A classical music festival described as one of the best of its kind by The Guardian will return to Buckinghamshire in September with five concerts on the theme of enchantment.

The West Wycombe Chamber Music Festival was founded 13 years ago by the internationally recognised viola player Lawrence Power, who was born and brought up in High Wycombe.

Lawrence, who has played with the Nash Ensemble and Leopold String Trio, now returns to his home county every autumn for the three-day celebration of classic music – recruiting an array of fellow top musicians to put on a show.

The festival moved from the Church of St Lawrence in West Wycombe to the Church of St Mary in Hambleden last year, a relocation that will be replicated next month while the original venue remains closed.

It promises attendees “five wide-ranging concerts exploring music inspired by fairytales and myths and legends” and – hailed by The Guardian as one of the top 10 classic music events in 2021 – is not to be missed for anyone with even a fledgling interest in the genre.

The festivities will kick off at 7:30pm on Thursday, September 19, with performances centred around François Couperin’s Mysterious Barricades composition, before inviting the star of Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small, Anna Madeley, for an exploration of the musical origins of works by Shakespeare, Zhukovsky and HC Anderson at 1pm on Friday, September 20.

Later on Friday evening, the ‘Inner Voices’ concert will showcase varyingly “introspective” pieces of music including Bernard Hermann’s iconic film score for Hitchcock’s Psycho and Robert Schumann’s piano quartet.

And the last day of the event will begin with a “magical voyage around the world and beyond” titled ‘Gullivers Travels’ and led by a group of “today’s most talented young musicians”, at 8pm on Saturday, September 21.

It will be drawn to a close with the ‘Fairytale Dances’ finale performance, including Antonín Dvořák's piano quintet, Thomas Adès' Fairytale Dances based on English Folksongs and Mozart’s piano concerto K488.

A full festival pass costs £90, while evening concerts are priced between £22 and £25 per person and lunchtime concerts at £18. Student admission is £5, and children have free entry. For more information, visit https://westwycombemusic.org.uk/ or email tickets@westwycombemusic.org.uk.