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Ex Cathedra Choir
10 December, Lichfield Cathedral, 7pm
11 December, St Mary’s Moseley, 7pm
13 & 16 December, St Martin-in-the-Fields, 7.30pm
17 December, Coventry Cathedral, 7pm
19, 20 December, St Paul’s Church, Birmingham 7pm
21 December, St Paul’s Church, Birmingham 4pm
Ex Cathedra Consort
05 December, Hereford Cathedral, 7.30pm
07 December, St James the Greater, Leicester, 7pm
14 December, St Peter’s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, 7pm
Scroll down for “Running order”
Welcome note
I’LL LET YOU BE IN MY DREAMS
IF I CAN BE IN YOURS
I am often asked how I plan programmes, particularly the Christmas Music by Candlelight sequence. What is my programming philosophy?
You can please some of the people all of the time,
You can please all of the people some of the time,
But you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
The 15th century English poet-monk John Lydgate is credited with writing these famous lines. President Lincoln adapted them and Bob Dylan adapted them further in his ‘Talking World War III Blues’.
Half of the people can be part right all of the time,
Some of the people can be all right part of the time.
But all the people can’t be all right all the time
I think Abraham Lincoln said that.
“I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours,” I said that.
I like Dylan’s final witty comment which encourages us to be true to ourselves while listening to others, and which seems to sum up how I approach programming.
I listen and I lead. I like to think I am an educator, an enabler and a collaborator. Putting together a programme is my substitute for composing, which I haven’t done since I was at school. I consider form, variety, tonal balance and structure, satisfying performers, how much to please audiences or challenge them, and how to be true to myself!
More often than not there is praise
Sublime – glorious – impeccable – the very essence of Christmas – simply remarkable – never just concerts – flawless – magical. These are some of the words used.
But there are dislikes and from last year’s audience survey a few people thought the programme was too long, churches were cold, seats were hard, and there was too much unfamiliar repertoire. I hope this year you have remembered your warm clothing, perhaps a cushion and suitable warming refreshment.
My aim is for you all to enjoy this year’s offering.
It begins with an innovation, a meditation; a seasonal ‘ghazal’ which derives from formal Arabic love poetry. Here it serves many functions, part overture (to get your attention), part setting the mood and atmosphere, and part introducing the themes and our subject matter. It enables the audience and performers to adjust to the acoustic and the darkness (now full of people), and absorb the beauty of the space (we perform in so many wonderful buildings). And it enables the choir to move into their opening positions. It is also a rehearsal and warm up for the audience who this year are invited to participate in four well-known seasonal songs: the refrains from O come , O come Emmanuel and Auld lang syne, See amid the winter’s snow and the opening mantra from Judith Weir’s My Guardian Angel, which is sung five times. You can find the melodies and the words below. The lights will come up for the final song but for the others you need to sing from memory as it is dark! There are not many words … You will also hear other familiar tunes: the doxology from Monteverdi’s 1610 Magnificat, surely a call to prayer with clear Islamic influences, the wordless tune from the Snowflakes scene at the end of Act 1 in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet, and the Swedish processional song Sancta Lucia from the Lucia service, where the lead singer wears a crown of candles. These works have all been a regular part of Ex Cathedra’s Christmas season for many years.
