A season's magical 15th year
	10:07am Thu 28 Aug 08
	Oxford Contemporary Music marks its 15th year of breaking boundaries with a Magic Hour, writes PAUL MEDLEY Oxford Contemporary Music marks its 15th anniversary this autumn with a series of concerts, in particular its Magic Hour event at the Oxford University Botanic Garden.

Oxford Liedertafel: St John's College Chapel

3:13pm Wednesday 27th August 2008

Liedertafel? Translating as "Song Table", Oxford Liedertafel's website reveals that it's a 19th-century German name for a group of male singers who would meet each week to eat, drink, and make music. Whether Oxford Liedertafel emulates the dining practices of its predecessors is not mentioned, but the group's precise, clear vocal delivery certainly didn't suggest any alcoholic indulgences.

	Simon Preston Prom: Royal Albert Hall
	3:12pm Wed 27 Aug 08
	Admittedly it's a rarefied category, but I'd like to propose a new award: "Most Plugged Concert Ever Given by a Former Christ Church Director of Music". The winner, without doubt, would be Simon Preston, for his organ recital on Bach Day at this year's BBC Proms. Rarely, it seemed, did 15 minutes pass last week on Radio 3 without yet another plug. Surely an organist with Preston's pedigree in the Bach repertoire didn't need such high pressure salesmanship?

	Summer Serenade Preview: Holywell Music Room
	3:10pm Wed 27 Aug 08
	Those who were lucky enough to have seen Roderick Williams's Alice in Wonderland, commissioned for the European Music Festival in the 1990s, may remember Oxford-born Catherine Young, a 14-year-old soprano from Cherwell Upper school who played the part of the Duchess. Despite her youth, she sang at Merton College with maturity and great gusto.

	Raising the roof for Bampton Church
	3:02pm Wed 27 Aug 08
	Once again the people of Bampton are preparing to Raise the Roof in order to top up the funds required to repair their parish church roof, which needs urgent attention. They have already raised £230,000, but must find a further £85,000 if they are to replace the damaged slate tiles that are causing so many problems, both outside and inside the Church of St Mary the Virgin, with its lovely spire that can be seen for miles around.

	International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, Buxton
	2:54pm Wed 27 Aug 08
	The curtain came down last weekend on the 15th International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, in Buxton, Derbyshire. As always, this was three weeks of pure G&S indulgence, with professional shows, amateur shows, masterclasses and concerts.

	Opera star 'puts something back into community'
	9:48am Thu 21 Aug 08
	NICOLA LISLE talks to soprano Mary Plazas, the new Honorary President of Wallingford's Music at St Peter's concert series Music at St Peter's had a sad start to its 23rd season, when its long-serving Honorary President, Lady Barbirolli, died in January, just after her 97th birthday. But artistic director Glynne Stackhouse turned quickly to ask another leading lady to step into Lady Barbirolli's shoes by asking his friend, local girl turned opera star Mary Plazas, to take on the role.

	CD review: Handel's Messiah, The Sixteen
	4:56pm Wed 20 Aug 08
	Anticipating their 30th anniversary next year, The Sixteen's latest CD of Handel's Messiah, due for release on September 1, is a triumphant summation of their achievements over three decades. All the hallmarks of this exceptional choral ensemble are encapsulated in this recording; mellifluous phrasing, flawless intonation and crystal-clear diction, underpinned by the authentic sound of period instruments.

	Adrian Brendel and Tim Horton: The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay
	4:53pm Wed 20 Aug 08
	Cellist Adrian Brendel (right in picture) and pianist Tim Horton offered a double taste of things to come in their recital last week in the inspiring setting of the 14th-century Great Hall at The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay.

	CD Review, New College Choir
	4:52pm Wed 20 Aug 08
	'Few composers of his stature have been so comprehensively and so unjustly ignored for nearly five centuries," says the sleeve note to New College Choir's new CD of sacred music by Nicholas Ludford (K617206). Meanwhile The Oxford Companion to Music opines: "Ludford (c.1485-1557) wrote mainly in an idiom that emphasised grandeur and exuberance of florid detail rather than humanistic expression." If that comment is supposed to suggest that Ludford was a little shallow, try New College's rendering of the Credo in his Missa Benedicta. There is no lack of humanity there. However, New College director of music Edward Higginbottom (pictured) plainly agrees that Ludford favoured exuberance too, with the treble line frequently soaring over solid foundations provided by the lower voices.

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