- Ex Cathedra present their concerts for 2024-2025, including Bruckner’s magnificent Mass in E Minor; a revisit to the Latin American Baroque and sublime music from Bach, plus candlelit music for Christmas and Summer
- Artistic Director Jeffrey Skidmore revisits the choir’s origins with music from the early years of the ensemble
- New venues added this season in Moseley and Bournville, plus concerts in Birmingham, London, Hereford, Coventry, Leicester, Lichfield, Hagley, Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton
Ex Cathedra have unveiled their season of concerts for 2024-2025, with a rich repertoire ranging from the soaring beauty, myth and legend of Allegri’s Miserere to Bruckner’s epic Mass in E Minor, two great works by JS Bach, a new programme of music from the Latin American Baroque, and much more.
Ex Cathedra celebrates the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner’s birth by performing his magnificent Mass in E Minor, alongside wind and brass players from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. This sacred symphony is one of Bruckner’s greatest works, and together with Allegri’s Miserere and Palestrina’s Missa sine nomine forms an elegant programme at Birmingham Town Hall on 13 October.
Faire is the heaven on 9 November revisits the origins of Ex Cathedra, and appropriately enough takes place in the utopian Birmingham village of Bournville, where Artistic Director Jeffrey Skidmore went to school and became a chorister. The programme includes music from Ex Cathedra’s first 20 years or so, including music heard at the 16th century wedding of Fernando dei Medici, alongside works by Fauré, Parry and Joubert.
Ritual 1631 recalls the vivid colours, the fire and passion of Latin American Baroque music. The haunting mantra of the Inca hymn Hanac pachap cussicuinin (the oldest printed polyphony in the Americas) provides the heartbeat that binds the narrative together, in a concert that explores the fusion of musical styles from Africa, the Americas and Europe. Taking place in March 2025, the concert is performed in Birmingham Town Hall, Hereford Cathedral and St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
Nurturing talent is a key feature in all of Ex Cathedra’s work. Chansons d’amour on 12 February platforms the choir’s current crop of future stars (Scholars) who perform a seductive programme of love-songs from Monteverdi to Bach and Mozart, from Marlene Dietrich to the Carpenters, Bacharach and the Beatles. As Valentine’s Day approaches, enjoy a little light music in the cabaret-style ambience of the Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space at Symphony Hall.
The traditional Good Friday Bach Passion in Symphony Hall - this year the ‘great’ St Matthew Passion - has evolved into a powerful and poignant opportunity for ‘historical’
participation. All the elements of Ex Cathedra’s work come together with a liturgical reconstruction similar to that which might have been heard when the work was first performed in St Thomas Church in Leipzig in the 18th century.
Bach’s music is sublime and has always been a major part of Ex Cathedra’s repertoire. His idealised setting of the Mass in B Minor, performed on 1 December at Birmingham Town Hall, is the absolute pinnacle of the great man’s achievement and one of Ex Cathedra’s most loved works.
The two solstice concerts - Summer Music by Candlelight and Christmas Music by Candlelight - have for a long time attracted large audiences with their mix of a diverse range of music and poetry presented and choreographed to explore the architecture and acoustic of the beautiful buildings in which the choir perform.
This year, the Summer Music by Candlelight programme includes an ornithological theme, referencing the windhover, swallow, cuckoo and bluebird with music by Clément Janequin, Benjamin Britten, Caroline Shaw, Charles Villiers Stanford and Liz Dilnot Johnson. There are poems by Carol Ann Duffy, Shakespeare, Maya Angelou and Benjamin Zephaniah alongside the usual selection of songs about sea, sun and sand. Join us this June for performances in Hereford, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Birmingham and London.
For many people Christmas Music by Candlelight represents the start of Christmas, with the usual eclectic mixture of seasonal goodies. This year’s extensive tour takes in Hereford, Leicester, Lichfield, Moseley, London, Wolverhampton, Hagley, Shrewsbury, Coventry and Birmingham.
Jeffrey Skidmore, Artistic Director of Ex Cathedra, comments: “There is something for everyone in our new season of concerts. The golden triangle of live music, performers and audience is elemental. So join us to discover some great classical choral music and find out how Birmingham’s “jewel in the crown” is put together.”
Full details of the season can be found at www.excathedra.co.uk, with tickets available from £15 (£5 for children and students in full-time education).
