“… it has been an exciting year for the [Ex Cathedra] Scholars, a year that has seen a tremendous sense of maturation, refinement and confidence within the group… there is great attention to detail, tightness of ensemble and excellence of diction.

“As this concert was given as an integral part of the international Biennial Baroque Conference 2025 at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the programme took us on a whistlestop tour of some of the delights of choral music of the Baroque from a variety of countries, ranging from South America, to England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

“The final piece in this concert was JS Bach’s Komm, Jesu, komm [a] motet for double choir… The Ex Cathedra Scholars performed this complex work with artistry and skill. There was great clarity in the short fugato section, and tender beauty in the expression… Every individual voice was perfectly blended into one harmonious whole. This served as a deeply moving conclusion to a truly fascinating concert.”

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“The beautiful architecture of Douai Abbey, the richness of the harmonies of the choral writing and the natural, resonant acoustic of the building made Ex Cathedra’s performance of Rachmaninov’s vespers sublime. The Rachmaninov Vespers is a combination of Vespers and Matins which make up the Orthodox liturgy of the All-Night Vigil. The service would have been a dialogue between the priest, deacon and choir, interspaced with movement and incensations. To create a ‘dialogue’ conductor Jeffrey Skidmore, interestingly interspaced passages for bells between some of the choral sections, making reference to Orthodox chants and some of Rachmaninov’s other works. These were expertly played by Simone Rebello.

“Ex Cathedra must be one of the best, if not the best, choral groups in the country. Made up of 15 sopranos, six contraltos/altos, seven tenors and 13 basses for this performance the balance was excellent for the sonorous and rich harmonies. The different vocal lines are often divided, even into three parts, which creates the richness of the choral texture.

“The vocal range is very wide. Rachmaninov’s meticulous indications of tempi and dynamics were expertly adhered to by Jeffrey Skidmore. The contrast of high female voice passages alongside the resonant male sections was magical…

“This was a deeply researched, deeply emotional and musically satisfying evening.”

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“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.”

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“Not only did we have the excellent period-instrument Ex Cathedra Baroque Orchestra at lower pitch, Jeffrey Skidmore also Tardised us back to the circumstances of the original performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion in 1727, given as part of Good Friday Vespers, surrounded by liturgy and interspersed with a sermon (oh, those unforgiving pews in Leipzig’s Thomaskirche!).

“So here we were topped and tailed with organ preludes (the excellent Rupert Jeffcoat), imported choral offerings, and a congregational hymn. There was also an interval sermon, recitations of texts by Ben Okri and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  All of this was rationalised in Skidmore’s excellent and engaging programme-notes, but what of the actual performance of Bach’s miraculous score?

“Under Skidmore’s discreet direction this was a flowing, lightly-textured account, unforced in its projection, and achieving a fine balance between sonority and detail. This was particularly notable in the many solos (as ever, taken by members of the chorus) with well-crafted instrumental obbligati.

“Outstanding among these were the two arias with solo violin, Orchestra I leader Lucy Russell combining with alto Martha McLorinan in ‘Erbarme dich’ and Orchestra II leader Catherine Martin doing the same soon afterwards with bass Thomas Lowen in ‘Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder’.

“The two chief soloists, Themba Mvula as Jesus, Sebastian Hill as the Evangelist, made gripping contributions…

“As the Passion reaches its conclusion the bass recitative ‘Am Abend’, followed by ‘Mache dich’ seems to set the seal upon all the terrible events which have happened, and Lawrence White here captured all its serene poignancy.”

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“This was the [Scholars Ensemble’s] first time utilising Symphony Hall’s Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space. Those familiar with Ex Cathedra’s performance style will be unsurprised that much was made of the venue’s interesting physical configuration to create dramatic spatial effects. This was particularly true in Vaughan Williams’ The Turtle Dove where baritone soloist, the excellent William Swinnerton, gradually moved away into the distance over the course of the song. A very poignant moment.

“The young performers sang with superb ensemble, delivering a well-blended, evenly balanced sound. Clearly they enjoy singing together. The group were very much at home in early music items; and stylistically convincing in numbers by Orlande de Lassus and Monteverdi. This is clearly core-repertoire for them, but they also shone in fresh and energetic arrangements of classic pop songs from the sixties…

“[An] excellently crafted and well delivered concert”

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