It usually* takes place in hill towns (village perché) of the Pays de Fayence between Nice and Aix-en-Provence in the South of France in late July and during the first two weeks of August.

In a spirit of entente cordiale, the festival draws together people of all ages and from many countries and is designed to encourage intercultural friendship and understanding through a shared involvement in music-making.

But UK-based members of the Festival Choir did stage an open-air performance of the Brahms Requiem in Doddington Place Gardens in Kent, England on 13 September 2020 after 3 days of rehearsal - with only 4 hands on a keyboard for accompaniment - under the baton of music director, Graham Ross.

A choral tradition remains an integral part of Musique Cordiale and a major work for choir and orchestra closes the festival each year.

Musique Cordiale acts as a platform for burgeoning soloists and orchestral players, offering them an opportunity to learn and perform works which they will later play on the international stage.

Operas staged include Purcell's Dido & Aeneas, Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Cosi fan Tutte, Puccini's La Bohème and Rossini's Barber of Seville.

It holds a regular series of choral and instrumental classical concerts each autumn in Kent, between September and November in Doddington Place Gardens and in the church and other venues in Faversham.