“Innovative and brilliant… a magic carpet that swept Sunday’s large audience away.”
– COOLCLEVELAND.COM
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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.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.
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.
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