As Advent slips into Christmas, it is the time above all others when the nation’s choral forces step into a spotlight. And often as not, they are turning out Messiahs by the dozen in London during the next few weeks, though one to aim for is the performance by Polyphony with the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra at St John’s Smith Square on 23 December. A dream team in action.
But that said, no one does the standard choral formula of carols, anthems, and readings better than the Birmingham-based Ex Cathedra, who like to spice the mix with seasonal numbers from South America, giving their conductor Jeffrey Skidmore the chance to march up and down with a drum, but otherwise combine crisp professionalism with warm-blooded humanity that not all professional ensembles manage.
