, as well as a look into the roots of our traditional Celtic and English folk music. All the festival’s featured composers and compositions exemplify a surprising and inspiring diversity and creative genius in the ways they have enriched the UK’s unique musical culture. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the extraordinary wealth of music that has been composed in the United Kingdom, which captures the spirit, vision and beauty of ‘These Enchanted Isles’. For the very first time we are holding Masterclasses, welcoming highly talented young musicians to participate. Some of these will be open to the general public at the Holywell and it is also the first time the Quatour Ébène are teaching in the UK. Come and join the experience of uplifting energy, passion and intensity which is the essence of the Oxford Chamber Music Festival. Not just in a week of concerts but at workshops, educational outreach and events all through 2024 within some of Oxford’s most beautiful and historical venues. We are delighted that Kieran Stiles is our Artist in Residence this year. https://www.ocmf.net/2024-festival/autumn-festival-2024/
The Details
Wednesday 31st July Friends Members Priority Booking
Friday 2nd August General Booking
The Events
Please take a moment to peruse our extraordinary lineup of events scheduled for the autumn festival.
O Albion
Mon 23rd September
Christ Church Cathedral
We are delighted to welcome one of the world’s great string quartets, the Quatuor Ébène, to this year’s festival, where they will also lead masterclasses for young ensembles.
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OCMF Studio
Tue 24th September
Holywell Music Room
Join us at the inaugural OCMF Studio for performances by ensembles from this year’s masterclasses, led by Quatuor Ébène, Reto Bieri, Priya Mitchell, and Dirk Mommertz.
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Freakshow
Wed 25th September
Holywell Music Room
We are very excited to launch a platform for emerging British chamber ensembles. This year, the Paddington Trio tours nations with works by Weir, Perkin, and Clarke.
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Romani & Traveller Singers
Wed 25th September
Weston Library
Romani and Traveller people have been excluded from British cultural imaginaries, bin this talk, Hazel Marsh highlights their contributions to our shared folk heritage.
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Discoveries
Wed 25th September
Holywell Music Room
A scintillating Swiss treatment of Irish folk music; vivid music for children from a twentieth-century Romantic; and a wistful waltz for a Georgian drawing room.
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Singular Voices
Thur 26th September
The New Space
Rebecca Clarke’s unique musical voice was overlooked for nearly seventy years. A talented viola player, her rediscovered Sonata now inspires violists globally.
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Shape of my Heart
Thur 26th September
SJE Arts at St John the Evangelist Church
Two contrasting 20th-century works: Vaughan Williams’ English summer and Britten’s tribute to mentor Frank Bridge, with variations showing personality.
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Sacrifices
Fri 27th September
Holywell Music Room
Elgar’s magnificent piano quintet is one of his last masterpieces, written around the end of the Great War which destroyed the world he had grown up in.
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A Little Known Masterpiece
Fri 27th September
Holywell Music Room
An unmissable opportunity to hear one of the keyboard giants, Elizabeth Leonskaja, on a rare visit to the UK, playing a composer very close to her heart.
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Hidden Treasures
Fri 27th September
Holywell Music Room
From 16th-century William Byrd, a great Renaissance composer, to Henry Purcell, who defined Restoration London and Britten’s 1970s string innovations.
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Radiance, Romance and a Rocket
Sat 28th September
Holywell Music Room
An 18th-century manuscript found at Christ Church revealed Handel’s chamber version of Water Music, originally composed for a Royal Thames pageant.
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Singing England
Sat 28th September
Weston Library
Join Steve Roud, author of Folk Song in England and The New Penguin Book of English Folksongs, for a talk on the history of English folk songs.
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Farewell!
Sat 28th September
Holywell Music Room
Vaughan Williams’ Piano Quintet; Finzi’s pastoral Eclogue; Delius’ romanticism; Elgar’s early Serenade. We end with a beautiful Scottish farewell.
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