EX CATHEDRAexcathedra.co.uk

St John PassionBach

CHOIR | CONSORT | ORCHESTRA | EDUCATIONARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR JEFFREY SKIDMORE

St John PassionEx Cathedra Consort & Baroque Orchestra Jeffrey Skidmore conductorLucy Russell leader

Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Chorale Prelude on O Haupt voll Blut Improvised by Jonathan Hope

O sacred head surrounded Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630)

Verlass uns nicht Alec Roth (b.1948)

St John Passion BMV 245PART I

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Chorale postlude on O Lamm Gottes unschuldig

Improvised by Jonathan Hope

A sequence of readings from Letters and Papers from Prison - Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Tegel prison, Berlin 14 April 1943 (To his parents)

Easter Day, 25 April 1943 (To his parents) 27 March 1944 (To Eberhard Bethge)

Poem - Who am I? 14 August 1944 (To Eberhard Bethge) Prinz Albrecht Strasse (Gestapo prison) 28 December 1944 (To his mother) Poem - Powers of Good (Von guten Mächten)

Chorale Prelude on Christus der uns selig macht Improvised by Jonathan Hope

St John Passion BMV 245PART II

Johann Sebastian Bach

Ecce quomodo moritur justus Jacob Handl (1550-1591)

Chorale Prelude on Nun danket alle Gott BWV 657 Johann Sebastian Bach

Now thank we all our God Johann Crüger (1598-1662)

Ex Cathedra would like to thank the Continuo Foundation and the UK government Culture Recovery Fund for their support.

PerformersEx Cathedra Consort & Baroque Orchestra Jeffrey Skidmore conductor

Bradley Smith EvangelistThemba Mvula JesusLawrence White PilateMargaret Lingas sopranoImogen Russell sopranoMartha McLorinan altoPaul Bentley-Angell tenorJames Robinson tenorThomas Lowen PetrusAmy Wood AncillaTim Burton Servus

Soprano Margaret Lingas, Imogen Russell*, Katie Trethewey, Suzzie Vango, Amy Wood

Alto Sacha Fullerton, Gabriella Liandu*, Martha McLorinan

Tenor Paul Bentley-Angell, Tim Burton*, James Robinson, Bradley Smith

Bass Thomas Lowen, Themba Mvula, Jonty Ward*, Lawrence White

*Indicates Graduate Scholars 2021-22

Violin I Lucy Russell (leader), Dominika Feher, David López Ibáñez, Malu Lin Swayne

Violin II Catherine Martin, Ellen Bundy, Flora Curzon, Persephone Gibbs

Viola Alan George, Kate FawcettCello Andrew Skidmore, Imogen Seth-SmithViola da gamba Imogen Seth-SmithDouble bass Carina CosgraveLute Lynda SayceFlute Rachel Brown, Christine GarrattOboe d’amore/oboe da caccia Gail Hennessy, Mark Radcliffe Bassoon Andrew WattsChamber organ James JohnstoneSymphony Hall organ Jonathan Hope

St John Passion 2021Jeffrey Skidmore introduces Ex Cathedra’s performance

Ist aller Welt Erlösung da? Is it that the whole world is redeemed?

For our first ‘live’ performance with our Baroque Orchestra for 16 months it is appropriate that we should be going back to Bach and one of his great Passion settings. It has been in our planning for some time.

We were scheduled to perform the St John Passion in Symphony Hall on Good Friday, April 10th 2020 as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations. It was to be a modern-day liturgical reconstruction. On April 2nd 2021 we were to have given a performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion. Although tantalisingly close to coming out of lockdown, this concert also had to be cancelled. However, on April 23rd and 24th 2021 Ex Cathedra was thrilled and delighted to be able to film ‘live’ in Symphony Hall a performance of the St John Passion with socially distanced musicians (16 singers and 20 players, all at least two metres apart) to be released on Idagio on May 9th. Sadly we were not able to use all our singers, our Academy, our Community Choirs and there was no audience. I am hoping you will all participate fully in your homes using this programme booklet. The St John Passion is a work for all time, certainly for now and for the future, a work that calls for a better future.

In Ex Cathedra’s performance of Bach’s St John Passion we not only continue a long Good Friday tradition but also look to new ways of understanding Bach’s music and its powerful relevance to the modern world. We pay tribute to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the extraordinary Lutheran pastor and modern-day martyr, who 76 years ago on April 9th 1945 was executed in Flossenbürg concentration camp for his opposition to the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer lived his life by example and fiercely believed in truth - “No man in the whole world can change the truth. One can only look for the truth, find it and serve it. The truth is in all places.” Was ist Wahrheit (28) ? The many resonances with the Passion story are profound.

In Bach’s day the liturgy provided a community

activity where the ‘audience’ were actively involved in the ‘performance’ and were not passive listeners. This was important for Bach and he recognised the physical and spiritual benefits of singing. A wide range of vocal skills was on display, matched and enhanced by the instrumentalists. Everyone was taught the basic repertoire of Lutheran hymn tunes which had developed from a wide range of sources - folk songs, love songs, ancient plainchant, with many newly composed. These tunes had great emotional and spiritual significance and permeated Bach’s choral works. Organ pieces (Chorale Preludes) were based on these tunes and were used as introductions to congregational hymns. Bach was also able to train some singers to sing the more complicated unaccompanied motets and further develop the technique of others to sing virtuosic concerted music. These are the guiding principles of our performance.

The liturgy for Good Friday Vespers was a meditation, in several forms, on the Passion story, the last few days of Christ’s life, and followed a set pattern starting with a congregational hymn. In the 18th century this was Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund, which states the seven last words of Christ and introduces the Passion story for the first time. I have chosen a melody better-known to a 21st century audience, the so called Passion chorale, which Bach uses five times in the St Matthew Passion and twice in the

Herzlich thut mich verlangen arr. J.H. Schein from Gottfried Volpelius Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch, 1682

Christmas Oratorio. Ex Cathedra has ended every Christmas Music by Candlelight concert with this tune set to the words How shall I fitly meet thee? In this performance we follow the order of verses which Bach used in the St Matthew Passion to tell the crucifixion story. We make use of the translation by Nick Fisher and John Russell commissioned for Symphony Hall, which Ex Cathedra recorded in 2009. The melody is taken from Gottfried Volpelius’ widely used Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch which was published in 1682. The tune was originally a secular love song, Mein G’müt ist mir verwirret (I’m all mixed up: this a tender maid has done to me) written by Hans Leo Hassler in 1600. It is a perfect example of Luther’s famous question of justification: ‘Why should the devil have all the best tunes?’

This opening hymn will be accompanied by Jonathan Hope on Symphony Hall’s wonderful Klais organ, at modern pitch, and will be introduced by an improvised Chorale Prelude, as in Bach’s day. The tradition still continues in Leipzig today. The bell at the beginning is a signal for all to stand, again following the Leipzig tradition. Our liturgy includes a second hymn at the very end preceded by Bach’s Chorale Prelude. Please sing this rousing song of thanks at home with all your heart! The liturgy also includes two motets. Traditionally Bach’s Passion was followed by the funeral motet Ecce quomodo moritur justus (The righteous man dies and no-one takes notice) by the 16th century Slovenian composer Jacob Handl, and ended with the congregational hymn of praise Now thank we all our God.

The opening motet - Verlass uns nicht (Forsake us not) by Alec Roth - is a short prelude to Bach’s Passion and was commissioned by Ex Cathedra in 2017. It dramatically offers an emotional, musical, linguistic, thematic and stylistic transition from the 21st century into the sound world of Bach. The Gregorian text is from the 9th century and we perform it in a 19th century German translation and an English version by Alec who over the last few years has been researching liturgy and Bach’s choral works in Leipzig. Alec has been Ex Cathedra’s composer-in-residence for almost 15 years and he has written some wonderful new works for us - Earthrise, A Time to Dance, Hymn to Gaia

and the cantata A time to be born and a time to die. All are undoubted masterpieces of the 21st century.

The St John Passion, like many of Bach’s cantatas, is in two parts, which were performed either side of the sermon, the high point of the service, and a further meditation on the Passion story. For the sermon I have chosen a sequence of readings from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic Letters and Papers from Prison, and includes two poems, two letters to his friend, colleague, biographer and ‘heir’, Eberhard Bethge, one to his parents and his final letter to his mother, written from the Gestapo prison in Prinz Albrecht Strasse, Berlin. This afternoon’s readers are performers who represent the whole Ex Cathedra family.

It is impossible in a few sentences to do justice to this remarkable man, a towering intellectual theologian who had a profound

Alec Roth, Ex Cathedra Composer in Residence Photo by Sally Corrick

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1939. From brittanica.com, courtesy of Eberhard Bethge

belief in the example of Christ and the notion that actions speak louder than words. He believed in the ‘Gospel of Justice’ and that the world had to be changed from the bottom up. He was well educated but rejected a comfortable academic life. He became a passionate advocate of ecumenism informed by his early world-wide travel: time spent as a student in New York working with the Black Church: in 1930 he drove from New York to Mexico in a friend’s Oldsmobile: from 1933 to 1935 he was pastor in two London churches and befriended the sympathetic Bishop George Bell of Chichester: and he had an invitation to visit Gandhi’s ashram in India to learn about non-violent resistance. He was a talented pianist with eclectic musical taste including Schütz, Beethoven and African- American Spirituals. Bonhoeffer’s work and sacrificial opposition to Nazism was an inspiration to many throughout the world at this low point in human history, and to later generations including Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

From the very beginning Bonhoeffer was a staunch opponent to Hitler and was active in many ways as a member of the resistance and the July 20 Plot to assassinate Hitler. He had the opportunity to escape to the USA but believed he had to be with his countrymen at this time. He wrote: I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I

must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people ... Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose but I cannot make that choice from security.

