As we all have, I’ve heard Vivaldi’s Four Seasons before. Like many of us, I’ve never heard a live professional production. This performance brought the music to life in a way that it never has been before, for me. After only a few notes of 'Spring', it was so clear to me - the music was a bird, flitting between the violins. This isn’t something I was able to realise from a recording, or my own attempts at playing it in Youth Orchestra. Similarly the cracking of the ice in winter - this is an element of the music that I’d known about but not truly felt before. These musicians brought the piece to life vividly for me, creating a whole world within the space of the church.

Lead violin was played by Victoria Sayles, who played the ridiculously complex music with grace and unbelievable skill. All the musicians did - as a lapsed violinist myself, it was hard to stop myself from viewing the opening piece, in particular, as an example of how to perfectly play a piece of orchestral classical music. Every element seemed to me to be perfect.

The setting, of course, was beautiful, and beautifully Christmassy. While it’s still November, Oxford celebrates early. There’s only one more week of term left, so festivities have begin. The candles on the floor and the sweetly glowing Christmas trees perfectly complemented the stone and wood beaming of the church, creating a wonderfully reflective and festive atmosphere.

It was such a treat and a delight to see a piece of music so perfectly contextualised. In a world where I normally engage with music through my phone, while going about the mundanities of life, it felt deeply nourishing to sit in this space without screens, the quiet majesty of the University Church, and to give myself the opportunity to be inspired and awestruck by this piece of music that’s been evoking these feelings in its listeners for 300 years. A perfect start to the season, at once stirring and contemplative, and just exquisitely executed.