Good Friday, Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Ex Cathedra, Symphony Hall, Friday 18 April 2025, 4☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

Good Friday, Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Ex Cathedra, Symphony Hall, Friday 18 April 2025, 4☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

“A profound and, at times, revelatory performance of this monumental work.”

Alec Roth – Chorale Prelude on ‘Sei gegrüsset, Jesu Gütig’

Alec Roth - Sei gegrüsset, Jesu Gütig’

JS Bach – St Matthew Passion

J Stainer – God so loved the world

JS Bach – Chorale Prelude on ‘Nun danket alle Gott’

J Crüger – Now thank we all our God

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.

It was not a technically perfect performance. There was an unevenness in the accomplishment of the soloists. Some were really quite excellent: Imogen Russell, Katie Trethewey and Daniel Marles stood out for their vocal presence, quality, and technical control. Martha McLorinan sang ‘Erbarme Dich’ with exceptional attention to colouration and nuance. Sebastian Hill, singing the huge part of the Evangelist, had the power to deliver the drama, and the technique to float exquisite pianissimos out into the Hall. His was a breathtakingly good interpretation.

Elsewhere  some of the younger voices were a bit underpowered. For example, baritone voices singing parts more often allocated to basses, tended to lack fruitiness and yield at the bottom. And again, while some of the obligato playing was outstanding, in the aforementioned ‘Erbarme Dich’,  the oboe d’amore/oboe da caccia were at times particularly ragged.

The above issues notwithstanding, conductor, 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.

Ex Cathedra Choir and Baroque Orchestra

Ex Cathedra Academy of Vocal Music

Conductor – Jeffrey Skidmore

Sebastian Hill – Evangelist & Tenor I

Themba Mvula – Jesus

Lawrence White – Pilate & Bass I

Margaret Lingas, Imogen Russell – Soprano I

Martha McLorinan, Gabriella Liandu – Alto I

Katie Trethewey – Soprano II

Mercè Bruguera Abelló – Alto II

Daniel Marles – Tenor II

Thomas Lowden – Bass II