It is amazing that he remained at liberty for so long and heartbreakingly sad that he was killed only a month before VE Day!

The Lutheran liturgy offers a complex, multi-dimensional art-form and I have taken some artistic and creative liberties to develop the idea. Bach’s St John Passion stands perfectly well on its own and you may well ask: what is the point in adding to it? What do we gain? What do we hope to learn? We shall see. This year we can only imagine Symphony Hall resounding to the sound of two thousand voices singing the architectural hymns which frame Bach’s masterpiece. Participation is important and takes many forms: at Prince Philip’s funeral only a few people performed in St George’s chapel but millions took part around the world.

Ex Cathedra: Baroque PassionJeffrey Skidmore explains Baroque Music and Birmingham Baroque

It is now widely agreed that the term Baroque very broadly describes music written between 1600 and 1750 and established many new ideas such as tonality, key, figured bass, continuo, the concerto, sonata, cantata, oratorio and opera, which are the foundation of most Western classical Music. Big names like Bach, Handel and Vivaldi are only a part of the rich cultural heritage of this important and popular era. National styles emerged but also a fusion of these distinct styles created a rich musical language. Purcell’s music brings together French, Italian and English Renaissance elements while Bach fused French, Italian and his native German traditions.

Birmingham has many interesting links with the period. It has the only Baroque Cathedral (1715) in the UK and it has more miles of canal than Venice! It is the home of many distinguished world-class specialists such as musicologists John Whenham, Colin Timms and Graham Sadler and the birthplace of performers John Butt, Lawrence Cummings and Margaret Faultless. And of course it has Ex Cathedra.

Ex Cathedra’s passion for Baroque music has been central to its vastly wide-ranging repertoire over its 50-plus years of existence.

One of our earliest concerts in 1969 was based around Purcell’s Verse Anthems with a small string ensemble with John Clemson playing continuo cello. John became Head of the Birmingham Music Service and is now on the Ex Cathedra Board of Trustees. Our first recording (Baroque Choral Music - LP on Vinyl) in 1982 included more Purcell and music by Gibbons, Monteverdi, Lotti, Schütz, Kuhnau and Bach. In 1991 our first CD was Vivaldi Vespers, followed by Baroque Music for the Nativity (Bach, Handel, Charpentier, Scheidt, Corelli), the award winning French recordings (Lalande, Marie Fel, Charpentier and Rameau) and music from Latin America (Mexico, Bolivia and Brazil). We have regularly presented Handel’s Messiah,

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers in various guises and have performed Bach’s Passions every year for more than 40 years and most recently on Good Fridays in Symphony Hall, with a recording of a new English translation of the St Matthew Passion in 2009.

It may surprise some of our audience to know that Baroque opera has also featured in our repertoire with memorable performances of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (and Blow’s Venus and Adonis) in Shugborough Hall and San Maurizio (1989) in Milan, and a performance

Bach Double Violin Concerto in Birmingham’s Baroque Cathedral - Simon Standage and Catherine Mackintosh

Messiah in Lichfield Cathedral - Kwella, Bowman, Hill and Thomas

with Birmingham’s famous African Dance Company Kokuma in Town Hall, who also joined us for the first modern day performance of Lully’s wonderful five act masterpiece Isis in 1995.

Cavalli’s La Calisto, Royer’s Zaïde, reine de Grenade and several masques by Purcell further enhanced our reputation in this field. We have worked with our own Ex Cathedra Baroque orchestra (established in 1983 and the UK’s first period instrument orchestra formed outside London) and with world-renowned specialist ensembles such as the Academy of Ancient Music, Amsterdam Baroque, Trio Sonnerie, London Baroque, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts, Concerto Palatino and Sinfonia New York. Baroque music is a passion for us all to enjoy!

Dido and Aeneas in San Maurizio

Kokuma rehearsing Lully’s opera IsisMica Comberti - Leader of the Ex Cathedra Baroque Orchestra 1983 - 2003

Be an Angel & top up your ticket with a donation Making this concert available online has felt tremendously important this year. However, it will cost us around £5,000 after online ticket sales, at a time when we have lost a huge amount of income from the live concerts we had planned.

Every donation towards the cost of this online concert will help us plan for the next few months with increased confidence. If you can help we would be extremely grateful. You can: 1. Make a regular donation by joining our Host of Angels2. Make a one off donation

Thank you.

BE AN ANGEL

ONE OFF DONATION

The St John Passion was written in 1724, for Bach’s first Easter in Leipzig, and performed at Vespers on Good Friday in the St Nicholas Church. Bach probably performed the work four times in his life-time and each one was different. His definitive version was never completed. From the surviving performing material it seems to have been performed by two groups of singers: concertists, who sang arias, choruses and chorales and the parts of Jesus and the Evangelist, and ripienists, who sang choruses and chorales and the part of Peter. Separate part-books were given to characters Pilate and the Servant. It seems almost certain that single voices sang this music, and what is particularly interesting is the similarity of lay-out with the St Matthew Passion. For this performance the singers will be divided into two ‘choirs’.

Ex Cathedra first performed the St John Passion in 1977. We have performed it very many times since, including two performances on Good Friday in Chichester Cathedral. Why do we, and our audiences, want to come back to it? Why does it command such commitment? We will all have different answers.

It is a great work of art; it can “inspire our living” and create a “path to heaven”. It is personal and much of the text is written in the first person. We are asked to understand

Peter’s betrayal and subsequent remorse; to understand Pilate’s reasonableness, weakness and fear of the majority; the uncontrollable momentum of the angry, irrational crowd; the inanity of the soldier’s gambling for the coat of a man about to be crucified; the brutality of Christ’s death and its transformation into something good – the “rainbow”, the “sweetest fruit”. It is the power of Bach’s creation which goes beyond the Baroque conventions of da capo, fugue, recitative etc., and which insists we witness this remarkable story and learn about ourselves and our spiritual needs. The work’s many components demand our full attention and more.

The Chorus has three functions. The opening and closing choruses (1 & 39) are monumental structures that invite the whole of mankind to witness the event. The crowd choruses graphically portray the angry mob, sometimes being threatening or mocking, sometimes being pompous or wild and out of control. The chorales are irresistibly expressive, both harmonically and texturally, with their strong melody and bass-line. They speak for us all. The final movement (40) is the most uplifting and visionary hymn to human aspiration.

The arias are an individual’s response to the action. The instrumental accompaniments reinforce the mood: biting, canonic oboes (7), innocent, optimistic flutes (9), soothing lute

Programme Note

D-B Mus.ms. Bach St 111, Faszikel 2

Soprano concertante - Soprano concertante (Schreiber: J. S. Bach)

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer KulturbesitzBachDigitalSource_source_00002448

page 2

Extract from the Soprano Concertante partbook, Bach St John Passion, in Bach’s hand. From D-B Mus.ms.Bach St 111, Faszikel 2. Courtesy bach-digital.de

Lutenist Lynda Sayce with cellist Andrew Skidmore

(19), the two tender and loving muted violins (20), the sadness, beauty and regal majesty of the viola da gamba (30), the languid flute and oboe da caccia (35).

The biblical narrative is written as recitative - the ‘language of passion’. This simple syllabic style follows the natural stresses of the text with seemingly infinite variety of nuance, sometimes lyrical, sometimes dramatic, but always expressive. It drives the work and dictates the pace. Jesus, Pilate, and Peter achieve convincing characterisation using the same technique. Jesus is human but always calm and dignified, Pilate is given a warmth of melodic invention that demands empathy, and Peter is, symbolically, given only three notes!

Bach’s masterpiece contains a mass of symbolic detail: the crowing cock (12c) sounded by the

dominant 7th arpeggio; the cross-like structure of movements 17-26 with Chorale 22 as the centre; the semiquaver pattern in the cello part representing the shaking of the dice in 27b and the key of E-flat representing moments of hope in movements 19, 26 and 40, and in the middle section of the opening chorus. The list could be long and is impressive, the more so because the work goes beyond mere intellect.

Bach’s St John Passion is a complex work (there is a single aria - 20 - which lasts for almost eight minutes - it is perhaps the most intimate movement and demands our imaginations are totally absorbed in the colourful, almost hallucinatory imagery of Christ’s suffering). But Bach’s music is simply the greatest! People who know his work agree: it seems to cross international boundaries, from Japan to Brazil; composers revere his work, from Mozart to MacMillan. No-one writes happy music like Bach, or sad music, or love-songs. In fact all the emotions can be found in his work. His music is uplifting, it makes you want to dance, to move, to be joyful, to be alive. It should be available on the NHS! His technique is impeccable and he was a true genius composing for his time and for all time. And it has a universal appeal and significance which increase with familiarity.

© Jeffrey Skidmore May 2021

The oboe da caccia played by Mark Radcliffe

Excerpt from Recitative 12c from Bach St John Passion. Source: D-B Mus.ms.Bach P 28 from bach-digital.de

D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 28

12a. Evangelista; 12b. Chorus; 12c. Evangelista - Blatt 12r: Satz 12, T. 25-38

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer KulturbesitzBachDigitalSource_source_00000846

page 3

Texts and translationsBell

Organ Chorale Prelude on O Haupt voll Blut – improvised by Jonathan Hope

Choir process to stage

All sing O sacred head surrounded

°

¢

°

¢

°

¢

°

¢

1.Re ceive- me, my re dee- mer;- my shep herd- make me yours.

The foun tain- of allgood ness,- your bles sing- o ver- flows.-

On earth your words have fed me withnou rish- ment- di vine;-

Your gra cious- love al lows- me to taste ce les- tial- wine.

&

[O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden]

Paul Gerhardt 1656trans. Nicholas Fisher and John Russell 2009

Melody by Leo HasslerHarmonisation by J.H. Schein

adapted from Gottfried Vopelius Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch 1682

O sacred head surrounded

? #

&

? #

& #

?

