Chansons d’amour, Ex Cathedra Scholars Ensemble, Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Wednesday 12 Feb, 4☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

Chansons d’amour, Ex Cathedra, Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Wednesday 12 Feb,

4☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

“A varied selection of music drawn from the renaissance through to the modern day.”

Ex Cathedra’s excellent body of young scholars presented a varied and interesting programme of relatively short items of music, drawn from a wide variety of styles and eras, but united by the theme of love. Appropriate subject matter for a concert performed a couple of nights before St Valentine’s Day.

This was the Consort’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.

As a choir, 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.

Smaller scale ensemble numbers were, on the whole, excellent, although there was less consistency in some of the solo items. Tenor, Daniel Marles, made a number of contributions, the most significant of which was Handel’s Where’er you walk. This is a singer of enormous potential, with a clean full tone, admirable technique and clear diction. His performances were, without exception, beautifully sung and emotionally committed.

Soprano, Beth Taylor stood out in Monteverdi’s Lamento della Ninfa. Again, some lovely singing here, with a strong feeling for the drama of the piece. Baritone, Tom Hawkey-Soar gave us a graceful yet haunting The Salley Gardens. Dido’s Lament by Purcell was given a heartfelt performance by Mezzo, Laura Toomey, and what a radiant upper register!

Elsewhere, there were numbers that were perhaps over-ambitious; where soloists didn’t quite manage to emotionally engage with the passionate nature of the material.

These were hiccups in an otherwise excellently crafted and well delivered concert.

Jeffrey Skidmore – Conductor

Gabriella Liandu – Guest Soloist

Sopranos – Alexandra Burstow, Sophie Henderson, Alice Madden, Beth Taylor, Maria Willsher

Altos – Sarah Colgan, Georgi Davies, Laura Toomey

Tenors – Tom Hawkey-Soar, Dan Marles

Basses – Ollie Barker, Matt Pandya, William Swinnerton, Josh Thompson

Piano – Aoife Fahey, Rupert Jeffcoat