Season: 2020-2021

Apollo’s Fire welcomes the holidays with fiddle fireworks! Corelli’s famed Christmas Concerto for Two Violins highlights the first half, along with Heinrich Biber’s soulful violin sonata on The Annunciation (the Angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary) and selections from Handel’s Messiah. After intermission, the Masked Fiddlers lead a toe-tapping Christmas Barn Dance of traditional carols and fiddle tunes in the Irish and Appalachian traditions. Virtuosity explodes from all corners!

Our season-long pilgrimage to wellness ends with an exuberant celebration of Nature. If you thought you knew Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, be prepared for surprises. Apollo’s Fire and Jeannette Sorrell bring these beloved concertos to life as the revolutionary acts of musical storytelling they were meant to be – a vivid and joyful depiction of traditional life in the Italian countryside. The program also features dueling cellists in Vivaldi’s stormy Concerto for Two Cellos.

Listen to the Live Concert Recording

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Meet the Artists

 
NEXT CONCERT: Celebration
These concerts are generously sponsored by
Karen & Richard Spector

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 virtuoso harpist, Parker Ramsay, weaves their stories and their music into an evening of intimate artistry. Six Apollo’s Fire musicians on violins, flute, cello, hammered dulcimer, and plucked instruments join in the sparkling music of O’Carolan, Purcell, William Lawes, and Handel.

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.

Hear the Music
Purcell: Chacony in G Minor
Ayres for the Theatre | The Parley of Instruments & Peter Holman
 

 
Purcell: Hornpipe in G Minor
King Arthur (Highlights) | English Baroque Soloists & John Eliot Gardiner
 

 
Garfield’s Blackberry Blossom
Scarborough Fayre | Apollo’s Fire & Tina Bergmann
 

NEXT CONCERT: Allure
These concerts are generously sponsored by