Running order
(Hereford, Leicester, Wolverhampton)
Collage 2024 – Seasonal Ghazal – Jeffrey Skidmore (b.1951)
Gentle flame – Liz Dilnot Johnson (b.1964)
O come, O come, Emmanuel! (v 1, see below) – French 13th
My Lord has come – Will Todd (b.1970)
Reading: Christmas and the child – Laurie Lee (1914-1997)
O do not move – John Tavener (1944-2013)
Away in a manger – WJ Kirkpatrick (1838-1921) arr Willcocks (1919-2015)
My Guardian Angel – Judith Weir (b.1954)
Reading: Deep in the dales – Gervase Phinn (b.1946)
The Lamb – John Tavener
Sans Day Carol – John Gould (1821-1875)
Riu, riu chiu: El lobo rabioso – Villancicos de diversos autores
Reading: The Parting Glass – Scottish Traditional
Auld lang syne – Scottish Melody after Haydn arr Jeffrey Skidmore 
Somerset Wassail – English Traditional
With a merry ding dong! – Martin Bates (1951-2022)
INTERVAL
While shepherds watched their flocks – Thomas Clark (1775-1859) arr Jeffrey Skidmore
Teče voda, teče – Czech Folk Carol arr Wagner (1837-1930)
Báïllero – Dialogue de pâtres de Haute-Auvergne – Joseph Canteloube (1879-1957)
Reading: It was a pretty sight – Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932)
Joy in the morning – John Joubert (1927-2019)
Gaudete! – Piae Cantiones 1582 arr Jeffrey Skidmore
Coventry Carol – ed Jamie Savan
Reading: Peace – Henry Vaughan (1621-1695)
Stars – Ēriks Eŝenvalds (b.1977)
Reading: Hope – Gwen Blandford
Peace on earth (from Friede auf Erde) – Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
A boy was born – Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Ring out wild bells – Liz Dilnot Johnson
Reading: A Birthday – Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Love is come again – Alec Roth (b.1948)
O come, O come, Emmanuel! (vv1, 3 and 5) – 13th century French
1. O come, O come, Emmanuel
Redeem thy captive Israel
That into exile drear is gone,
Far from the face of God’s dear Son.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
3. O come, O come, thou Dayspring bright!
Pour on our souls thy healing light;
Dispel the long night’s lingering gloom,
And pierce the shadows of the tomb.
Rejoice! Rejoice…
5. O come, O come, Adonai,
Who in thy glorious majesty
From that high mountain clothed in awe,
Gavest thy folk the elder Law.
Rejoice! Rejoice…
(Lichfield, Moseley, London, Coventry, Birmingham)
Collage 2024 – Seasonal Ghazal – Jeffrey Skidmore
Gentle flame – Liz Dilnot Johnson
O come, O come, Emmanuel! (v 1) – French 13th
Sussex Carol – English Traditional
My Lord has come – Will Todd
I wonder as I wander – Carl Rütti (b.1949) Reading: Christmas and the child – Laurie Lee
O do not move – John Tavener
Away in a manger – WJ Kirkpatrick arr Willcocks
My Guardian Angel – Judith Weir
Reading: Deep in the dales – Gervase Phinn
The Lamb – John Tavener
Sans Day Carol – John Gould
Riu, riu chiu: El lobo rabioso – Villancicos de diversos autores
Reading: The Parting Glass – Scottish Traditional
Auld lang syne – Scottish Melody after Haydn arr Jeffrey Skidmore
Somerset Wassail – English Traditional Sir Christèmas – William Mathias (1934-1992)
INTERVAL
While shepherds watched their flocks (1805) – Thomas Clark arr Jeffrey Skidmore
Teče voda, teče – Czech Folk Carol arr Wagner
Torches – John Joubert
Reading: And it came to pass – Luke ii 1-8 (King James)
And lo, the angel of the Lord – James MacMillan (b.1959)
Branle de l’Official – Jehan Tabourot (1520-1595) arr Jeffrey Skidmore
Reading: It was a pretty sight – Kenneth Grahame
Joy in the morning – John Joubert
Gaudete! – Piae Cantiones 1582 arr Jeffrey Skidmore
Coventry Carol – ed Jamie Savan
Reading: Peace – Henry Vaughan
Stars – Ēriks Eŝenvalds
Reading: Hope – Gwen Blandford
Peace on earth (from Friede auf Erde) – Arnold Schoenberg
A boy was born – Benjamin Britten
Ring out, wild bells – Liz Dilnot Johnson
Reading: A Birthday – Christina Rossetti
Love is come again – Alec Roth
Organ improvisation
See amid – John Goss (1800-1880) 
Programme Note
The programme continues with the usual flow of music and readings from 13th century plainchant O come, O come Emmanuel to the premiere of a new work Ring out wild bells by our composer-in-residence Liz Dilnot Johnson. She writes: In the ten-part Ring Out Wild Bells, setting words by Tennyson, the choir ‘rings out the old’ and ‘rings in the new’, chiming out a vision of hope, ending with each singer moving around the audience to ‘Ring in a thousand years of peace’.
