For those waiting anxiously for the Oxford Lieder Festival in October, last weekend’s mini festival — a joint venture between Jesus College/Kohn Foundation and Oxford Lieder — was a tasty titbit to be going on with. Sadly, I had to miss the all-Russian programme by baritone Sergei Leiferkus on Friday, but was more than compensated the next night by a three-part programme that included a riveting performance of Vaughan Williams’s On Wenlock Edge by local tenor Daniel Norman.

Taking time out from the current Garsington season, where he is appearing as Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro, Norman (left) proved that his dramatic flair extends beyond the operatic stage; here, he poured his heart and soul into the six Housman texts that make up the song cycle, holding the audience spellbound throughout. His voice is a powerful instrument, but one capable of great warmth and tenderness, and he used it to fine effect in conveying the various emotions of the poems. This was an utterly enthralling performance that, for me, was the highlight of the evening.

The outer sections of the programme belonged to the Barbirolli Quartet, a formidably excellent group of young musicians who are currently part of the European Concert Halls Organisation’s ‘Rising Stars’ series. On Saturday’s showing, it would seem that these stars have already well and truly risen; their fearless and technically dazzling handling of Haydn’s Quartet No.27 in D Major was profoundly moving and compelling, with an almost tangible energy that was quite breathtaking.

They were, if anything, even better in the Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor, for which they were joined by pianist Sholto Kynoch (right), whose focused and authoritative contribution seemed to inspire them to greater heights.

All five players were clearly relishing the variations in mood and tempo, from the tenderness of the Andante to the dramatic, rhythmically challenging Scherzo, with the final Poco sostento bringing the recital to a thrilling and satisfying end.