Ex Cathedra 2024-2025 Season Listings:
Ex Cathedra
Summer Music by Candlelight
Sumer is icumen in - and we can’t wait to celebrate the return of warm, light evenings, birdsong and holidays. As daylight fades and candles glow in the twilight, we invite you to unwind and enjoy an evening of enchanting music and readings. Expect choral classics, a sprinkle of surprises, and some fun as we journey from the promise of a new dawn to the serenity of sunset.
Bring your own strawberries and fizz for the interval at St Paul’s and a cushion for your comfort. Refreshments will be available at all other venues.
Running time is approx. 2 hours including interval.
EX CATHEDRA
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Hereford Cathedral
Wed 12 Jun 2024, 8pm
St Peter’s Church, Wolverhampton
Thu 13 Jun 2024, 8pm
St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury – gala celebration
Friday 14 June, 7.30pm
St Paul’s Church, Birmingham
Tue 18 Jun 2024, 8pm
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
Tue 25 Jun 2024, 8pm
Tickets: £15 - £46 Age up to 17 & students: £5 Aged 18-30: £15
Ex Cathedra
Bruckner, Palestrina & Allegri
Bruckner’s majestic motets and monumental Mass in E Minor form the centrepiece of this concert to mark his 200th birthday. Bruckner’s sacred symphony draws inspiration from Renaissance Rome, and the timeless elegance of Palestrina. Allegri’s ever popular Miserere – once shrouded in secrecy and renowned for its soaring soprano lines – completes the programme.
Running time is approx. 2 hours, including interval.
EX CATHEDRA
CBSO Wind & Brass
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Bruckner Locus iste, Ave Maria, Ecce sacerdos, Inveni David
Palestrina Missa sine nomine (Kyrie, Gloria)
Allegri Miserere
Bruckner Mass in E Minor
Town Hall, Birmingham
Sun 13 Oct 2024, 4pm
Tickets: £15 - £46 Age up to 17 & students: £5 Aged 18-30: £15
Ex Cathedra
Faire is the heaven
- beginnings in Bournville
Velvety richness, silky smooth notes, moments of pure indulgence ... several of life’s pleasures began in Bournville! We return to the scene of our earliest concerts to celebrate the music Ex Cathedra performed during its first two decades - when the group was fully amateur and included several emerging stars. A moment of pure bliss!
Running time is approx. 2 hours including interval. You are invited to bring your own soft drinks and snacks for the interval.
EX CATHEDRA
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Martyn Rawles organ
Programme includes:
Bainton And I saw a new heaven
Bates Blessed are the peace makers
Cavalieri Medici wedding music (extract)
Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine
Gibbons This is the record of John
Harris Faire is the heaven
Joubert O Lorde, the maker of al thing
Parry I was glad
Sheppard Reges Tharsis
Vaughan Williams Three Shakespeare Songs
St Francis Church, Bournville
Wed 9 Nov 2024, 7pm
Tickets: £26
Age up to 17 & students: £5 Aged 18-30: £15
Ex Cathedra
Bach Mass in B Minor
“A small product of the skill I have attained in Musique” wrote Bach as he sent two of the movements to the court of Dresden. That’s quite the job application, and rather an understatement! The movements were composed across 25 years and the Mass only assembled into its final form shortly before Bach’s death, so he never heard a complete performance. But what an epic work it is, showcasing supreme mastery and a profound beauty that resonates deeply within us.
Running time is approx. 2 hours, 10 minutes including interval.
EX CATHEDRA Choir & Baroque Orchestra
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Margaret Lingas, Imogen Russell, Katie Trethewey, Clover Willis soprano
Martha McLorinan, Elena Stamp alto
Daniel Marles tenor
Thomas Lowen, Lawrence White bass
Town Hall, Birmingham
Sun 1 Dec 2024, 4pm
Tickets: £15 - £46 Age up to 17 & students: £5 Aged 18-30: £15
Ex Cathedra
Christmas Music by Candlelight
Immerse yourself in the serene embrace of these popular, atmospheric concerts - where hushed anticipation and spellbinding seasonal music fills the air, and the choir is enveloped in the soft glow of candlelight. We perform a seamless sequence of Christmas favourites, little-known gems and gorgeous new music, interspersed with a selection of readings, to explore the magic, mystery - and humour - of the season.