& n

4. In this your bitter passion, Good shepherd, think of me with your most sweet compassion, unworthy though I be. Beneath your cross abiding, for ever would I rest. In your dear love confiding, and with your presence blest.

5. Be near me, Lord, when dying, do not depart from me! And to my rescue flying, come, Lord, and set me free! And when my heart must languish in death’s last awful throe, release me from my anguish, by your own pain and woe.

?

2. I want to stand beside you; do not forsake me, Lord.

I will not wander from you, I heed your holy word. When bitter pain shall hold you in agony oppressed, Then, then I will enfold you within my loving breast.

3. O sacred head surrounded by crown of piercing thorn! O bleeding head, so wounded, Reviled and put to scorn! Death’s pallid hue comes o’er you, the glow of life decays; yet angel hosts adore you, and tremble as they gaze.

œœœœ œ

œ œœ œœ œ̇ œ œœœœ

œœ

œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œ

œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™

˙ ™

œœœœ œ

œ œœ œœ œ̇ œ œœœœ

œœ

œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œ

œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™

˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œœ

œœ

˙˙

œœ œœ œœ œœ œ

œ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙̇ œœ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™

˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œ

œ œœ ˙̇ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ œ

œœœ œ

œ œ̇ œ#œœ œœ œ

œ œœ œœ

œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

Motet - Verlass uns nicht Alec Roth (b.1948)

Christe, du Schöpfer aller Welt,du König, der die Gläub’gen hält,weil unser Bitten dir gefällt, nimm unser Loblied an, o Held.

Kein Maß hat deine Gnad gekannt,hat in Geduld mit starker Hand durch Leid am Kreuz gelöst das Band,das Adams Sünde um uns wand.

Vor dem die Sterne neigen sich,du kamst ins Fleisch demütiglich,darin zu leiden williglich;in Todesschmerz dein Leib erblich.

Die Hand gebunden ausgestreckt,zu lösen, was in Banden steckt,hast du mit Gnad den Zorn bedeckt,den Menschenschuld in Gott erweckt.

Du hangst am Kreuze sterbend hierund doch erbebt die Erd vor dir,der Geist der Kraft geht aus von dir,die stolze Welt erblasst vor dir.

Jetzt um dein Siegerangesichtdes ewgen Vaters Glanz sich flicht,jetzt mit des Geistes Kraft und Licht, o König du, verlass uns nicht.

O Lord, creator of the world,of all who trust in you, the king,be pleased to hear our humble prayer;accept the hymn of praise we sing.

Your boundless grace so freely given,with strength and patience fortified,through sorrow on the cross has loosedthe bonds of sin around us tied.

A king to whom the stars bowyou came our human form to share,therein to suffer willinglythe pains of death you now must bear.

Yet through the pain your hands reach outto loosen what in bondage lay;with grace all anger you assuage,and human guilt is washed away.

You hang upon the cross to diewhile all the earth lies trembling hereand as the breath of life is spent,the proud world shudders, pale.

A crown to seal your victory the Father’s grace does now allot; empowered by the Spirit’s light,O mighty king, forsake us not.

°

¢

°

¢

°

¢

°

¢

1.Re ceive- me, my re dee- mer;- my shep herd- make me yours.

The foun tain- of allgood ness,- your bles sing- o ver- flows.-

On earth your words have fed me withnou rish- ment- di vine;-

Your gra cious- love al lows- me to taste ce les- tial- wine.

&

[O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden]

Paul Gerhardt 1656trans. Nicholas Fisher and John Russell 2009

Melody by Leo HasslerHarmonisation by J.H. Schein

adapted from Gottfried Vopelius Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch 1682

O sacred head surrounded

? #

&

? #

& #

?

& n

4. In this your bitter passion, Good shepherd, think of me with your most sweet compassion, unworthy though I be. Beneath your cross abiding, for ever would I rest. In your dear love confiding, and with your presence blest.

5. Be near me, Lord, when dying, do not depart from me! And to my rescue flying, come, Lord, and set me free! And when my heart must languish in death’s last awful throe, release me from my anguish, by your own pain and woe.

?

2. I want to stand beside you; do not forsake me, Lord.

I will not wander from you, I heed your holy word. When bitter pain shall hold you in agony oppressed, Then, then I will enfold you within my loving breast.

3. O sacred head surrounded by crown of piercing thorn! O bleeding head, so wounded, Reviled and put to scorn! Death’s pallid hue comes o’er you, the glow of life decays; yet angel hosts adore you, and tremble as they gaze.

œœœœ œ

œ œœ œœ œ̇ œ œœœœ

œœ

œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œ

œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™

˙ ™

œœœœ œ

œ œœ œœ œ̇ œ œœœœ

œœ

œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œ

œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™

˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œœ

œœ

˙˙

œœ œœ œœ œœ œ

œ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙̇ œœ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™

˙ ™

œœ œœ œœ œ

œ œœ ˙̇ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ œ

œœœ œ

œ œ̇ œ#œœ œœ œ

œ œœ œœ

œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

St John Passion BWV 245 (Part I) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Verrat und Gefangenahme Betrayal and Capture

1. Chor

Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhmin allen Landen herrlich ist!Zeig uns durch deine Passion,daß du, der wahre Gottessohn,zu aller Zeit,auch in der größten Niedrigkeit,verherrlicht worden bist!

1. Chorus

Lord, our ruler, whose gloryis magnificent everywhere!Show us through your Passion,that you, the true son of God,at all times,even in the most lowly state,are glorified!

2a. Rezitativ Evangelista Soloist: Bradley Smith

Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern über den Bach Kidron, da war ein Garten, darein ging Jesus und seine Jünger. Judas aber, der ihn verriet, wußte den Ort auch, denn Jesus versammlete sich oft daselbst mit seinen Jüngern. Da nun Judas zu sich hatte genommen die Schar und der Hohenpriester und Pharisäer Diener, kommt er dahin mit Fakkeln, Lampen und mit Waffen. Als nun Jesus wußte alles, was ihm begegnen sollte, ging er hinaus und sprach zu ihnen:

2a. Recitative Evangelist

Jesus went with his disciples over the brook Kidron where there was a garden which Jesus and his disciples entered. But Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. Now Judas had got a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees and he came to the place with lanterns, torches and weapons. As Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him he came forward and said to them:

Jesus Soloist: Themba Mvula

Wen suchet ihr?

Jesus

Who are you looking for?

Evangelista

Sie antworteten ihm:

Evangelist

They answered him:

2b. Chor

Jesum von Nazareth.

2b. Chorus

Jesus of Nazareth.

2c. Rezitativ Evangelista

Jesus spricht zu ihnen:

2c. Recitative Evangelist

Jesus said to them:

Jesus

Ich bin’s.

Jesus

I am he.

Evangelista

Judas aber, der ihn verriet, stund auch bei ihnen. Als nun Jesus zu ihnen sprach: Ich bin’s! wichen sie zurücke und fielen zu Boden. Da fragete er sie abermal:

Evangelista

But Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he”, they moved back and fell to the ground. He asked them a second time:

Jesus

Wen suchet ihr?

Jesus

Who are you looking for?

Evangelista

Sie aber sprachen:

Evangelist

And they said:

2d. Chor

Jesum von Nazareth.

2d. Chorus

Jesus of Nazareth.

2e. Rezitativ Evangelista

Jesus antwortete:

2e. Recitative Evangelist

Jesus replied:

Jesus

Ich habs euch gesagt, daß ich’s sei; suchet ihr denn mich, so lasset diese gehen!

Jesus

I have told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these go!

3. Choral

O große Lieb, o Lieb ohn‘ alle Maße,die dich gebracht auf diese Marterstraße!Ich lebte mit der Welt in Lust and Freuden,und du mußt leiden!

3. Chorale

O great love, o love without any limits, that has brought you along this way of martyrdom! I live with the world in pleasure and delight,and you must suffer!

4. Rezitativ Evangelista

Auf daß das Wort erfüllet würde, welches er sagte: Ich habe der keine verloren, die du mir gegeben hast. Da hatte Simon Petrus ein Schwert und zog es aus und schlug nach des Hohenpriesters Knecht und hieb ihm sein recht‘ Ohr ab; und der Knecht hieß Malchus. Da sprach Jesus zu Petro:

4. Recitative Evangelist

In this way the word was fulfilled which said:I have lost none of those which you gave to me. Then Simon Peter had a sword and he drew it out and struck the chief priest’s servant and cut off his right ear; and the servant was called Malchus. Then Jesus said to Peter:

Jesus

Stecke dein Schwert in die Scheide! Soll ich den Kelch nicht trinken, den mir mein Vater gegeben hat?

Jesus

Put up your sword in its scabbard! Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me?

5. Chorale

Dein Will gescheh, Herr Gott, zugleichauf Erden wie im Himmelreich.Gib uns Geduld in Leidenszeit,gehorsamsein in Lieb und Leid;Wehr und steur allem Fleisch und Blut,das wider deinen Willen tut!

5. Chorale

May your will be done, Lord God, bothon earth as in heaven. Grant us patience in time of sorrow, obedience in love and sorrow; Restrain and guide our flesh and blood that acts against your will!

6. Rezitativ Evangelista

Die Schar aber und der Oberhauptmann und die Diener der Juden nahmen Jesum und bunden ihn und führeten ihn aufs erste zu Hannas, der war Kaiphas‘ Schwäher, welcher des Jahres Hoher-priester war. Es war aber Kaiphas, der den Juden riet, es wäre gut, daß ein Mensch würde umbracht für das Volk.

