-

 

Thursday 22nd December 2022

 

EX CATHEDRA

St. Paul’s Church, Birmingham ****

 

Fully freed from the unwelcome restrictions of Covid protocols, the 2022 edition of Ex Cathedra’s annual ‘Christmas Music by Candlelight’ concert series saw a welcome return to the fully immersive aural experience that is its hallmark, opening with a moving rendition of ‘This is the truth’ by Ralph Vaughan Williams sung from the two side aisles, with baritone solo and conductor in the chancel and nave respectively.

 

Vaughan Williams’ 150th birthday was just one of multiple current and upcoming anniversaries recognised in this year’s programme – a meditative ‘Ave Maria’ by Anton Bruckner (200th birthday in 2023) had suitably pleading cries of “Sancta Maria”, whilst the ‘Lullaby, my sweet little baby’ of William Byrd (2023 will be the 400th anniversary of this great English composer’s death) was given a tender reading by the choristers.

 

However, Ex Cathedra is also a champion of contemporary music, hence the inclusion of new works by composers who have a close connection with the choir. These included young Christopher Churcher’s ‘Before the ice is in the pools,’ based on Emily Dickinson’s poem, the spirit of Christmas captured in quiet reverie by the singers through its rich harmonies. In contrast, Liz Dilnot Johnson’s ‘A wild midwinter carol’ had a pleasingly rustic folksong vibe, with its hand chimes and bells evoking a frosty bucolic landscape. Also included was Alec Roth’s mesmerising introit ‘Unborn’ for tenor solo and choir, moving like a slow camel train to the beat of its processional drum.

 

Other concert highlights included Eriks Esenvalds’ ‘Long road’ with its soaring top line over thickly scored chords, the divided choirs moving to face each other, and James MacMillan’s ‘And lo, the angel of the Lord’ with its appropriately Angelic contributions from the two galleries – the very embodiment of ‘surround sound’, and undoubtedly Heavenly in every sense.

 

A special mention must also be made of Martin Bates, Ex Cathedra’s accompanist for more than 20 years, who sadly died earlier this year. His ‘Three Songs for Christmas’ are imaginatively written, with no shortage of technical challenges for the choir: the opening song ‘He comes in the night’ showcased some fine diction, whilst the closing number ‘With a merry ding dong!’, with its little musical missteps shepherded so ably by conductor Jeffrey Skidmore, was simply joyous.

 

Anthony Bradbury

Popular posts from this blog

Some Enchanted Evenings at the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne

-
CHRISTOPHER MORLEY ENJOYED THREE ENCHANTED EVENINGS AT EASTBOURNE'S GRAND HOTEL SOME ENCHANTED EVENINGS Appassionata at the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne ***** Eastbourne's breathtakingly magnificent Grand Hotel, so imposing yet also so welcoming, has an impressive roster of visiting musicians since its opening in 1875. Among the many luminaries who have crossed its portals are Debussy (who completed La Mer here), Kreisler, Caruso, Nellie Melba, Ysaye, Paul Robeson, Myra Hess… the list goes on. Latest to join them is the young vocal quartet Appassionata, who, together with pianist Will Sharma, presented a three-night entertainment "Some Enchanted Evenings" at the end of March. It began with baritone Matthew Siveter, already a much-loved veteran of Gilbert and Sullivan productions, presenting his one-man show "A Source of Innocent Merriment", drawing material from the likes of G&S themselves, Noel Coward, Flanders and Swann, Tom Lehrer, as well as d...
Read more
-
  STIRRING ELGAR CONCERTO FROM THE CBSO LEADER CBSO at Symphony Hall ★★★★ Elgar’s Violin Concerto has provided almost as many opportunities for pointless speculation as his ‘Enigma’ Variations. Who is referred to in the work’s inscription, “Herein is enshrined the soul of...”? Is it someone codenamed “Windflower” after whom several of the work’s themes are named? Is it Alice Stuart-Wortley, daughter of the painter John Everett Millais? Is it Helen Weaver, or Elgar’s mother or possibly his wife? Who cares? Elgar himself told us all we need to know about the work when he said of it: “It's good! Awfully emotional! Too emotional, but I love it.” So would any unprejudiced listener after hearing this performance played with such tenderness, fierce concentration and passion by the CBSO’s leader Eugene Tzikindelean and backed to the hilt by the orchestra conducted by Kazuki Yamada. In the opening bars soloist and orchestra captured the mysterious haunting quality of the initial theme that ...
Read more

Jacquie Lawson e-card music

-
THE MUSIC BEHIND THE E-CARDS MIKE HUGHES-CHAMBERLAIN AND JACQUIE LAWSON E-CARDS by Christopher Morley It's always a joy when an e-greetings card plops into your inbox, not least at festive times of the year. It's easy to understand why the sending of these cyber-messages has become so popular, given the huge cost of postage nowadays At the forefront of this trend are the e-cards produced by Jacquie Lawson, and in addition to the attractive artwork, witty and sensitive storylines, and interactive opportunities offered by these little gems, comes the input of music, atmospheric and appropriate. Whether specially composed or arranged from other sources, these sound-pictures are masterminded by Mike Hughes-Chamberlain, who has made the seamless connection between a musical education and Information Technology in order to create scores for these scores of delightful little gems. He was brought up in Hindhead in Surrey, where his mother founded a music school in 1975. ...
Read more