Watch-at-Home Tickets for National & International Viewers

Dear Friends far and wide,
 
Wherever you live, from Stockholm to San Francisco to Singapore, if you’ve enjoyed our YouTube videos then you’ll want to be a part of our Worldwide Watch-at-Home series.
 
Music brings us together, across the mountains and across the oceans. Music helps us tap into our shared roots as fellow citizens of this planet.
 
We look forward to seeing you, wherever you live!
 
Best wishes from Cleveland,
Jeannette Sorrell

2023-2024 Season

In 2023-24, the Watch-at-Home series is offered for 3 of our new concert programs, plus the reprise of “Handel’s Israel in Egypt” in October. Video tickets are $20, or subscribe to the Watch-at-Home series (3 or 4 concert-videos) and save money! NOTE: If you are purchasing an in-person concert ticket for these programs, you will receive the video link for free – the video is complementary with your in-person ticket.

The private video link will be sent approximately 3 weeks after the final in-person performance of the program. Watch the video anytime for 30 days, as often as you want.

SUBSCRIPTIONS & SINGLE TICKETS are now available online & by phone (800.314.2535 x 1).

SUBSCRIBE and SAVE

  • 3 Concert-Videos$60 $52 (save 12%)
  • 4 Concert-Videos$80 $68 (save 15%)

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Scroll down for available videos from previous seasons

Program #1: ISRAEL in EGYPT
A Dramatic Oratorio

Adaptation by J. Sorrell

NOW AVAILABLE! *This is a re-release of the 2022 performance.

Premiered in 2017, Jeannette Sorrell’s new adaption of Handel’s neglected oratorio has won rave reviews. In addition to being a colorful showpiece for the virtuoso players and chorus of Apollo’s Fire, the work is a gripping emotional journey – from plagues and pyramids to the crossing of the Red Sea… The Israelites’ daring escape from Egypt comes to life with reverence and triumph through Handel’s sumptuous music.

“Presented with a sense of theatre as Handel intended… scintillating and superb.”
—CLEVELANDCLASSICAL.COM

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Program #2: SPLENDOUR IN LONDON
Handel’s Water Music and Other Royal Festivities

Purcell and Handel gave artistic voice to the British royal family’s most festive and poignant moments. From Handel’s Water Music, written for a royal boating party, to lively excerpts from Purcell’s King Arthur, to the heartbreakingly beautiful Funeral Music for Queen Mary, Jeannette Sorrell leads the acclaimed Apollo’s Singers with a sumptuous orchestra worthy of Buckingham Palace.

NOW AVAILABLE!

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Program #3: WASSAIL!
An Irish-Appalachian Christmas

Christmas night in Ireland, 1849: Families and friends gather for singing, storytelling, plenty of wassail, and tearful farewells – as many of them prepare to depart for America the next day.

This heartwarming program from Jeannette Sorrell follows the hopes and fears of the Irish who bravely crossed the Atlantic, bringing their music with them. Irish singer Fiona Gillespie joins with fiddlers, medieval harp, hammered dulcimer, and bagpipes in this communal celebration of the American immigrant experience – welcoming Christmas with LOVE, SINGING, DANCING and PRAYER.

NOW AVAILABLE!

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Program #4: ¡HISPANIA!
A Voyage from Spain to the Americas

In this vibrant musical journey from 16th-century Spain to baroque Latin America, music of Spanish composers Diego Ortiz, Gaspar Sanz, and Santiago de Murcia blends virtuosity with lively dance rhythms. Sephardic ballads from the Jewish Quarter of Seville celebrate love and life. Crossing the Atlantic, we encounter a joyful mix of Hispanic and Caribbean influences. Internationally-acclaimed Puerto Rican soprano Sophia Burgos joins friends on strings, harp, guitars, and percussion.

Premieres April 19

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Videos from the 2022-23 Season – Sparks of Joy in a Fragmented World

These 4 concert-videos are available now. Watch anytime for 30 days from date of purchase.

MONTEVERDI Vespers of 1610

The exoticism of the East and the structure of the West. They met in Venice in 1610 – and the splendor resounded. Jeannette Sorrell leads chorus, strings, brass, lutes, and soloists in Monteverdi’s sumptuous masterpiece.

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Handel’s MESSIAH

Sonya Headlam & Erica Schuller, soprano
Amanda Crider, mezzo-soprano
Steven Caldicott Wilson, tenor
Edward Vogel, baritone

Sound the trumpet! Jeannette Sorrell, soloists, and chorus bring their nationally acclaimed interpretation of Messiah back home to Northeast Ohio. The singers become musical storytellers, bringing spirituality and theatricality to Handel’s richly layered masterpiece.

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Vivaldi’s FOUR SEASONS rediscovered

*This is a re-release of the November 2021 concert video of this program, with the same soloist, Francisco Fullana.