6. Recitative Evangelist

But the soldiers and their commander and the servants of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him and led him first to Annas who was the father-in-law of Caiphas – this man was the chief priest that year. It was Caiphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

7. Arie (Alto) Soloist: Martha McLorinan

Von den Stricken meiner Sündenmich zu entbinden,wird mein Heil gebunden.Mich von allen Lasterbeulenvöllig zu heilen,läßt er sich verwunden.

7. Aria (Alto)

From the bonds of my sins to set me free my saviour is bound. From all infections of vice to heal me completely, he gives himself to be wounded.

Verleugnung Denial

8. Rezitativ Evangelista

Simon Petrus aber folgete Jesu nach und ein ander Jünger.

8. Recitative Evangelist

But Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.

9. Arie (Sopran) Soloist: Imogen Russell

Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schrittenand lasse dich nicht,mein Leben, mein Licht.

Befördre den Laufund höre nicht auf,selbst an mir zu ziehen, zu schieben, zu bitten.

9. Aria (Soprano)

I follow you likewise with joyful stepsand do not leave you,my life, my light.

Bring me on my wayand do not cease,to pull, push and urge me on.

10. Rezitativ Evangelista

Derselbige Jünger war dem Hohenpriester be-kannt und ging mit Jesu hinein in des Hohenpriesters Palast. Petrus aber stund draußen für der Tür. Da ging der andere Jünger, der dem Hohenpriester bekannt war, hinaus und redete mit der Türhüterin und führete Petrum hinein. Da sprach die Magd, die Türhüterin, zu Petro:

Ancilla (Magd) Soloist: Amy Wood

Bist du nicht dieses Menschen Jünger einer?

10. Recitative Evangelist

This disciple was known to the chief priest and he went along with Jesus into the palace of the chief priest. But Peter stood without by the door. Then the other disciple who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the woman in charge of the door and led Peter within. Then the woman in charge of the door, the maid, said to Peter:

Maid

Are not you one of this man’s disciples?

Evangelista

Er sprach:

Evangelist

He said:

Petrus Soloist: Thomas Lowen

Ich bin’s nicht.

Peter

I am not.

Evangelista

Es stunden aber die Knechte und Diener und hatten ein Kohlfeu’r gemacht (denn es war kalt) und wärmeten sich. Petrus aber stund bei ihnen und wärmete sich. Aber der Hohepriester fragte Jesum um seine Jünger und um seine Lehre. Jesus antwortete ihm:

Evangelist

The servants and officers were standing there and had made a charcoal fire (for it was cold) and were warming themselves. Peter stood by them and warmed himself. The chief priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him:

Jesus

Ich habe frei, öffentlich geredet für der Welt. Ich habe allezeit gelehret in der Schule und in dem Tempel, da alle Juden zusammenkommen, und habe nichts im Verborgnen geredt. Was fragest du mich darum? Frage die darum, die gehöret haben, was ich zu ihnen geredet habe! Siehe, dieselbigen wissen, was ich gesaget habe.

Jesus

I have spoken openly before all the world. I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple where all the Jews gather togetherand have spoken nothing in secret. Why therefore do you question me? Question those who have heard about what I have spoken to them! See, they themselves know what I have said.

Evangelista

Als er aber solches redete, gab der Diener einer, die dabei stunden, Jesu einen Bakkenstreich und sprach:

Evangelist

As he spoke in this way, one of servants who was standing by struck Jesus with his hand and said:

Servus (Diener) Soloist: Tim Burton

Solltest du den Hohenpriester also antworten?

Evangelista:

Jesus aber antwortete:

Servant

Should you reply to the chief priests in this way?

Evangelist:

Jesus answered:

Jesus

Hab ich übel geredt, so beweise es, daß es böse sei, hab ich aber recht geredt, was schlägest du mich?

Jesus

If I have spoken badly, then show what was wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?

11. Choral

Wer hat dich so geschlagen, mein Heil, und dich mit Plagenso übel zugericht’?Du bist ja nicht ein Sünderwie wir und unsre Kinder,von Missetaten weißt du nicht.

Ich, ich und meine Sünden,die sich wie Körnlein findendes Sandes an dem Meer,die haben dir erregetdas Elend, das dich schläget,und das betrübte Marterheer.

11. Chorale

Who has struck you in this way,my saviour, and with tormentstreated you so badly?You are indeed not a sinneras we and our children are,of wrongdoing you know nothing.

I, I, and my sins,that are as many as grainsof sand by the seahave provoked for youthe misery that has struck you,and the host of troubles and torment.

12a. Rezitativ Evangelista

Und Hannas sandte ihn gebunden zu dem Hohenpriester Kaiphas. Simon Petrus stund und wärmete sich; da sprachen sie zu ihm:

12a. Recitative Evangelist

And Annas sent him bound to the chief priest Caiphas. As Simon Peter stood and warmed himself, they said to him:

12b. Chor

Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer?

12b. Chorus

Aren’t you one of his disciples?

12c. Rezitativ Evangelista

Er leugnete aber und sprach:

12c. Recitative Evangelist

But he denied it and said:

Petrus

Ich bin’s nicht.

Peter

I am not.

Evangelista

Spricht des Hohenpriesters Knecht’ einer, ein Gefreunderter des, dem Petrus das Ohr abgehauen hatte:

Evangelist

One of the chief priest’s servants, a relative of the man, whose ear Peter had cut off, said:

Diener

Sahe ich dich nicht im Garten bei ihm?

Servant

Did I not see you in the garden with him?

Evangelista

Da verleugnete Petrus abermal, und alsobald krähete der Hahn. Da gedachte Petrus an die Worte Jesu und ging hinaus und weinete bitterlich.

Evangelist

Then Peter denied it again, and once the cock crew. Then Peter thought of Jesus’ word and went out and wept bitterly.

13. Arie (Tenor) Soloist: James Robinson

Ach, mein Sinn,wo willt du endlich hin,wo soll ich mich erquikken?Bleib ich hier,oder wünsch ich mirBerg und Hügel auf den Rükken?Bei der Welt ist gar kein Rat,und im Herzenstehn die Schmerzenmeiner Missetat,weil der Knecht den Herrn verleugnet hat.

13. Aria (Tenor)

Ah, my soul,where will you go,where shall I find relief?Should I stay here,or should I wishthat hills and mountains were behind me?In the world there is no help,and in my heart are the painsof my wrongdoing,since the servant has denied the Lord.

14. Choral

Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück,seinen Gott verneinet,der doch auf ein’ ernsten Blickbitterlichen weinet.Jesu, blikke mich auch an,wenn ich nicht will büßen;Wenn ich Böses hab getan,rühre mein Gewissen!

14. Chorale

Peter, who does not think back at all,denies his God,but then at a look of reproachweeps bitterly.Jesus, look at me alsowhen I am reluctant to repent;When I have done evil,stir up my conscience!

Organ Chorale Postlude on O Lamm Gottes unschuldig – improvised by Jonathan Hope

Sermon: “No man in the whole world can change the truth. One can only look for the truth, find it and serve it. The truth is in all places.”

A sequence of readings from Letters and Papers from Prison - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Tegel prison, Berlin 14 April 1943 (To his parents) Reader: Bradley Smith

Easter Day, 25 April 1943 (To his parents)

Reader: Gabriella Liandu

27 March 1944 (To Eberhard Bethge) Reader: James Robinson

Poem - Who am I? Reader: Themba Mvula

14 August 1944 (To Eberhard Bethge) Reader: Katie Trethewey

Prinz Albrecht Strasse (Gestapo prison) 28 December 1944 (To his mother) Reader: Thomas Lowen Poem - Powers of Good (Von guten Mächten) Reader: Lawrence White

Organ Chorale Prelude on Christus der uns selig macht - improvised by Jonathan Hope

St John Passion BWV 245 (Part Two) Johann Sebastian Bach

Verhör und Geißelung Interrogation and Flagellation

15. Choral

Christus, der uns selig macht,kein Bös’ hat begangen,der ward für uns in der Nachtals ein Dieb gefangen,geführt für gottlose Leutund fälschlich verklaget,verlacht, verhöhnt und verspeit,wie denn die Schrift saget.

15. Chorale

Christ, who makes us blessed,and has done no wrong,was for us in the nightseized like a thief,led before godless peopleand falsely accused,derided, mocked and spat upon,as the scripture says.

16a. Rezitativ Evangelista

Da führeten sie Jesum von Kaiphas vor das Richthaus, und er war frühe. Und sie gingen nicht in das Richthaus, auf daß sie nicht unrein würden, sondern Ostern essen möchten. Da ging Pilatus zu ihnen heraus und sprach:

16a. Recitative Evangelist

Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the hall of judgement, and it was early. And they did not go into the hall of judgement so that they would not become defiled but would be able to eat the Passover meal. Then Pilate came out to them and said:

Pilatus Soloist: Lawrence White

Was bringet ihr für Klage wider diesen Menschen?

Pilate

What accusation do you bring against this man?

Evangelista

Sie antworteten und sprachen zu ihm:

Evangelist

They replied and said to him:

16b. Chor

Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter, wir hätten dir ihn nicht überantwortet.

16b. Chorus

If this man were not a criminal, we would not have brought him before you.

16c. Rezitativ Evangelista

Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen:

16c. Recitative Evangelist

Then Pilate said to them:

Pilatus

So nehmet ihr ihn hin und richtet ihn nach eurem Gesetze!

Pilate

Then take him away and judge him according to your law!

Evangelista

Da sprachen die Juden zu ihm:

Evangelist

Then the Jews said to him:

16d. Chor

Wir dürfen niemand töten.

16d. Chorus

We are not allowed to put anyone to death.

