Two of this country鈥檚 most illustrious musical organisations are combining next weekend to bring an all-Bach programme to .
Jeffrey Skidmore brings his crack chamber choir Ex Cathedra to perform with 鈥 an orchestra which has become expert in 鈥榩eriod鈥 performance 鈥 in an evening which climaxes with Bach鈥檚 brilliant Magnificat, a work which despite being so concise fires so many emotional arrows, all of them hitting the spot.
Preceding this masterpiece are two of Bach鈥檚 best-known cantatas and his glorious Suite no.3 鈥 listen out for the blazing trumpets and drums in D major, warming up for the Magnificat in the same key (October 14, 7.30pm).
The concert comes a day after Jeffrey conducts the Ex Cathedra Consort in the Holy Trinity Church at Blythburgh in Suffolk, as part of the festival celebrating the memory of the composer William Alwyn. Their programme includes works by John Joubert and Alec Roth, both composers who have featured strongly in Ex Cathedra鈥檚 repertoire.
鈥淎s there are so many Suffolk-based composers represented in the rest of the concert, I wanted to include a couple of our Midlands鈥 own,鈥 jokes Jeffrey.
Saturday鈥檚 Bach concert is the prelude to yet another busy season for Skidmore and Ex Cathedra. Their next big event is the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610, a spectacular, spatial work which has long been one of the group鈥檚 calling-cards, when the Consort is joined by His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts providing instrumental support (, December 3, 4pm).
By this time Ex Cathedra will have begun its now famous round of Christmas Music by Candlelight presentations, kicking off in Shrewsbury鈥檚 St Chad鈥檚 Church on December 1 (7.30pm). There follow performances in Wolverhampton, Hagley, Leicester, Hereford Cathedral, and St John鈥檚 Smith Square in London, before 鈥淐andlelight鈥 ends up at its spiritual home, the elegant St Paul鈥檚 Church in Hockley, at the heart of .
Such is the popularity of the event in this venue that an extra performance has been added to the regular sequence of four, and in recent years a family concert, 鈥淎ngels, Stars and Kings鈥 has also featured. This year the hour-long programme is being given on Saturday, December 23 (4pm), and children aged six and above are invited to come dressed as an angel, star or king.
Far from viewing this annual ritual as a jading treadmill, Jeffrey Skidmore couldn鈥檛 be more enthusiastic over the whole enterprise. 鈥淭he programme includes at least 12 living composers, plus commissions, as well as traditional favourites,鈥 he says, 鈥渁nd of course we have the wonderful harpist Lucy Wakeford.鈥
Symphony Hall is the venue for a fascinating programme, again with the CBSO, on February 4 entitled 鈥淢ozart鈥檚 Women鈥 (4pm). The title comes from an absorbing book by conductor and musicologist Jane Glover, describing the influences the women in Mozart鈥檚 life 鈥 his mother, his sister, his cousin (with whom he exchanged a ribald correspondence), the Weber trio of soprano sisters, the soprano Nancy Storace 鈥 had on the composer and his music.
Jane Glover herself gives a pre-concert introduction (2.45pm), and the soloists entrusted with recreating Mozart鈥檚 favourite sopranos are Carolyn Sampson, Elizabeth Cragg, Elizabeth Adams and Katie Trethewey.
Passiontide sees the Ex Cathedra Consort and Continuo presenting Harmonic Spiritual Theatre 鈥淪acrifice, betrayal, passion鈥 at on March 10 (5pm). Two early oratorios 鈥 Carissimi鈥檚 Jepthe, and Charpentier鈥檚 Le reniement de St Pierre 鈥 are the two main offerings, together with works by Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Anerio and Bouzignac.
Holy Week itself brings Ex Cathedra鈥檚 regular Good Friday performance of Bach鈥檚 St Matthew Passion to Symphony Hall. The soloists on this occasion are headed by Toby Spence as the Evangelist and James Rutherford as Jesus (2pm, sung in German with English surtitles).
We come down to earth at the end of the season with candlelight again, this time 鈥淪ummer Music by Candlelight鈥 in Birmingham Cathedral on June 19 and 20 (8.30pm).
And while all of these delights are going on, Jeffrey Skidmore is working on a three-year plan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ex Cathedra, which will happen in 2020. Stronger links (including research ones) will be forged with Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham Baroque will be the title of an ongoing project with Birmingham Cathedral, and relationships with the CBSO and community organisations will be strengthened.
So Ex Cathedra is looking forward to turning its next half-century. Its first one has always had its founder, Jeffrey Skidmore, at the helm, and so he will continue. But realistically, Skidmore is thinking about a possible successor 鈥 to what will be a hard act to follow.
- All details on 0121 780 3333.