Francisco Fullana, violin – Four Seasons
Alan Choo & Emi Tanabe, violin – La Folia
René Schiffer & Sarah Stone, cello – Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto

Not your mother’s Four Seasons…. Jeannette Sorrell and Francisco Fullana become musical storytellers – celebrating along with the 18th-century Italian peasants, whose joys and sorrows Vivaldi described so vividly. Dueling cellists evoke Vivaldi’s rock-n’-roll personality in the stormy Concerto for Two Cellos. The party ends in exuberant madness when the group whips up Vivaldi’s La Folia (“Madness”).

“Sorrell’s vivid approach makes these familiar works seem freshly minted, full of astonishing incident. Exhilarating… the tension exploded in the final squall.”
– SEEN & HEARD INTERNATIONAL (UK)

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EXILE & RESILIENCE: Music of the Jewish & African Diasporas

Rent from their homes and scattered across the earth, exiled peoples have often found strength and resilience in their music. This new program from Jeannette Sorrell begins where “O Jerusalem!” ended – celebrating the interwoven connections of the Sephardic, Ashkenazy, Palestinian, and African traditions.

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Videos from the 2021-22 Season – A Journey of Discovery

These 5 concert-videos are available now. Watch anytime for 30 days from date of purchase.

Vivaldi’s FOUR SEASONS rediscovered

Francisco Fullana, violin – Four Seasons
Alan Choo & Emi Tanabe, violin – La Folia
René Schiffer & Sarah Stone, cello – Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto

Apollo’s Fire launches the 30th Anniversary Season with a splash! Not your mother’s Four Seasons…. Jeannette Sorrell and Francisco Fullana become musical storytellers – celebrating along with the 18th-century Italian peasants, whose joys and sorrows Vivaldi described so vividly. Dueling cellists evoke Vivaldi’s rock-n’-roll personality in the stormy Concerto for Two Cellos. The party ends in exuberant madness when the group whips up Vivaldi’s La Folia (“Madness”).

“Sorrell’s vivid approach makes these familiar works seem freshly minted, full of astonishing incident. Exhilarating… the tension exploded in the final squall.”
– SEEN & HEARD INTERNATIONAL (UK)

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Supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts

with additional support from Glenmede

Special thanks to Compact Disc Sponsor: Mr. Robert Conrad


ISRAEL in EGYPT
A Dramatic Oratorio

Adaptation by J. Sorrell

Premiered in 2017, Jeannette Sorrell’s new adaption of Handel’s neglected oratorio has won rave reviews. In addition to being a colorful showpiece for the virtuoso players and chorus of Apollo’s Fire, the work is a gripping emotional journey – from plagues and pyramids to the crossing of the Red Sea… The Israelites’ daring escape from Egypt comes to life with reverence and triumph through Handel’s sumptuous music.

“Presented with a sense of theatre as Handel intended… scintillating and superb.”
—CLEVELANDCLASSICAL.COM

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Made possible with support from
KAREN & RICHARD SPECTOR
and
ROBERT A. & JUDITH M. WEISS
CD Recording Sponsors


VIRTUOSO BACH & VIVALDI

Apollo’s Fire and Jeannette Sorrell set sparks flying in this program that heads to Carnegie Hall following local performances. In Vivaldi’s fiery Concerto for Two Cellos, cellists René Schiffer and Mimé Brinkmann show why AF thinks of Vivaldi as the “rock-n-roll composer of the 18th century”. The program includes Bach’s beloved Brandenburg Concerto no. 3, selections from the Orchestral Suite no. 3 in D, and the Vivaldi Concerto in A Minor for Two Violins, featuring Olivier Brault and Alan Choo. On March 18 and 22, violinist Francisco Fullana joins the fun with Bach’s Violin Concerto in D Minor.

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MOZART and the Chevalier

Sonya Headlam, soprano
Francisco Fullana, violin

MOZART Don Giovanni Overture
BOLOGNE Suite from L’Amant anonyme
BOLOGNE Violin Concerto
MOZART Symphony no. 41, Jupiter

Two geniuses: one called Mozart, the son of a musician; the other called Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the son of an African slave and her white master. In the 18th century, both were revered. Bologne became a beloved violin soloist, composer, champion fencing master, and hero of the French Revolution. Hearing both composers side by side in glorious music, we ask why one was forgotten…?

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Supported in part by the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation

The National Endowment for the Arts

With additional support from Ann Fairhurst & Mark Cipra

Worldwide Watch-at-Home Video Sponsor: William P. Blair III


LIFT EVERY VOICE
A Celebration of Brotherhood & Sisterhood

Video release date: September 2022
Watch anytime for 30 days.

Jeannette Sorrell, conducting
Kristine Caswelch & Ashlee Foreman, sopranos
Reggie Mobley, countertenor
Jacob Perry, tenor
Jonathan Woody, bass
with AF instrumentalists and the Musettes Ensemble (youth chorus)

Back by popular demand! This uplifting program by Jeannette Sorrell premiered in May 2021 and now returns in an expanded version. Monteverdi’s beautiful Nigra Sum (I am Black & Beautiful) from the Vespers of 1610 meets a stunning 2019 composition of the same title by Black composer Jonathan Woody. Renowned countertenor Reggie Mobley shares tales of his childhood growing up Black (and beautiful) in the Deep South. A suite by Joseph Bologne (known as “The Black Mozart” in the 18th century) leads to Civil War-era spirituals. The Apollo’s Musettes (youth choir) join AF musicians and soloists in this celebration of our shared humanity.