16e. Rezitativ Evangelista

Auf daß erfüllet würde das Wort Jesu, welches er sagte, da er deutete, welches Todes er sterben würde. Da ging Pilatus wieder hinein in das Richthaus und rief Jesu und sprach zu ihm:

16e. Recitative Evangelist

In this way was fulfilled the words of Jesus, which he said to indicate by what sort of death he would die. Then Pilate went back into the hall of judgement and called Jesus and said to him:

Pilatus

Bist du der Juden König?

Pilate

Are you the king of the Jews?

Evangelista

Jesus antwortete:

Evangelist

Jesus replied:

Jesus

Redest du das von dir selbst, oder haben’s dir andere von mir gesagt?

Jesus

Do you say this of yourself, or did others say it to you about me?

Evangelista

Pilatus antwortete:

Evangelist

Pilate answered:

Pilatus

Bin ich ein Jude? Dein Volk und die Hohenpriester haben dich mir überantwortet; was hast du getan?

Pilate

Am I a Jew? Your people and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?

Evangelista

Jesus antwortete:

Evangelist

Jesus answered:

Jesus

Mein Reich ist nicht von dieser Welt; wäre mein Reich von dieser Welt, meine Diener würden darob kämpfen, daβ ich den Juden nicht überantwortet würde; aber nun ist mein Reich nicht von dannen.

Jesus

My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world then my servants would fight so that I should not be handed over to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here.

17. Choral

Ach großer König, groß zu allen Zeiten,wie kann ich g’nugsam diese Treu ausbreiten?

Keins Menschen Herze mag indes ausdenken,was dir zu schenken.

Ich kann’s mit meinen Sinnen nicht erreichen,womit doch dein Erbarmen zu vergleichen.Wie kann ich dir deine Liebstatenim Werk erstatten?

17. Chorale

Ah, great king, great in all ages, how can I make my faithfulness in any way adequate? No human heart can conceive what gift is fit to offer you.

My mind cannot imagine what can be compared to your mercy. How then can I match your loving deeds by anything I do?

18a. Rezitativ Evangelista

Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm:

18a. Recitative Evangelist

Then Pilate said to him:

Pilatus

So bist du dennoch ein König?

Pilate

So you are then a king?

Evangelista

Jesus antwortete:

Evangelist

Jesus answered:

Jesus

Du sagst’s, ich bin ein König. Ich bin dazu geboren und in die Welt kommen, daß ich die Wahrheit zeugen soll. Wer aus der Wahrheit ist, der höret meine Stimme.

Jesus

You say it, I am a king. For this I was born and came into the world, so that I should testify to the truth. Anyone who is of the truth, hears my voice.

Evangelista

Spricht Pilatus zu ihm:

Evangelist

Pilate said to him:

Pilatus

Was ist Wahrheit?

Pilate

What is truth?

Evangelista

Und da er das gesaget, ging er wieder hinaus zu den Juden und spricht zu ihnen:

Evangelist

And when he said this, he went back out to the Jews and said to them:

Pilatus

Ich finde keine Schuld an ihm. Ihr habt aber eine Gewohnheit, daß ich euch einen losgebe; wollt ihr nun, daß ich euch der Juden König losgebe?

Pilate

I find no fault in him. But you have a custom, that I release one prisoner to you; do you wish then that I should release to you the King of the Jews?

Evangelista

Da schrieen sie wieder allesamt und sprachen:

Evangelist

They all cried out together and said:

18b. Chor

Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam!

18b. Chorus

Not this man, but Barrabas!

18c. Rezitativ Evangelista

Barrabas aber war ein Mörder. Da nahm Pilatus Jesum und geißelte ihn.

18c. Recitative Evangelist

Now Barrabas was a murderer. Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him.

19. Arioso (Bass) Soloist: Lawrence White

Betrachte, meine Seel, mit ängstlichem Vergnügen, mit bittrer Lust und halb beklemmtem Herzen,dein höchstes Gut in Jesu Schmerzen,

wie dir aus Dornen, so ihn stechen,die Himmelsschlüsselblumen blühen;Du kannst viel süße Frucht von seiner Wermut brechen,drum sieh ohn Unterlaß auf ihn.

19. Arioso (Bass)

Consider, my soul, with anxious delight,

with bitter pleasure and a heart partly oppressed,that your highest good depends on Jesus’ sorrow,how for you from the thorns that pierce himheavenly flowers blossom!You can gather so much sweet fruit from his wormwood,therefore look unceasingly towards him!

20. Arie (Tenor) Soloist: Paul Bentley-Angell

Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rükkenin allen Stükkendem Himmel gleiche geht.

Daran, nachdem die Wasserwogenvon unsrer Sündflut sich verzogen,der allerschönste Regenbogenals Gottes Gnadenzeichen steht!

20. Aria (Tenor)

Ponder well how his back bloodstainedall over is like the sky.

Where, after the delugefrom our flood of sins has abated,there appears the most beautiful rainbowas a sign of God’s mercy!

21a. Rezitativ Evangelista

Und die Kriegsknechte flochten eine Krone von Dornen und satzten sie auf sein Haupt und legten ihm ein Purpurkleid an und sprachen:

21a. Recitative Evangelist

And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and placed it on his head and put a purple robe on him and said:

21b. Chor

Sei gegrüßet, lieber Judenkönig?

21b. Chorus

Hail to you, King of the Jews!

21c. Rezitativ Evangelista

Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche. Da ging Pilatus wieder heraus und sprach zu ihnen:

21c. Recitative Evangelist

And they gave him blows with their hands. Then Pilate came out again and said to them:

Pilatus

Sehet, ich führe ihn heraus zu euch, daß ihr erkennet, daß ich keine Schuld an ihm finde.

Pilate

Look, I bring him out to you so that you can know that I find no fault in him.

Evangelista

Also ging Jesus heraus und trug eine Dornenkrone und Purpurkleid. Und er sprach zu ihnen:

Evangelist

And so Jesus came out and wore a crown of thorns and a purple robe. And he said to them:

Pilatus

Sehet, welch ein Mensch!

Pilate

Look, this is the man!

Evangelista

Da ihn die Hohenpriester und die Diener sahen, schrieen sie und sprachen:

Evangelist

When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out and said:

21d. Chor

Kreuzige, kreuzige!

21d. Chorus

Crucify him, crucify him!

21e. Rezitativ Evangelista

Pilatus sprach zu ihnen:

21e. Recitative Evangelist

Pilate said to them:

Pilatus

Nehmet ihr ihn hin und kreuziget ihn; denn ich finde keine Schuld an ihm!

Pilate

Take him and crucify him; for I find no fault in him!

Evangelista

Die Juden antworteten ihm:

Evangelist

The Jews answered him:

21f. Chor

Wir haben ein Gesetz, und nach dem Gesetz soll er sterben; denn er hat sich selbst zu Gottes Sohn gemacht.

21f. Chorus

We have a law and according to the law he should die because he made himself the son of God.

21g. Rezitativ Evangelista

Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, fürchtet’er sich noch mehr und ging wieder hinein in das Richthaus und spricht zu Jesu:

21g. Recitative Evangelist

When Pilate heard what they said, he was even more afraid and went back to the hall of judgment and said to Jesus:

Pilatus

Von wannen bist du?

Pilate

Where do you come from?

Evangelista

Aber Jesus gab ihm keine Antwort. Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm:

Evangelist

But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him:

Pilatus

Redest du nicht mit mir? Weißest du nicht, daß ich Macht habe, dich zu kreuzigen, und Macht habe, dich loszugeben?

Pilate

You won’t speak to me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you, and I have the power to set you free?

Evangelista

Jesus antwortete:

Evangelist

Jesus replied:

Jesus

Du hättest keine Macht über mich, wenn sie dir nicht wäre von oben herab gegeben; darum, der mich dir überantwortet hat, der hat’s größre Sünde.

Jesus

You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.

Evangelista

Von dem an trachtete Pilatus, wie er ihn losließe.

Evangelist

And from then on Pilate endeavoured to set him free.

22. Choral

Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn,muß uns die Freiheit kommen;Dein Kerker ist der Gnadenthron,die Freistatt aller Frommen;Denn gingst du nicht die Knechtschaft ein,müßt unsre Knechtschaft ewig sein.

22. Chorale

Through your imprisonment, Son of God,must our freedom come;Your prison is the throne of grace,the refuge of all believers;If you had not accepted slavery,our slavery would have been eternal.

23a. Rezitativ Evangelista

Die Juden aber schrieen und sprachen:

23a. Recitative Evangelist

But the Jews cried out and said:

23b. Chor

Lässest du diesen los, so bist du des Kaisers Freund nicht, denn wer sich zum Könige machet, der ist wider den Kaiser.

23b. Chorus

If you release this man, then you are not Caesar’s friend; for anyone who makes himself King is against Caesar.

23c. Rezitativ Evangelista

Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, führete er Jesum heraus, und satzte sich auf den Richtstuhl, an der Stätte, die da heißet; Hochpflaster, auf hebräisch aber: Gabbatha. Es war aber der Rüsttag in Ostern um die sechste Stunde, und er spricht zu den Juden:

23c. Recitative Evangelist

When Pilate heard what they said, he led Jesus out and sat in the judgment seat at the place which is called the Pavement,or in Hebrew: Gabbatha. It was the day of preparation for the passover, about the sixth hour, and he said to the Jews:

Pilatus

Sehet, das ist euer König!

Pilate

Look, this is your King!

Evangelista

Sie schrieen aber:

Evangelist

But they cried out:

23d. Chor

Weg, weg mit dem, kreuzige ihn!

23d. Chorus

Away with him, away with him, crucify him!

23e. Rezitativ Evangelista

Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen:

23e. Recitative Evangelist

Pilate said to them:

Pilatus

Soll ich euren König kreuzigen?

Pilate

Shall I crucify your King?

Evangelist

Die Hohenpriester antworteten:

Evangelist

The chief priests answered:

23f. Chor

Wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser.

