The Oxford 'Early Music by Candlelight' Summer Festival 2026
7.30pm Sunday 12 July — Sunday 30 August 2026
Exeter College Chapel, Turl Street, Oxford University OX1 3DP
Charivari Agréable's annual summer festival is the highlight of Oxford's cultural cornucopia
'Every series consists of six or so different programmes, repeated several times each. Ng picks pieces to fit a theme, and then chooses ensembles from among his enormous pool of talented musicians, with readings or introductions which tie the pieces together. They're laid back and professional, irreverent yet learned, and make for an evening that's both calm and stimulating. It is a pleasing irony that these concerts are Oxford institutions, organised by someone with such an international background: Ng was born in Malaysia and came to Oxford by way of Melbourne and Frankfurt.' — Daily Info Oxford
Please scroll down for programme synopses/details and links to tickets
NB: tickets also available at the door (cash only).
A Baroque Whirlwind
Fri 17 July, Tue 11 August,
Fri 21 August ‘26
Singing in Secret
Sun 19 July, Wed 29 July,
Wed 19 August '26
To Kill a Queen
Sun 12 July, Fri 24 July,
Tue 4 August, Tue 18 Aug. '26
Capriccio Italiano
Wed 15 July, Sun 9 August,
Sun 30 August '26
Stabat Mater
Sun 26 July, Wed 5 August,
Sun 23 Aug. '26
A Bach Tercentenary
Wed 22 July, Fri 13 August,
Wed 26 Aug. '26
Your Summer 2026 Calendar
Programme synopses
For links to purchase tickets online, please click on the underscored dates below each programme
A Baroque Whirlwind
Virtuosic wind masterpieces of the German Baroque
Handel—Quantz—Mattheson—Fasch—Telemann
Charivari Agréable
David Price—baroque oboe & recorder
Dan Watts—baroque flute
Matthew Lewis—baroque bassoon
Kah-Ming Ng—harpsichord
Friday 17 July, Tuesday 11 August, Friday 21 August 2026: £19, £18 (seniors), £10 (students <25)
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Singing in Secret
Sacred choral music by 'Popish recusants' (Catholic dissenters of the English Reformation)
William Byrd: Mass for three voices
Matthew Locke: In the beginning
Richard Dering: Isti sunt sancti; Cantate Domino
Peter Philips: Veni Sancte Spiritus
Thomas Tallis: Alleluia, per te Dei genitrix
Organ voluntaries by Byrd, Bull & Locke
Charivari Agréable
Louise Ashdown—alto (29.7 & 19.8)
Pete Dockrill—countertenor (19.7)
Will Anderson—tenor
Ben Gilchrist—bass
dir. Kah-Ming Ng—chamber organ
Sunday 19 July, Wednesday 29 July, Wednesday 19 August 2026: £19, £18 (seniors), £10 (students <25)
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To Kill a Queen
Motives, Methods, and Murdered Monarchs
An enthralling narrative of the court intrigues and foreign policy imperatives that led to the
executions of Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, Mary Queen of Scots, Jane Grey, and Jeanne III of Navarre,
as well as the Great Essex Coup Plot against Elizabeth I,
illuminated with readings from contemporary correspondence, as well as
sonnets and speeches by Shakespeare, Spenser, and Marlowe,
illustrated with instrumental music by Byrd, Henry VIII, Attaignant, incl. our unique re-imagining of
heart-rending songs by Monteverdi, Guédron, and Strozzi.
Charivari Agréable
Isobel Collyer—reader & soprano
Layil Barr—recorders & bass viol
Kah-Ming Ng—virginals
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Capriccio Italiano
Music of sublime virtuosity, expressive lyricism, and technical innovation by the great figures behind Italian violinism, incl. Castello, Cavalli, Albinoni, Corelli, Caldara, Bononcini, featuring Vivaldi's iconic 'La Follia' variations.
Charivari Agréable
Edmund Taylor—baroque violin
Matthew Millkey—baroque violin
Kah-Ming Ng—harpsichord
Wednesday 15 July, Sunday 9 August, Sunday 30 August 2026: £18, £17 (seniors), £10 (students <25)
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Stabat Mater & Salve Regina
Compelling settings of two poignant Marian hymns
G.B. Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
D. Scarlatti: Salve Regina
Church sonatas by Rosenmüller & Vivaldi
Charivari Agréable
Olwen Lintern-Smyth—soprano
Charlotte Sleet—contralto
Edmund Taylor—baroque violin
Hannah Parry—baroque violin
Kah-Ming Ng—chamber organ
Sunday 26 July, Wednesday 5 August, Sunday 23 August 2026: £22, £20 (seniors), £10 (students <25)
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A Bach Tercentenary
In an intimate candlelit harpsichord recital replete with interesting anecdotes, Dr Kah-Ming Ng explores the influences on Bach that culminated in his first keyboard publication—issued at his own expense in 1726 to test the market—which eventually led to his iconic Clavier–Übung collections.
J.S. Bach: Partita Prima
F. Couperin: Prelude No. 7 & Les Baricades Mistérieuses
A. Vivaldi (arr. Bach): Concerto in F major BWV 978
D. Buxtehude: Praeludium manualiter BuxWV 163
J.J. Froberger: Lamentation on the sad passing of Ferdinand IV
J. Pachelbel: Aria Sebaldina
Wednesday 22 July, Friday 14 August, Tuesday 25 August 2026: £16, £15 (seniors), £10 (students <25)
TicketSource levies a booking fee (7% +VAT) for online purchases
Tickets are also available at the door — cash only, no fee