“A memorable performance of a great and familiar piece of music is one that makes the listener find in it something new; to see it in a new way, and from an unfamiliar perspective. To Birmingham concert goers, it is not just Bach’s St Matthew Passion that is familiar: Ex Cathedra have performed this work many times on Good Friday over the past few years. So, it is not just the work that is familiar, but also the approach.
“Nevertheless, this Good Friday there was, in this performance, an excitement, an intensity, and a passion that was quite simply spellbinding…
“Jeffrey Skidmore created something majestic, profound, and quite wonderful. Skidmore is not a demonstrative conductor, but he clearly puts in the work in his analysis of the score and in the rehearsal room. And this work certainly pays off.
“Also, there is an obvious rapport, trust and understanding between him and his performers. This was evident in the tightness of the chorus work, attention to detail in the Chorales, and crispness of the orchestral playing.
“Where this performance seemed to really step-up was in the space he gave the music to breathe, and the measured and thoughtful pace at which he allowed the drama to unfold. It was not slow, it did not drag, but there was a weight to it; a sense of the inexorable. And, after the moment of crucifixion, time seemed to stand still, as Bach invited us to meditate upon the horror of the physical reality and the beauty of the idea of salvation.
“This was a performance to relish and remember.”