23f. Chorus

We have no king but Caesar.

23g. Rezitativ Evangelista

Da überantwortete er ihn, daß er gekreuziget würde. Sie nahmen aber Jesum und führeten ihn hin. Und er trug sein Kreuz und ging hinaus zur Stätte, die da heißet Schädelstätt, welche heißet auf hebräisch: Golgatha.

23g. Recitative Evangelist

Then he handed him over to be crucified. They took Jesus and led him away. And he carried his cross and went to the place which is called the place of the skull, that is in Hebrew: Golgatha

24. Arie (Bass) mit Chor Soloist: Thomas Lowen

Eilt, ihn angefochtnen Seelen,geht aus euren Marterhöhlen,eilt – Wohin? – nach Golgatha!

Nehmet an des Glaubens Flügel,flieht – Wohin? – zum Kreuzeshügel,eure Wohlfahrt blüht allda!

24. Aria (Bass) with Chorus

Hurry, you tormented souls,leave your dens of torment,hurry – Where to? –to Golgotha!

Take the wings of faith,fly – Where to? – to the hill of the cross,there your salvation flourishes!

25a. Rezitativ Evangelista

Allda kreuzigten sie ihn, und ihm zween andere zu beiden Seiten, Jesum aber mitten inne. Pilatus aber schrieb eine Überschrift und satzte sie auf das Kreuz, und war geschrieben: «Jesus von Nazareth, der Juden König». Diese Überschrift lasen viel Juden, denn die Stätte war nahe bei der Stadt, da Jesus gekreuziget ist. Und es war geschrieben auf hebräische, griechische und lateinische Sprache.Da sprachen die Hohenpriester der Juden zu Pilato:

25a. Recitative Evangelist

There they crucified him and with him two others,one on either side with Jesus the middle.And Pilate wrote a title and placed it on the cross, and there was written: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. Many Jews read this title for the place was near the city where Jesus was crucified. And it was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin.

Then the chief priests said to Pilate:

25b. Chor

Schreibe nicht: der Juden König, sondern daß er gesaget habe: Ich bin der Juden König.

25b. Chorus

Do not write: the King of the Jews, but that he said: I am the King of the Jews.

25c. Rezitativ Evangelista

Pilatus antwortet:

25c. Recitative Evangelist

Pilate replied:

Pilatus

Was ich geschrieben habe, das habe ich geschrieben.

Pilate

What I have written, I have written.

26. Choral

In meines Herzens Grunde,dein Nam und Kreuz alleinfunkelt all Zeit und Stunde,drauf kann ich fröhlich sein.Erschein mir in dem Bildezu Trost in meiner Not,wie du, Herr Christ, so milde,dich hast geblut’ zu Tod!

26. Chorale

In the depths of my heartyour name and cross aloneshine at every momentmaking me able to rejoice.Let me see the image to console me in my distressof how you, Lord Christ, so patiently shed your blood in death!

Tod Jesu The Death of Jesus

27a. Rezitativ Evangelista

Die Kriegsknechte aber, da sie Jesum gekreuziget hatten, nahem seine Kleider und machten vier Teile, einem jeglichen Kriegesknechte sein Teil, dazu auch den Rock. Der Rock aber war ungenähet, von oben an gewürket durch und durch. Da sprachen sie untereinander:

27a. Recitative Evangelist

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his clothes and made four parts, a part to each soldier,there was also his coat. His coat was seamless, woven from the top throughout. They said to each other:

27b. Chor

Lasset uns nicht zerteilen, sondern darum losen, wess‘ er sein soll.

27b. Chorus

Let us not tear it, but cast lots whose it should be.

27c. Rezitativ Evangelista

Auf daß erfüllet würde die Schrift, die da saget: Sie haben meine Kleider unter sich geteilet und haben über meinen Rock das Los geworfen. Solches taten die Kriegesknechte. Es stund aber bei dem Kreuze Jesu seine Mutter und seiner Mutter Schwester, Maria, Kleophas Weib, und Maria Magdalena. Da nun Jesus seine Mutter sahe und den Jünger dabei stehen, den er lieb hatte, spricht er zu seiner Mutter:

27c. Recitative Evangelist

In this way the Scripture was fulfilled, where it is said: they have divided my clothing among them and they have cast lots for my coat,this is what the soldiers did. There stood by Jesus’s cross his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary, wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his motherand the disciple that he loved standing next to her, he said to his mother:

Jesus

Weib, siehe, das ist dein Sohn!

Jesus

Woman, look, this is your son!

Evangelista

Darnach spricht er zu dem Jünger:

Evangelist

Then he said to the disciple:

Jesus

Siehe, das ist deine Mutter!

Jesus

Look, this is your mother!

28. Choral

Er nahm alles wohl in achtin der letzten Stunde,seine Mutter noch bedacht,setzt ihr ein’ Vormunde.O Mensch, mache Richtigkeit,Gott und Menschen liebe,stirb darauf ohn alles Leid,und dich nicht betrübe!

28. Chorale

He thought carefully of everythingin his last hour,He was concerned for his mother,chose someone to look after her.O man, act justly,love God and mankind,then you can die without sorrowand need not grieve!

29. Rezitativ Evangelista

Und von Stund an nahm sie der Jünger zu sich. Darnach, als Jesus wußte, daß schon alles vollbracht war, daß die Schrift erfüllet würde, spricht er:

29. Recitative Evangelist

And from that hour the disciple took her to himself. Then as Jesus knew that all had been accomplished so the scripture might be fulfilled, he said:

Jesus

Mich dürstet!

Jesus

I thirst!

Evangelist

Da stund ein Gefäße voll Essigs. Sie fülleten aber einen Schwamm mit Essig und legten ihn um einen Isopen und hielten es ihm dar zum Munde. Da nun Jesus den Essig genommen hatte, sprach er:

Evangelist

There was a jar of vinegar. They filled a sponge with vinegar and put it on an hyssop and held it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said:

Jesus

Es ist vollbracht!

Jesus

It is accomplished!

30. Arie (Alt) Soloist: Martha McLorinan

Es ist vollbracht!O Trost vor die gekränkten Seelen!Die Trauernachtläβt nun die letzte Stunde zählen.Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Machtund schlieβt den Kampf.Es ist vollbracht!

30. Aria (Alto)

It is accomplished!What comfort for all suffering souls!The night of sorrownow reaches its final hours.The hero from Judah triumphs in his mightand brings the strife to an end.It is accomplished!

31. Rezitativ Evangelista

Und neiget das Haupt und verschied.

31. Recitative Evangelist

And he bowed his head and passed away.

32. Arie (Bass) mit Choral Soloist: Lawrence White

Bass

Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragenda du nunmehr ans Kreuz geschlagenund selbst gesaget: Es ist vollbracht,bin ich vom Sterben frei gemacht?Kann ich durch deine Pein und Sterbendas Himmelreich ererben?Ist aller Welt Erlösung da?Du kannst vor Schmerzen zwar nichts sagen,doch neigest du das Hauptund sprichst stillschweigend: ja.

32. Aria (Bass) and Chorale

Bass

My beloved Saviour, let me ask you,since you have now been nailed to the crossand you yourself have said: It is accomplished,have I been set free from death?Through your pain and death can Iinherit the kingdom of heaven?Is this the redemption of the whole world?You can indeed not speak for anguish;But you bow your headand silently say: yes.

Chor

Jesu, der du warest tot,lebest nun ohn Ende,In der letzten Todesnot,nirgend mich hinwendeals zu dir, der mich versühnt,O du lieber Herre!Gib mir nur, was du verdient,mehr ich nicht begehre!

Chorus

Jesus, you were dead,and now live for ever,in my final agony of death,may I turn nowhere elsebut to you, who have redeemed me,O my dear Lord!Give me only what you have won,for more I could not wish!

Grablegung Burial

33. Rezitativ Evangelista

Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Temple zerriß in zwei Stück von oben an bis unten aus. Und die Erde erbebete, und die Felsen zerrissen, und die Gräber täten sich auf, und stunden auf viel Leiber der Heiligen.

33. Recitative Evangelist

And see, the curtain in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks split and the graves opened, and many bodies of saints stood up.

34. Arioso (Tenor) Soloist: Paul Bentley-Angell

Mein Herz, indem die ganze Weltbei Jesu Leiden gleichfalls leidet,die Sonne sich in Trauer kleidet,der Vorhang reißt, der Fels zerfällt,die Erde bebt, die Gräber spalten,weil sie den Schöpfer sehn erkalten,

was willt du deines Ortes tun?

34. Arioso (Tenor)

My heart, while the whole worldsuffers as Jesus suffers,the sun is clothed in mourning,the veil is torn, the rocks split,the earth quakes, graves gape open,because they behold the creator grow cold in death, for your part, what will you do?

35. Arie (Sopran) Soloist: Margaret Lingas

Zerfließe, mein Herze, in Fluten der Zährendem Höchsten zu Ehren.Erzähle der Welt und dem Himmel die Not:Dein Jesus ist tot!

35. Aria (Soprano)

Dissolve, my heart, in floods of tearsyou honour the Almighty!Tell the world and heaven your distress:Your Jesus is dead!

36. Rezitativ Evangelista

Die Juden aber, dieweil es der Rüsttag war, daß nicht die Leichname am Kreuze blieben den Sabbath über (denn desselbigen Sabbaths Tag war sehr groß), baten sie Pilatum, daß ihre Beine gebrochen und sie abgenommen würden. Da kamen die Kriegsknechte und brachen dem ersten die Beine und dem andern, der mit ihm gekreuziget war. Als sie aber zu Jesu kamen, da sie sahen, daß er schon gestorben war, brachen sie ihm die Beine nicht; sondern der Kriegsknechte einer eröffnete seine Seite mit einem Speer, und alsobald ging Blut und Wasser heraus. Und der das gesehen hat, der hat es bezeuget, und sein Zeugnis ist wahr, und derselbige weiß, daß er die Wahrheit saget, auf daß ihr gläubet. Denn solches ist geschehen, auf daß die Schrift erfüllet würde: «Ihr sollet ihm kein Bein zerbrechen». Und abermal spricht eine andere Schrift: «Sie werden sehen, in welchen sie gestochen haben».