There is also a new edition of the Coventry Carol created as part of the AHRC Aural Histories project which is led by Professor Jamie Savan, Director of Research at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He writes:
The famous ‘Coventry Carol’ from the Taylors and Shearmen’s Pageant is one of only two songs to survive from the great sequence of mystery plays performed by the various trade and craft companies of Coventry from the later Middle Ages until the latter part of the sixteenth century. Many of the important primary sources relating to these plays were destroyed in the great fire at Birmingham Central Library in 1879, but we owe the survival of this carol to the antiquarian Thomas Sharp, who included a transcription of it in his Dissertation on the Pageants or Dramatic Mysteries Anciently Performed at Coventry, published in 1825.
Unfortunately, Sharp was no musician, and consequently his transcription contains numerous errors and ambiguities which require editorial correction, sometimes leading to quite different interpretations of the piece. The more familiar modern editions of the carol are in triple meter, but Sharp’s transcription is quite clearly in duple time which we have retained in this version, creating a rhythmic counterpoint with the natural accentuations of the text.
There are ‘carols’ from the last 50 years by the contemporary greats – John Tavener, Judith Weir, James MacMillan, Benjamin Britten and the new generation – Ēriks Ešenvalds and Will Todd – who have contributed some well-loved classics. In his anniversary year Arnold Schoenberg, who some people regard as the enfant terrible of the early 20th century also finds a place with the final, stunning climax of his wonderful motet Friede auf Erde (Peace on Earth). Local, distinguished composers have a rightful place with works by John Joubert, Martin Bates, Liz Dilnot Johnson and Alec Roth. And we should remember the Birmingham Oratorian priest John Caswell who wrote the words of See amid the winter’s snow.
The British regions are well represented by traditional songs, and John Gould’s exquisite setting of the Sans Day Carol, much loved by the choir and I think now unique to Ex Cathedra. There are pieces from Sussex, Cornwall, Coventry (Warkickshire), Scotland (Ayrshire), Somerset and Yorkshire. International songs have their place with works from Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and the USA. And there is an important contribution from female composers and authors – Gwen Blandford, Christina Rossetti, Judith Weir and Liz Dilnot Johnson. Liz’s new CD Gentle Flame is receiving great reviews and one critic (Planet Hugill) spoke of the title track as ‘a gentle piece where multiple diverse lines coalesce into something special.’
We make use of the building with ‘choreography’ and dancing; there are drinking songs, love songs and lullabies, with a splash of humour in the readings by Gervaise Phinn and Kenneth Grahame, contrasting with the poignancy of the Laurie Lee, the Christina Rossetti and the Henry Vaughan. Although there is quite a diversity of material the message remains the same: joy, peace, love and a call for justice – all in the space of two short halves! Happy Christmas!
Performers
EX CATHEDRA
Jeffrey Skidmore conductor
Nick Wearne & Rupert Jeffcoat, organ
Hereford, 05 December
Soprano: Caroline Halls, Olivia Hugh-Jones, Margaret Lingas, Katie Trethewey
Alto: Sam Mitchell, Suzie Purkis
Tenor: Dan Marles, James Wells
Bass: Simon Gallear, Lawrence White
Leicester, 07 December
Soprano: Natalie Clifton-Griffith, Lottie Day, Caroline Halls, Dominique Saulnier
Alto: Sam Mitchell, Suzie Purkis
