Ex Cathedra at Town Hall and Symphony Hall 2010/11

Oct 2010 - Apr 2011 at Town Hall & Symphony Hall

Ex Cathedra

Ex Cathedra

For more information on Ex Cathedra, visit their website

  • Monteverdi's Vespers Birmingham International Concert Season 2010/11 

    Sun 17 Oct Town Hall

    Composed 400 years ago and dedicated to Pope Paul V, Monteverdi's sumptuous and monumental Vespers gained him the appointment of maestro di cappella at St Mark’s in Venice. The sparkling vocal and instrumental acrobatics of the work are performed by 10 outstanding singers and an ensemble of some of the UK’s finest period instrument performers. This magnificent work never fails to make an impression and is performed here by Birmingham’s own "Ex Cathedra":http://www.excathedra.co.uk/, the internationally acclaimed Town Hall Associate Artist. Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall, says of tonight’s recommended concert: “Town Hall provides the perfect setting for one of the most extraordinarily beautiful works for voices ever written. A work of such scale had never been heard before in the seventeenth century. No wonder then that this landmark in religious music has stood the test of time.” 2.45pm Pre-concert talk.
    *Ex Cathedra Consort & Baroque Ensemble* *His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts* *Jeffery Skidmore* _conductor_
    *Monteverdi* 1610 Vespers 100’ There will be one interval and the concert will end at approximately 6pm.

  • Christmas Oratorio Ex Cathedra 2010/11 Season 

    Sun 12 Dec Town Hall

    Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’ is perhaps the most confident and optimistic statement of Christian belief in the whole choral repertoire. Actually a sequence of cantatas for Christmas, it is richly scored, with a large Baroque orchestra that includes trumpets and drums. This is a wonderfully uplifting way to start your Christmas season. The concert comprises cantatas I, II, III & VI.
    *Ex Cathedra Choir & Baroque Orchestra* *Jeffrey Skidmore* _conductor_ *Grace Davidson* _soprano_ *Matthew Venner* _alto_ *Samuel Boden* _evangelist & tenor_ *Greg Skidmore* _bass_
    *J S Bach* _Christmas Oratorio_ cantatas I, II, III & VI

  • Harmonic Spiritual Theatre Ex Cathedra 2010/11 

    Sat 22 Jan Town Hall

    This concert explores the beginnings of oratorio with sumptuous works by Carissimi and Charpentier, a selection of Monteverdi’s madrigals ‘made spiritual’, Bouzignac’s ‘dialogue motets’, and music from Anerio’s Teatro armonico spirituale di madrigali, a collection which lends the concert its name. ‘Carissimi’s influential short oratorio Jephte, concluded the evening: deftly setting up its tragic situation, turning dramatic for the confrontation between Jephthah and the daughter he must sacrifice and with Ex Cathedra rising finely to that wondrously poignant final lament, which, among Carissimi’s 17th-century successors, not even Purcell surpassed.’ The Independent
    *Ex Cathedra Choir & Continuo* *Jeffrey Skidmore* _conductor_
    *Giacomo Carissimi* _Jephte_ *Marc-Antoine Charpentier* _Le reniement de St Pierre_

  • Peace On Earth Ex Cathedra 2010/11 Season  

    Sat 26 Feb Town Hall

    To celebrate Jeffrey’s 60th birthday, this programme includes some of his favourite pieces from the 20th century. It takes us from the anguished but ultimately triumphant struggle of Schoenberg’s _Peace on Earth_ to the ecstatic love songs of Daniel-Lesur’s _Song of Songs_. Music by Holst, Elgar, Mahler, Debussy, Ravel, and Richard Strauss’ rarely performed choral masterpiece complete this voluptuous and richly crafted programme. It is a showcase of all Ex Cathedra’s vocal talent. ‘The programme was intriguing and spectacular…And it's hard to imagine it being done more beautifully than by these wonderful singers who, under their director Jeffrey Skidmore, are all a choir should be’ Michael White
    *Ex Cathedra Choir, XL Choir, Consort & Academy of Vocal Music* *Jeffrey Skidmore* _conductor_ *Carolyn Sampson* _soprano_ *Paul Agnew* _tenor_ *Roderick Williams* _bass_
    *Arnold Schönberg* _Friede auf Erden_ *Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur* _Cantique des cantiques_ *Richard Strauss* _Deutsche Mottete_ *Claude Debussy* _Trois chansons_ *Maurice Ravel* _Trois chansons_

  • Good Friday St Matthew Passion Birmingham International Concert Season 

    Fri 22 Apr Symphony Hall

    'The Ex Cathedra performance is superb...' BBC Music magazine ***** review of Ex Cathedra's live Symphony Hall recording in 2009. Birmingham’s Good Friday performances of Bach’s monumental _St Matthew Passion_ are a hallowed tradition. One of the UK's finest choirs, Ex Cathedra’s trailblazing performances and critically acclaimed recordings have put it at the forefront of early music. BBC Music magazine’s Editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert: “J S Bach’s re-telling of the St Matthew gospel is awe-inspiring and beautiful with its exquisite arias and impassioned choruses. It was not performed outside Bach’s Leipzig until 1829 when Mendelssohn, himself a regular in Birmingham, rediscovered it and brought it back to life. This will doubtless be an unforgettable evening.”
    "*Ex Cathedra Choir and Baroque Orchestra*":http://www.excathedra.co.uk/ *Jeffrey Skidmore* _conductor_ *Jeremy Budd* _Evangelist_ *Eamonn Dougan* _Christus_ *Greg Skidmore* _Pilate_
    *J S Bach* _St Matthew Passion_ 180’

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