The first weekend of the Oxford Lieder Festival provided rich pickings for its devotees, kicking off in spectacular style with Dame Felicity Lott (see Page 7) on the Friday evening, and keeping up an almost breathtaking momentum over the next couple of days with an impressive selection of concerts, workshops and masterclasses. Tenor Adrian Thompson brought the weekend to a splendid finish at the JDP, with a recital of songs by Britten and Quilter - billed as "the quintessential English Sunday afternoon".

Before the concert began, one audience member told me that she and her husband book a two-week holiday each year to coincide with the Festival - proof, if it were needed, of just how popular this event has become. But perhaps festival organisers need to re-think the times of some of their concerts, because this 4pm slot - even with such an experienced recitalist as Adrian Thompson - was very poorly supported, with the JDP building barely half full.

A late programme change saw Thompson abandoning the advertised songs by Julian Philips, and replacing them with Britten's Winter Songs. Also in the programme were Britten's Seven Sonnets of Michaelangelo, and Quilter's Seven Elizabethan Lyrics and Three Shakespeare Songs. Thompson's powerful voice is perhaps more suited to the operatic stage than the concert platform, and in a building the size of the JDP he did have a tendency to set the eardrums jangling a little, particularly in the Britten sonnets. But his voice is, nevertheless, a versatile instrument, capable of great tenderness and lyricism, as he demonstrated in Quilter's pastoral love songs, making the most of the composer's sumptuous melodies and harmonies. He had some strong and sympathetic support from pianist Robin Bowman, with whom he clearly has a strong rapport.

The festival continues until next weekend with a dazzling array of events, including recitals by John Mark Ainsley, James Gilchrist, Sarah Fox and Susan Gritton. For tickets and information, visit www.oxfordlieder.co.uk