Britten in Oxford has become the main focus of the city’s cultural life this year. So it’s surprising to discover that Oxford Sinfonia’s forthcoming Britten concert was actually conceived long before the centenary was being talked about.

“It was inspired by a Radio 3 programme with violinist/conductor Andrew Manze, and he was comparing the Dowland Lachrimae with the Britten Lachrymae,” says Jennifer Hay, one of the orchestra’s long-standing viola players. “At the time, we thought that would make a nice concert, and we put it to one side. Then when Britten in Oxford came along, we thought, this is it!”

The centenary has certainly proved to be a tailor-made opportunity for this interesting pairing, which features Maggini Quartet violist Martin Outram in the Britten Lachrymae and a viol consort in the Dowland piece.

“It’s called Britten: a nocturne because it’s all about melancholy and sleep,” explains Jennifer. “The wonderful description they used on Radio 3 was ‘thoughts of pleasing sadness’.

“The seven lachrymae have been described as the equivalent of Beethoven’s late quartets — very intense and personal. Britten took two of these, and he’s done a theme and variations backwards. So you’ve got the variations first and the theme at the end.

“It doesn’t have a first violin part; it’s only second violins because you’ve got the viola solo. So it’s very unusual. It was originally written for viola and piano, then he made a version for viola and strings.

“The two songs he uses are If my complaints could passions move and Flow my tears, so you get the idea! We’re very lucky having Martin Outram, who’s very well known in Oxford because of the chamber music courses run by the Maggini Quartet.”

The programme also includes Britten’s rarely-performed Nocturne, featuring tenor James Gilchrist, alongside Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten and Elgar’s Sospiri.

“The Nocturne is far less performed than the Serenade, which is really the more popular one. But it is absolutely wonderful and it’s using Britten’s love of poetry. And it’s all English poets — Keats, Shelley, Wordsworth and Wilfred Owens. There‘s the most wonderful cor anglais solo, which goes well with Wilfred Owens‘ war pieces.

“James Gilchrist was very happy to come and sing with us. And Michael Lloyd, the conductor, has been with us before, and in fact has conducted the Nocturne before. He’s ex-ENO and he’s wonderful. So we’re very happy about that.”

With so much Britten having already been performed this year, there is now a danger of Britten overload, but Jennifer is confident that this concert offers something a bit different.

“I don’t think the Nocturne has been performed locally, and certainly not in this context. And the piece at the end, the Arvo Pärt, is absolutely beautiful.

“What we’re hoping is that because it’s a bit different people will come to it.

“Strangely, when we look at our past concerts, some of the biggest audiences have come to some of the most unusual concerts.

“This is a shortish concert — people turn up and have their drinks beforehand and then have an hour of music, with no interval. So it has a very late evening feel to it.”

St Mary’s Church, Oxford September 14, 8.30pm Visit oxfordsinfonia.co.uk