Season: 2020-2021

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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.

Filmed at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2017 & 2018, this communal celebration of the American immigrant experience, combines fiddlers, medieval harp, hammered dulcimer, bagpipes, singers, and 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.

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.

VIRTUAL TICKETS – To purchase Watch-at-Home tickets, click on the Purchase Tickets button, then choose “March 29” from the drop-down menu. This is the date on which you will receive access to the video. You will be able to watch the video at any time for 30 days beginning on March 29th.

Listen to the Live …

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.

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.

Read the Reviews
“An unforgettable ride… This ensemble is a cultural treasure, particularly in its willingness to grapple with the world’s problems and offer catharsis.”
– Seen & Heard International (UK)

“The program draws poignant parallels to today. No one else.. gives Dowland and Purcell such suave, dramatic treatment. Soprano Ashlee Foreman delivers a tour-de-force in …