Oxford is crammed with festivals, literary, artistic, musical, the latter further subdivided into instrumental, choral, vocal, early, jazz, symphonic, down almost to molecular level. Currently the Fifth Lieder Festival celebrates classical song, its opening night glamorously launched by Dame Felicity Lott and the young Polish pianist Maciej Pikulski. Sorry, but I can't accept the label diva' - hinting at temperament and flouncings off - being applied to this gracious lady who has sung her way so modestly into our musical life. Indeed, she nearly brought the NHS to a halt when my doctor became so misty-eyed recalling a meeting with her that he quite forgot to give me my flu jab.

So, in the thoroughly secularised St Aldate's Church, before a packed throng, here she was, radiant and lissom as ever, offering perfectly phrased French and German songs with an unaffected charm that enabled her to survive a false start, a sneezing fit and the nightly curfew of 101 strokes from Great Tom while keeping us all in thrall.

Songs by Schumann and (her speciality) Richard Strauss were beautifully delivered, though they do tend to be all about roses, spring and (usually) broken hearts. Strauss's Schlechtes Wetter (Dreadful Weather) was quite an exception. The pianist's role can't be ignored in these works which are really duets', and Pikulski was a full partner, delicate of touch and understanding. It's no surprise to learn that he already has a distinguished career both as soloist and accompanist.

After the interval, and changed into another gorgeous velvet gown, Dame Felicity turned to French and English songs in lighter vein. Songs by Hahn and Messager in the knowing French cafe-concert style showed her command of colloquial idiom. They were followed by a group by Nol Coward who held his own in this company - in fact one of them includes his famous phrase "a talent to amuse". Dame Felicity turned in a wondrous performance, cheeky, smoky, positively louche on occasion.

Of course she couldn't leave us with such frivolity. Back she came, with Schumann again, and Hahn's L'heure exquise, an exquisite ending to an exquisite evening.