Early booking is advised to avoid disappointment. Running time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes, including interval.
It is traditional to bring your own refreshments for the interval at St Paul’s. Refreshments will be available to buy at all other venues.
EX CATHEDRA
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Rupert Jeffcoat, Nicholas Wearne organ
St John’s Church, Hagley
Wed 4 Dec 2024, 7.30pm
Hereford Cathedral
Thu 5 Dec 2024, 7.30pm
St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury
Fri 6 Dec 2024, 7pm
St James the Greater, Leicester
Sat 7 Dec 2024, 7pm
Lichfield Cathedral
Tue 10 Dec 2024, 7pm
St Mary’s Church, Moseley
Wed 11 Dec 2024, 7pm
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
Fri 13 Dec 2024, 7pm
Mon 16 Dec 2024, 7pm
St Peter’s Church, Wolverhampton
Sat 14 Dec 2024, 7pm
Coventry Cathedral
Tue 17 Dec 2024, 7pm
St Paul’s Church, Birmingham
Thu 19 Dec 2024, 7pm
Fri 20 Dec 2024, 7pm
Sat 21 Dec 2024, 4pm
Tickets: £15 - £46
Age up to 17 & students: £5 Aged 18-30: £15
Ex Cathedra
Chansons d’amour
- by arrangement
Join us for an enchanted evening, in a relaxed cabaret style, as our talented scholars perform love songs from Monteverdi’s sensual madrigals to some of your favourite hits from recent decades, expertly arranged by Jeffrey Skidmore. Treat yourself – and perhaps a loved one – and indulge in this sensuous music as we approach Valentine’s Day.
Running time approx. 2 hours, including interval.
EX CATHEDRA Scholars Ensemble
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space, Symphony Hall
Wed 12 Feb 2025, 7pm
Tickets: £26
Age up to 17 & students: £5 Aged 18-30: £15
Ex Cathedra
Latin American Baroque Ritual 1631
Singers, harp, guitar, bajón, strings, winds and percussion revel in this colourful music sung in Latin, Spanish, Nahuatl and Quechuan – the languages of the Aztecs and Incas – as we explore this glorious fusion of musical styles from Africa, the Americas and Europe.
The iconic Inca hymn Hanac pachap cussicuinin, the oldest printed polyphony in the Americas, punctuates a grand tour from Mexico to the Amazonian jungle, Brazil and Bolivia - where Juan de Araujo, probably the greatest composer of the age, worked for the last 30 years of his life.
“A heady mix of gloriously rich polyphony and manic, earthy villancicos. Skidmore has mined a rich vein of hitherto undiscovered music ... exhilaratingly uninhibited”
Birmingham Post
Running time is approx. 2 hours including interval.
EX CATHEDRA & Baroque Ensemble
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Town Hall, Birmingham
Sun 9 Mar 2025, 4pm
Hereford Cathedral
Wed 12 Mar 2025, 7pm
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
Thu 20 Mar 2025, 7.30pm
Tickets: £15 - £46
Age up to 17 & students: £5 Aged 18-30: £15
Ex Cathedra
Good Friday Bach
St Matthew Passion
Betrayal, anguish, sacrifice and, above all, love.
Bach’s ability to capture in music such profound human drama and personal conflict makes this one of the most powerful of all choral works. We are drawn
to empathise with the characters, share the anger of the mob, and are transfixed by the agonising beauty of exquisite, heart-rending arias. On Good Friday, this is a poignant and universal experience regardless of belief.
We explore the Good Friday traditions of Bach’s time by including chorale preludes, motets, readings and a communal hymn.
Sung in German with English surtitles.
Running time: 3 hours, 30 minutes including interval.
EX CATHEDRA CHOIR, Baroque Orchestra & Academy of Vocal Music
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Sebastian Hill Evangelist
Themba Mvula Jesus
Lawrence White Pilate & bass I
Margaret Lingas, Imogen Russell soprano I
Martha McLorinan, Gabriella Liandu alto I
Katie Trethewey soprano II
Mercè Bruguera Abelló alto II
Daniel Marles tenor II
Thomas Lowen bass II
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Fri 18 Apr 2025, 2pm
Tickets: £15 - £48.50
For tickets and more details visit www.excathedra.co.uk