36. Recitative Evangelist

But the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the corpses should not remain on the cross over the sabbath, (for the sabbath day was very solemn) asked Pilate that their legs should be broken and they should be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and the other who were crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and they did not break his legs;but one of the soldiers opened his side with a spear and at once blood and water came out,and the one who saw it has testified this, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he speaks the truth so that you may believe.This happened so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “You shall break none of his bones”. And elsewhere another scripture says: “They will look on him whom they have pierced”.

37. Choral

O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn,durch dein bitter Leiden,daß wir dir stets untertanall Untugend meiden,deinen Tod und sein Ursachfruchtbarlich bedenken,dafür, wiewohl arm und schwach,

dir Dankopfer schenken.

37. Chorale

Oh help us, Christ, God’s son,through your bitter suffering,so that always obedient to you we may shun all wrongdoing,and thinking of your death and its causewe may profit from our reflections,and in this way, however poor and inadequate it may be,give you an offering of thanks.

38. Rezitativ Evangelista

Darnach bat Pilatum Joseph von Arimathia, der ein Jünger Jesu war (doch heimlich, aus Furcht vor den Juden), daß er möchte abnehmen den Leichnam Jesu. Und Pilatus erlaubete es. Derowegen kam er und nahm den Leichnam Jesu herab. Es kam aber auch Nikodemus, der vormals bei der Nacht zu Jesu kommen war, und brachte Myrrhen und Aloen untereinander, bei hundert Pfunden. Da nahmen sie den Leichnam Jesu, und bunden ihn in leinen Tücher mit Spezereien, wie die Juden pflegen zu begraben. Es war aber an der Stätte, da er gekreuziget ward, ein Garte, und im Garten ein neu Grab, in welches niemand je geleget war. Daselbst hin legten sie Jesum, um des Rüsttags willen der Juden, dieweil das Grab nahe war.

38. Recitative Evangelist

Than Joseph of Arimathia,who was a disciple of Jesus,asked Pilate (but secretly from fear of the Jews) to let him take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate allowed him to do so. He came for this purpose and took the body of Jesus away. There came also Nicodemus,who had once come to Jesus by night and brought myrrh and aloes together, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen clothes with spices, as is the Jews’ custom for the burial. There was a garden by the place where he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had been laid. Here they laid Jesus because of the Jews’ preparation day, since the tomb was nearby.

39. Chor

Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine,die ich nun weiter nicht beweine,ruht wohl und bringt auch mich zur Ruh!

Das Grab, so euch bestimmet istund ferner keine Not umschließt macht mir den Himmel auf und schlieβt die Hölle zu.

39. Chorus

Rest in peace, you sacred limbs,I shall weep for you no more,rest in peace, and bring me also to rest.

The grave that is allotted to youand contains no further suffering,opens heaven for me and shuts off hell.

40. Choral

Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engeleinam lezten End die Seele meinin Abrahams Schoß tragen,den Leib in sein’m Schlafkämmerleingar sanft, ohn ein’ge Qual und Pein,ruhn bis am Jüngsten Tage!Alsdenn vom Tod erwekke mich,daß meine Augen sehen dichin aller Freud,o Gottes Sohn,mein Heiland und Genadenthron!Herr Jesu Christ, erhöre mich,ich will dich preisen ewiglich!

40. Chorale

Ah Lord, let your dear angelsat my final hour carry my soulto Abraham’s bosom,while my body in its narrow chambergently without pain or tormentrests until the last day.Wake me then from death,so that my eyes see youin all joy, O God’s son,my Saviour and throne of mercyLord Jesus Christ, hear me,I shall praise you eternally!

Motet - Ecce quomodo moritur justus Jacob Handl (1550-1591)

Ecce quomodo moritur justus et nemo percipit corde.Viri justi tolluntur, et nemo considerat,a facie iniquitatis.Sublatus est justus, et erit in pace memoria eius.

In pace factus est locus ejus,et in Sion habitatio ejus,et erit in pace memoria ejus.

Behold how the righteous man dies,and no-one lays it to heart.The righteous are taken away, and no-one ponders it,because of their wickedness.The righteous man is raised up, and the remembrance of him shall be in peace.In peace is a place made for him,and in Sion a habitation,and the remembrance of him shall be in peace.

Organ Bach Chorale Prelude, Nun danket alle Gott BWV 657

All sing Now thank we all our God

°

¢

°

¢

°

¢

°

¢

1.Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voi ces,-

Who won drous- things has done, in whom this world re joi- ces;-

Who from our mo thers'- arms has blessed us on our way

With count less- gifts of love, and still is ours to day.-

&#

Martin Rinkart ca. 1636trans. Catherine Winkworth 1858

[Nun danket alle Gott]

J. Crüger.from Gottfried Vopelius Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch 1682

Now thank we all our God

?#

&#

?#

&# #

?#

&#

2. O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,With ever joyful hearts and blessèd peace to cheer us;And keep us in his grace, and guide us when perplexed;And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

  3. All praise and thanks to God the father now be given;

The son and him who reigns with them in highest heaven;The one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore;For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

?#

œœ œœ œœœœ

œœ ˙̇ Œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙̇ œœ

œœ œœ œœ œœ

œœ ˙̇

Œœœ œ

œ

œ

œœœ

œœ ˙̇

œœ

œœ œœ œœœœ

œœ ˙̇ Œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙̇ œœ

œœ œœ œœ œœ

œœ ˙̇

Œœœ œ

œ

œ

œœœ

œœ ˙̇

œœ

œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙̇ Œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ

˙˙ Œ

œœ

œœ

œœ œœ œœ ˙

˙Œ œ

œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙̇ Œ

œœœœ œœ œœ œœ ˙̇ Œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ ™˙ ™

œœ œœ

œœ

œœ

œ

œ˙˙

Œ œ

œœœ

œœ œ

œœœ ˙ ™

˙ ™

Ex CathedraFounded 50 years ago by Jeffrey Skidmore, Ex Cathedra has become a unique musical resource - a specialist chamber choir, vocal Consort, period- instrument orchestra and a thriving education programme - aiming to explore, research and commission the finest choral music and to set the highest standards for excellence in performance and training.

We are known for our passion for seeking out the best, the unfamiliar and the unexpected in the choral repertoire, and for giving high quality performances underpinned by

detailed research.

We present a series of concerts in Birmingham, where we are an Associate Artist at Town Hall & Symphony Hall, across the Midlands, and in London. We also enjoy invitations to appear at festivals and concert series across the UK and as far afield as Tel Aviv and New York.

Ex Cathedra has made a significant number of award-winning recordings for Hyperion, NMC, Orchid Classics, SOMM, Signum, and on our own label. The most recent release is a CD of choral music by Penelope Thwaites titled From Five Continents, released in spring 2020.

Our extensive programme of award-winning schools and community projects is led by a team of expert Vocal Tutors, who are all members of Ex Cathedra. Singing Playgrounds has reached over 1,000 primary schools across the UK and also schools in Belgium, China, New Zealand, Singapore, Uganda and Thailand. Arts in Health projects include Singing Medicine which takes place every week on every ward at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Singing Pathways which brings wellbeing and communication benefits to adults who have had a stroke or who have dementia.

Nurturing talent is at the heart of our work, and our Academy of Vocal Music provides a choral training pathway for children and young people aged 4-18. Our choral Scholarships programme provides a year-long scheme for recent graduates as they establish their professional singing career, and Student Scholarships provide opportunities for singers studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Throughout 2020, Hilary Campbell is working very closely with Ex Cathedra and Jeffrey as our current Associate Conductor.

www.excathedra.co.uk www.facebook.com/excathedra www.twitter.com/excathedrachoir

From the throne

We are often asked about our name. ‘Cathedra’ is the name for a bishop’s throne, and a cathedral is the building that houses that throne. When Jeffrey Skidmore and one of the founding members of the choir were choosing a name for the new group in 1969, they chose Ex Cathedra because it literally means ‘from the throne’ or in English usage ‘with authority’. At the time, Jeffrey and several members of the choir sang at Birmingham Cathedral. The pun was attractive, and researching the repertoire so that it can be performed with authority, style and passion has been a guiding principle since those first performances.

Jeffrey SkidmoreJeffrey Skidmore’s reputation as one of the UK’s leading choral directors and an ardent advocate of the importance of singing in people’s lives today is rooted in his work with Ex Cathedra, the ensemble he founded 50 years ago in his home city of Birmingham.

Jeffrey’s driving passion has been to refresh and reinvigorate the choral repertoire and to make it accessible to as many people as possible. He and Ex Cathedra have long been known for exciting and innovative but always attractive programming, underpinned by research. Under his direction, Ex Cathedra has also shown an enduring commitment to vocal education from its ground-breaking children’s singing

programme, Singing Playgrounds, to the nurturing of professional singers at the start of their careers.

As director of Ex Cathedra and its associated Consort and Baroque Orchestra, Jeffrey has appeared in concert halls and festivals across the UK and overseas. He has made a number of highly-acclaimed recordings ranging from Renaissance polyphony to Latin American and French Baroque. He has also worked with other ensembles including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Aalborg Sinfoniorkester, the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the BBC Singers.

