Ex Cathedra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ex Cathedra is a British choir, and in particular is the flagship early music ensemble for Birmingham and the West Midlands in England. It performs choral music spanning the 15th to 21st centuries, and regularly commissions new works.
Ex Cathedra was founded in Birmingham in 1969 by Jeffrey Skidmore, who is its artistic director and conductor. Originally conceived as a chamber choir, it now comprises a full choir of about 20 to 40 singers, the Ex Cathedra Consort made up of ten young professional singers who feature regularly as soloists, and a Baroque ensemble/orchestra.
Each year, the choir presents a season of eight diverse programmes in a variety of venues in and around Birmingham and London. It has also participated in concert series and festivals across the UK and in Europe, including the BBC Proms, Brighton Early Music Festival, Kilkenny Festival, Lichfield Festival, Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music, Spitalfields Festival, Three Choirs Festival and York Early Music Festival, as well as festivals in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy and Spain. The ensemble collaborates regularly with other Birmingham-based arts organizations, including Birmingham Royal Ballet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.[1]
Ex Cathedra has its own youth and children's choirs, the Academy of Vocal Music (for singers aged 16 years and upwards, trained by Jeffrey Skidmore) and the Junior Academy (6 to 16 years, trained by Rebecca Ledgard and Ex Cathedra vocal tutors), which meet on a project basis. In addition, the choir is involved in education programmes in schools and local communities. It runs Ring of Sound, an intergenerational choir for the Perry Common Regeneration Project; the Singing Medicine project at Birmingham Children's Hospital; singing workshops for Key Stage 2 boys at an inner-city Birmingham primary school; and Singing Playgrounds in primary schools in Birmingham and Coventry and nursery schools in Birmingham.[2]
Ex Cathedra has made a number of critically-acclaimed recordings for ASV Records and Hyperion Records, and on its own label. It is well known for its recordings of French and Latin American Baroque music.[1]
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[edit] Ex Cathedra Baroque Orchestra
The first period instrument orchestra to be established in an English regional city, Ex Cathedra's Baroque Orchestra was founded as part of the choir's 1983–1984 season and made its début with a performance of Bach's Mass in B Minor. The orchestra is led by Baroque violinist Nicolette Moonen, and its musicians include many of Europe's top period instrumentalists. Moonen and other principals from the orchestra regularly give master classes and coach students at the UCE Birmingham Conservatoire as part of its early music programme.[1]
[edit] Recordings
| Cover | Information | Performers |
|---|---|---|
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Christmas Music by Candlelight: Alleluya, a New Work
|
Ex Cathedra |
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Vivaldi: Vespers
|
Ex Cathedra Chamber Choir and Baroque Orchestra |
 |
Michel-Richard de Lalande: Regina Coeli; De Profundis; Cantate Domino
|
Ex Cathedra Chamber Choir and Baroque Orchestra (leader Micaela Comberti) |
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Sanctus: Baroque Music for the Nativity
|
Ex Cathedra Chamber Choir and Baroque Orchestra |
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Monteverdi: Madrigali Fatta Spirituale
|
Ex Cathedra |
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Sir Christèmas: Carols Old and New
|
Ex Cathedra |
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Orlande de Lassus: Sacred Choral Music; Missa ad Imitationem Vinum Bonum |
Ex Cathedra |
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A New Heaven: 1,000 Years of Sacred Choral Music
|
Ex Cathedra |
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New World Symphonies: Baroque Music from Latin America |
Ex Cathedra |
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Charpentier: Messe à Quatre Chœurs; Salve Regina à Trois Chœurs; Salut de la Veille des 'O'; Le Reniement de St Pierre |
Ex Cathedra |
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Rameau: Règne Amour: Love Songs from the Operas |
Carolyn Sampson |
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Peerson: Latin Motets |
Ex Cathedra Consort |
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Moon, Sun & All Things: Baroque Music from Latin America – 2 |
Ex Cathedra |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Official website of Ex Cathedra.
- ^ Programme for Ex Cathedra's performance of John Joubert's Wings of Faith at The Oratory, Birmingham, on 22 March 2007.
[edit] Further reading
- Dunnett, Roderic. "Ex Cathedra, Lichfield Cathedral (concert review)", The Independent, 2000-04-19.
- Church, Michael. "The Jesuits Invent Fusion", The Independent, 2001-09-09.
- Northcott, Bayan. "Ex Cathedra, St John's, Smith Square, London : Rome's Genius Resurrected (concert review)", The Independent, 2002-02-01.
- Northcott, Bayan. "Ex Cathedra/Skidmore, St John's, Smith Square, London: When World Music Met the Baroque (preview of Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music 2002)", The Independent, 2002-05-24.
- Norris, Geoffrey. "Dies Irae to Didgeridoo (review of Lichfield Festival 2004)", The Daily Telegraph, 2004-07-15.
- Mattison, Ben. "Appeals Court Ruling Due Soon in Copyright Suit Against Hyperion Records", PlaybillArts, 2005-03-26.
- Dunnett, Roderic. "Ex Cathedra, Oratory, Birmingham (review of "A Latin American Christmas" concert)", The Independent, 2005-12-14.
