Passiontide at Merton
"The Passiontide Festival at Merton College, Oxford, remains one of the treasures among musical events heralding Easter. Its choir is now rightly famed as one of the best in Oxford and Cambridge." - Church Times
The Passiontide at Merton 2024 Festival will run from March 22nd-24th
“an unmissable event on Oxford’s musical calendar”
BBC Music Magazine
A three-day festival of concerts, talks and services, the annual Passiontide at Merton festival is a highlight of Oxford's musical year.
The first Passiontide at Merton festival took place in 2010. The festival has become a popular musical and liturgical event, attracting a large following, with many visitors staying in the College for the duration of the festival. The festival usually takes place over the Palm Sunday weekend.
Although the resident College Choir is the featured ensemble, visiting performers have included The Tallis Scholars, The Marian Consort, Oxford Baroque, Carducci Quartet, Emma Kirkby, and Elin Manahan Thomas. A number of works have been premièred at the festival, including Gabriel Jackson’s The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and Emily Levy’s In Paradisum.
2023 Tickets
Single room for one guest £460 | Twin room for two guests £780 including:
- Tickets and reserved seats for all festival events
- Breakfast, lunch, and the Festival dinner on Saturday
- Breakfast and lunch on Sunday
- A drinks reception with the artists on Sunday evening
Non-residential festival tickets:
£225 including:
- Tickets and reserved seats for all festival events
- Lunch and the festival dinner on Saturday
- Lunch on Sunday
- A drinks reception with the artists on Sunday evening
Friday 22 March
17.00 Choral Evensong
Arvo Part Magnificat
Byrd Civitas sancti tui
Choir of Merton College
Benjamin Nicholas conductor
Saturday 23 March
11.00 Choral Matins
Stanford Benedictus in C
Bairstow The Lamentation
Girl Choristers and Lower Voices
Benjamin Nicholas conductor
18.00 Choral Evensong
Rubbra Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A flat
Howells Requiem
Choir of Merton College
Benjamin Nicholas conductor
21.30 Compline
Choir of Merton College
Owen Chan conductor
Sunday 24 March
10.30 Procession and Sung Eucharist for Palm Sunday
Orlando Gibbons Hosanna to the Son of David
Rubbra Missa Sancti Dominici
William Byrd Ave verum corpus
Friday 22 March
13.15 Matthew Martin plays Bach
19.30 The Cardinal's Musick: Spem in alium
Saturday 23 March
14.00 Biber's Rosary Sonatas II
Bojan Cicic, Violin
Sunday 24 March
17.00 Arvo Part's Passio
Choir of Merton College
Owen Chan conducto