In the field of opera he has worked with Birmingham Opera Company; Welsh National Opera; Marc Minkowski and David McVicker at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; and has given the first performances in modern times of the French Baroque operas Zaïde by Royer and Isis by Lully. Jeffrey is a pioneer in the field of research and performance of choral works of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, both in the old and new worlds. He is also a champion of contemporary choral music and has commissioned more than a dozen new works in recent years.

Jeffrey is a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham and Artistic Director of the Early Music programme at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He is a regular contributor to the choral programme at Dartington International Summer School and to a wide range of choral workshops and summer schools at home and abroad.

Jeffrey has been recognised with an OBE for services to choral music, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Birmingham.

For more information click here.

PHO

TOG

RAPH

BY

NEI

L PU

GH

Be an Angel! Your support is vital in helping us achieve our charitable mission to share great choral music with as many people as possible.

A special message from Jeffrey Skidmore:

We believe everyone should have the opportunity to access extraordinary choral music and feel the wonderful benefits of singing, which is why we share our love of singing with as many people as possible through concerts, new commissions, recordings, training choirs for young singers, Scholarships, and community projects that reach 90,000 children and adults every year.

You may not realise that ticket sales only contribute around 20% of our income each year, with a further 10% coming from public funding. This means we need to raise over 70% of our income every year to sustain our programme of work.

As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we are as ambitious as ever to deliver outstanding performances and participatory opportunities, but we need your help. I should be delighted and enormously grateful if you would consider supporting Ex Cathedra by becoming a valued member of our supporter programme - be an Angel and give the gift of singing today. Thank you.

How to join our Host of Angels Be an Angel from £75 per person per year.Be a Guardian Angel from £250 per person per year.Be an Archangel from £650 per person per year.Be a Throne from £1,500 per year. Be a Seraphim for donations of £3,000 or above.

We would like to thank you by offering the following benefits:

• your name in concert programmes and on our website (you can opt to be anonymous) • invitations to open rehearsals• invitations to other special events including our Annual Dinner

It’s very easy to become an Angel. Just click:

where you can make a single or regular donation via the Charities Aid Foundation. Or you can contact Julie Watson, Grants and Giving Manager, at julie@excathedra.co.uk.

Ex Cathedra is a registered charity (no.1004086); if you are a UK taxpayer and Gift Aid your donation, every £1 you give will be worth £1.25 to us.

The rich diversity of Ex Cathedra’s work would simply not be possible without the generous support of individuals such as our Angels.

Thank you.

DONATE

Give the gift of singing

Becoming an Ex Cathedra Angel makes a lovely gift for someone special. We would be delighted to arrange for a personalised welcome pack to be sent to you, to offer as a present. Alternatively, we can send a pack directly on your behalf.

We would like to thank all of our Angels:

SeraphimRoger & Alison BlearsGraham & Vivien MackenzieDr WH & Mrs Jill RobinsonJohn SawkillJanet & Jeffrey Skidmore

ThronesGMC TrustRichard ArmitageGS & JL Brown FundFlorence Bullough, in memory of Chris BulloughBob & Sandy MarchantAndy & Rachael Richardson

Archangels4 Anonymous ArchangelsGeoffrey & Margaret BattenMichael & Helen BawsIsabel Churcher and Peter WhiteDonald HamiltonMargaret HeathfieldAmy & Adam MacleanAlison Perrier-BurgessMrs Katy RamiMr Matthew ReeveIan RichardsMr P ScurlockJeremy StokePhyllida StokeRoger & Jan Thornhill, in memory of their daughter AnnaStephen Tilsley & Vivien ThickettPeter Trethewey

Guardian Angels3 Anonymous Guardian Angels

Jane ArthurRobert AsherKiaran AsthanaPeter & Kathy BaldwinBridget BlowJan ChambersAlan CotgreaveDavid FosterMr & Mrs Nick FriendPip GardenerBill GoodBarry Gregson-AllcottRoger GuestJulia HardieJohn Hemming and Emily CoxMr Kenneth HoffmanHelen HoggarthMr Brian KingMrs Helen KingPhil & Rebecca LedgardPauline LoweBob & Shirley MackinnonSilvia & Colm MaguirePatrick & Tricia McDermottHugh McMichaelJohn OsbornProfessor John PymmS/PG RandonSusan ScottMr Arnold SteedsLyn StephensonJane & Phil TaylorJohn TeshEd TretheweyPaula WhitehouseMiss Alethea Wilson

Angels16 Anonymous AngelsSarah AbbissC M AbbottMrs Maxine AdamsElizabeth Al-Khalifa

Margaret AndersonRevd Elizabeth AngellPaul & Helen ArthurMarianne AylingPeter Bailey & Rodney ClarkChristopher and Julia BarronJane BaxterPeter BaxterPeter BondMr James BradleyMr David BrindleyGemma BristowMr Paul CannPamela CarterBaz & Ula ChapmanSara ClymoRoger CopeDavid & Marlene CoppageAmanda CowanCelia CoxNed DouglasMarion DredgeJulia Fagan-KingMike FoxSylvia FoxMrs Fiona FysheDr Roger & Mrs Pam GadsbyMr Ted GadsbyMr William GeeAlan GeorgeJudith GibsonMr Richard GreenMr Mark GriffithsPaul & Anne HaleAndrew & Susan Hamilton-SmithMs Carol HindleyNeil HodgettsClaire HollocksJuliet IrwinTony JacksonWalter & Linda JenningsRoxanne & Simon Johnson

David & Ann JonesHoward & Jenny JonesSophie KernthalerGemma KingRoger LawrenceRebecca LloydAndrew MclintockValerie MalleyElizabeth MarcusPeter MarshSheila McGuirkRevd Carol MurrayIsobel NichollsRobert & Angela OrmeRos OswaldAndrew PayneCrystal PearcePatricia Poynton

Ian PrivettNiky RathboneMichael & Lesley RaynerMr Roger RivettAnne RousselPeter SargentShirley ScottMargaret ShukerDean SilversCynthia SlaterMyriam SmithAndrew StubbsDerek and Shân TaylorRoger TerryDr Kate ThatcherLiz TretheweySushil VeluJulie Watson

Ryszard and Krystyna WeberElisabeth WellingsLeonard K. WellingsLisa Mary WhiteMargaret WhitlockMartin & Sandy WhittleJeremy WildingMrs M R WillettsGary WilliamsStephen WiseHelen & Peter WoodallRichard T WorthDrs Richard & Rosie WynneJohn YarnallNorman YeowellPercy Young, remembered

For information on how we will use your data please see our Privacy Notice. If for any reason you are not happy with our fundraising practices, please see our Fundraising Complaints Policy.

Thank you Our programme of concerts and education projects is only possible because of funding received from a wide range of supporters. We would like to thank them all.

Public Funders

Corporate Patrons

AFH GroupBromsgrove SchoolKings High WarwickLloyds Bank Erdington Branch

NFU MutualQuintessaPlough and Harrow Hotel

Trusts & Foundations

ACT FoundationAlfred Haines Charitable TrustAlison Hillman Charitable TrustApril Trust

Arts Society BirminghamAspinwall Charitable TrustAustin & Hope Pilkington TrustBarnard Chapter Rose Croix, No. 190 Baron Davenport’s CharityBHSF Medical Charity & Welfare TrustBirmingham District Nursing Charitable TrustCB & HH Taylor 1984 TrustContinuo FoundationD’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Derek Hill FoundationDMF Ellis Charitable TrustEdward & Dorothy Cadbury TrustEdward Cadbury TrustEdward Gostling Foundation Elmley Foundation Eranda Rothschild FoundationEveson Charitable TrustFenton Arts TrustFidelio Charitable TrustField Family Charitable TrustFroebel TrustGarrick Charitable Trust George Fentham Birmingham CharityGeorge Perkins Charitable TrustGJW Turner Trust

Principal Education Sponsorwww.sandvik.com

Handelsbanken

Grimmitt TrustHelen Rachael Mackaness Charitable TrustThe Joseph Hopkins & Henry James Sayer CharityIdlewild TrustJohn Feeney Charitable TrustLeche Trust Lillie C Johnson Charitable TrustMasonic Charitable FoundationOak FoundationOld Royal Naval College Chapel FundPatrick TrustPhilip Bates TrustProvincial Grand Lodge of WarwickshireReynolds FoundationRichard Cadbury Charitable TrustRoughley Trust

Royal Opera House Benevolent FundS & D Lloyd CharitySaintbury TrustSir Jules Thorn Charitable TrustSouter Charitable Trust Sparkhill TrustSteel Charitable TrustThe Late Mrs Margaret Guido’s Charitable TrustThe National Lottery Community Fund The Radcliffe TrustThistle TrustVCT Charitable TrustWED Charitable TrustWestfield Health Charitable TrustWilliam A Cadbury Charitable Trust Youth Music

Artistic Director Jeffrey Skidmore OBEAssociate Conductor 2020 Hilary Campbell Research Assistant Dr Edward Caine

General Manager Peter TretheweyHead of Finance Roxanne JohnsonFinance and Administration Coordinator Paul Memmory Grants & Individual Giving Manager Julie WatsonConcerts Producer Myriam SmithDirector of Education Rebecca LedgardLearning and Participation Coordinator Gemma KingSchools Coordinator Hazel TyrrellSinging Playgrounds Project Leader Urszula Weber

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Peter Phillips (Chair)John Clemson MBE Sophie KernthalerJoy Krishnamoorthy

Phil LedgardProfessor John PymmJill RobinsonPaula Whitehouse

Young Person Representative Rosy HeneghanCompany Secretary Alison Perrier Burgess

Ex Cathedra, CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham B1 2LF T: 0121 616 3410 www.excathedra.co.uk | www.facebook.com/excathedra | www.twitter.com/excathedrachoir

Ex Cathedra is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no 2396173, and is a registered charity no 1004086.