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Videos from the 2020-21 Season – A Pilgrimage of Hope

These 5 concert-videos are available now. Watch anytime for 30 days from date of purchase.

RESILIENCE: Music for Troubled Times

London, 1665: A year-long plague held the city in its grip, but haunting folk ballads and laments of Dowland and Purcell wafted from the windows of empty streets. Two centuries later, outbreaks of cholera and dysentery could not prevent Americans – black and white – from singing in joyous harmony at the end of the Civil War. In this new program from Jeannette Sorrell, we conjure up these two historic pandemics through music, diaries and poems as we celebrate the resilience of the human spirit. WE SHALL OVERCOME.

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Generously supported by Whitmer & Ehrman, LLC


ALLURE: The Three Amandas
Amanda Forsythe & Amanda Powell, sopranos | Amanda Crider, mezzo-soprano

 
Long ago in the palace of Ferrara, three renowned ladies entertained princes with their astonishing musicianship. The “Tre Donne di Ferrara” (Three Ladies of Ferrara) were probably the first female professional musicians. Apollo’s Fire collaborates with three stunning Amandas in virtuoso trios written for the Ferrara ladies, alongside soulful songs by Barbara Strozzi and Francesca Caccini and lively duets from Monteverdi’s playful Scherzi Musicali. Eight instrumentalists join in the fun with dances from the palace and the countryside.

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Generously sponsored by JEFF & JAMIE BARNETT


CHRISTMAS on Sugarloaf Mountain

Jeannette Sorrell, conductor/harpsichord
Amanda Powell, soprano vocals
Ross Hauck, tenor vocals

In this communal celebration of the American immigrant experience, fiddlers, medieval harp, hammered dulcimer, bagpipes, and singers join with children’s voices to evoke the Celtic roots of an Appalachian Christmas. From Christmas Eve in medieval Scotland to folk carols and shape-note hymns at a toe-tapping Christmas gathering in Virginia… we follow the journeys of the Irish and Scottish settlers who bravely crossed the Atlantic. The people of the mountains welcome Christmas with LOVE, SINGING, DANCING and PRAYER.

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Generously supported by THE DEVENY FAMILY &


ELEGANCE: The Harper’s Voice

Anna O’Connell, baroque & Celtic harps, soprano
with Amanda Powell, soprano
 
The harp was the voice of the marginalized peoples of the British Isles – Irish, Welsh, and Scots. Ireland’s legendary blind harper, Turlough O’Carolan, was one of several great harpers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Today’s young harpist troubadour, Anna O’Connell, sings and accompanies herself on the harp in the manner of the old Celtic harpists. Six Apollo’s Fire musicians on violins, flute, cello, hammered dulcimer, and lutes join Anna in sparkling music by O’Carolan, Dowland, and Purcell, along with Scottish and Irish folk songs.

*Harpist Parker Ramsay, originally announced as guest director/soloist for this project, has withdrawn and is replaced by harpist/soprano Anna O’Connell.

 
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TAPESTRY: Jewish Ghettos of Baroque Italy

 
In 1600, Italy was home to a fascinating melting pot of Jews from northern Europe, Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East. Though confined to crowded ghettos, the Italian Jews enlivened Italy with a vibrant mix of Sephardic and Ashkenazi musical traditions. In Venice and Mantua, Jewish and Catholic composers such as Salamone Rossi, Claudio Monteverdi, and Benedetto Marcello worked side by side and influenced each other. Our 15 musicians weave a musical tapestry, from prayer to feasting. Hebrew chants and baroque settings of the Psalms meet instrumental virtuosity – including a sparkling Sammartini concerto featuring Israeli recorder virtuoso Daphna Mor.
 
“Innovative and brilliant… a magic carpet that swept Sunday’s large audience away.”
– COOLCLEVELAND.COM
 
Note: This program replaces Handel’s oratorio Israel in Egypt, which cannot safely be performed in current pandemic conditions.
  
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Generously supported by KAREN & RICHARD SPECTOR


VIRTUOSITY: Fireworks from J.S. Bach

Apollo’s Fire ends the season in an explosion of virtuoso fireworks. Bach’s famously fiery Concerto in D Minor is usually heard on keyboard, but was originally intended for violin (and is even better that way!) Acclaimed soprano Amanda Forsythe returns for AF’s first-ever performance of Bach’s sparkling “Jauchzet” cantata, featuring dazzling coloratura for soprano and trumpet. The AF strings take the spotlight in the beloved Brandenburg Concerto no. 3.

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Generously sponsored by Glenmede


“The U.S.A.’s hottest baroque band.” –CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE (UK)

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