Tenor: Tim Burton, Toby Ward
Bass: Simon Gallear, Tom Lowen
Lichfield, 10 December
Rupert Jeffcoat, organ
Soprano: Marianne Ayling, Alexandra Burstow**, Margaret Langford, Margaret Lingas, Hannah Rowe^, Imogen Russell, Shirley Scott, Beth Taylor~, Katie Trethewey, Maria Willsher***
Alto: Sarah Colgan~, Molly Fry^, Sam Mitchell, Elena Stamp, Laura Toomey***
Tenor: Steve Davis, Tom Hawkey-Soar***, Sid Imanol, Dan Marles**, James Wells
Bass: Jeremy Burrows, John Cotterill, Richard Green, Matt Pandya**, Barney Stevens***, Lawrence White
Moseley, 11 December
Rupert Jeffcoat, organ
Soprano: Marianne Ayling, Alexandra Burstow **, Ros Crouch, Clare Edwards, Sophie Henderson **, Joy Krishnamoorthy, Rebecca Ledgard, Margaret Lingas, Alice Madden^, Hannah Rowe^, Imogen Russell, Shirley Scott, Katie Trethewey
Alto: Molly Fry^, Sam Mitchell, Katy Raines-Rami, Ellie Stamp, Ellie Tomlinson, Laura Toomey ***
Tenor: Isaac Boulter, Steve Davis, Sid Imanol, Dan Marles**, James Wells
Bass: Christopher Churcher, Simon Gallear, Richard Green, Barney Stevens, William Swinnerton***, Lawrence White
St Martin-in-the-Fields (13 December, 16 December)
Rupert Jeffcoat, organ
Soprano: Marianne Ayling, Alexandra Burstow**, Clare Edwards, Sophie Henderson**, Margaret Lingas, Alice Madden^, Hannah Rowe^, Imogen Russell, Sally Spencer, Katie Trethewey, Clover Willis
Alto: Sarah Colgan~, Molly Fry^, Martha McLorinan, Sam Mitchell, Suzie Purkis, Katy Raines-Rami, Andrew Round, Ellie Stamp, Laura Toomey***
Tenor: Isaac Boulter, Steve Davis, Alex Dixon^, Jack Granby, Tom Hawkey-Soar***, Sid Imanol, Dan Marles**, James Wells
Bass: Ollie Barker*, Jeremy Burrows, Christopher Churcher, John Cotterill, Simon Gallear, Richard Green, Tom Lowen, Matt Pandya**, William Swinnerton***, Josh Thompson***, Lawrence White
Wolverhampton, 14 December
Soprano: Margaret Lingas, Imogen Russell, Katie Trethewey, Suzzie Vango
Alto: Sam Mitchell, Ellie Stamp
Tenor: Dan Marles, James Robinson
Bass: Tom Lowen, Lawrence White
Coventry, 17 December
Rupert Jeffcoat, organ
Soprano: Marianne Ayling, Alexandra Burstow**, Rebecca Ledgard, Margaret Lingas, Alice Madden^, Hannah Rowe^, Imogen Russell, Shirley Scott, Katie Trethewey, Clover Willis
Alto: Sarah Colgan~, Molly Fry^, Martha McLorinan, Katy Raines-Rami, Ellie Stamp, Laura Toomey***
Tenor: Steve Davis, Alex Dixon^, Jack Granby, Dan Marles**, James Wells
Bass: Ollie Barker*, Jeremy Burrows, Christopher Churcher, John Cotterill, Richard Green, Tom Lowen, Matt Pandya**, William Swinnerton***, Lawrence White
St Paul’s Birmingham (19, 20, 21 December)
Nick Wearne, organ
Soprano: Marianne Ayling, Phoebe Boateng, Alexandra Burstow**, Ros Crouch, Clare Edwards, Sophie Henderson**, Joy Krishnamoorthy, Margaret Langford, Rebecca Ledgard, Margaret Lingas, Alice Madden^, Hannah Rowe^, Imogen Russell, Shirley Scott, Sally Spencer, Katie Trethewey, Suzzie Vango
Alto: Sarah Colgan~, Molly Fry^, Rebecca Lloyd, Martha McLorinan, Suzie Purkis, Katy Raines-Rami, Ellie Tomlinson, Laura Toomey***
Tenor: Isaac Boulter, Steve Davis, Tony Dean, Alex Dixon^, Tom Hawkey-Soar***, Sid Imanol, Dan Marles**, Jeremy Reid, James Robinson
Bass: Ollie Barker*, Christopher Churcher, John Cotterill, Richard Green, John Johnston, Tom Lowen, Matt Pandya**, David Smith, Barney Stevens, William Swinnerton***, Josh Thompson**, Lawrence White
* denotes Ex Cathedra Graduate Scholar
** denotes Ex Cathedra Student Scholar
*** denotes Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Student Scholar
^ denotes University of Birmingham Student Scholar
~ denotes Ex Cathedra Enhanced Scholar
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