Ex Cathedra
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Ex Cathedra (pronounced [ɛks kəˈɵeɪdrə], eks kə-THAY-drə) is a British choir and early music ensemble based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, 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]
[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's musicians include many of Europe's top period instrumentalists, and its principals regularly give master classes and coach students at the Birmingham Conservatoire as part of its early music programme.[1]
[edit] Recordings
| Title and CD number | Release date | Performers |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Music by Candlelight: Alleluya, a New Work Ex Cathedra |
[Unknown] | Ex Cathedra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Vivaldi: Vespers ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU 137 |
[Unknown] | Ex Cathedra Chamber Choir and Baroque Orchestra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Michel-Richard de Lalande: Regina Coeli; De Profundis; Cantate Domino ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU 141 |
16 January 1995 | Ex Cathedra Chamber Choir and Baroque Orchestra (leader Micaela Comberti) Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Sanctus: Baroque Music for the Nativity ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU 166 |
[Unknown] | Ex Cathedra Chamber Choir and Baroque Orchestra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Monteverdi: Madrigali Fatta Spirituale ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU 174 |
[Unknown] | Ex Cathedra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Sir Christèmas: Carols Old and New ASV Gaudeamus CD DCA 912 |
21 February 1995 | Ex Cathedra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Orlande de Lassus: Sacred Choral Music; Missa ad Imitationem Vinum Bonum ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU 150 |
13 March 1996 | Ex Cathedra His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts Jeffrey Skidmore |
| A New Heaven: 1,000 Years of Sacred Choral Music ECCE EXCCD002 |
2000 | Ex Cathedra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| New World Symphonies: Baroque Music from Latin America Hyperion CDA67380 |
7 April 2003 | Ex Cathedra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Charpentier: Messe à Quatre Chœurs; Salve Regina à Trois Chœurs; Salut de la Veille des 'O'; Le Reniement de St Pierre Hyperion CDA67435 |
5 January 2004 | Ex Cathedra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Rameau: Règne Amour: Love Songs from the Operas Hyperion CDA67447 |
3 May 2004 | Carolyn Sampson Ex Cathedra Choir and Baroque Orchestra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Peerson: Latin Motets Hyperion CDA67490 |
3 January 2005 | Ex Cathedra Consort Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Moon, Sun & All Things: Baroque Music from Latin America – 2 Hyperion CDA67524 |
29 August 2005 | Ex Cathedra Jeffrey Skidmore |
| Fire Burning in Snow: Latin American Baroque 3 Hyperion CDA67600 |
28 January 2008 | Ex Cathedra Jeffrey Skidmore |
Information in this table was obtained from the following websites: Recordings. Ex Cathedra. Retrieved on 2008-02-20. Amazon.co.uk (album release dates).
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Ex Cathedra. Ex Cathedra. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
- ^ 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", The Independent, 2002-02-01.
- Northcott, Bayan. "Ex Cathedra/Skidmore, St John's, Smith Square, London: When world music met the Baroque [preview of the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music 2002]", The Independent, 2002-05-24.
- Norris, Geoffrey. "Dies Irae to didgeridoo [review of the Lichfield Festival 2004]", The Daily Telegraph, 2004-07-15.
- Stewart, Pat (July 2005). Eastern Early Music Forum: Lalande day with Jeffrey Skidmore. Extract from EEMF Newsletter 59. Retrieved on 2007-04-08.
- Dunnett, Roderic. "Ex Cathedra, Oratory, Birmingham [review of "A Latin American Christmas" concert]", The Independent, 2005-12-14.
