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Review: Apollo’s Fire: Handel’s Messiah in Rocky River (December 16)

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by Nicholas Jones

Handel’s MessiahApollo'sFireOutside premiered in a music hall, not in a church. The lead singers included at that first Dublin benefit included some of the most important eighteenth-century names in musical theater. And yet we continue to think of the work as if it belonged in a church service.

This year’s performance by Apollo’s Fire shook off that preconception about Messiah. Jeannette Sorrell led a highly dramatic rendering of the piece that made the most of the theatrical basis of the music.]

In the very first recitative, the expressive tenor Karim Sulayman (singing, as did all the soloists, from memory) embodied the contrast between the salvation that Messiah was to bring—”Comfort ye,” he sang, with heart-piercing compassion—and the world’s “iniquity” that is in such need of salvation. [Read more…]

CD Review: Apollo’s Fire—CD’s just in: Sacrum Mysterium & Handel

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 by Daniel Hathaway

Apollo’sAF Sacrum CD Fire has recently released two recordings: Sacrum Mysterium: A Celtic Christmas Vespers, recorded a year ago after its first performances in Cleveland (and revived for four performances this month); and Handel, a collection of ceremonial choral works that Cleveland’s baroque orchestra and singers recorded live in concerts here in October, 2008 and February, 2007. Both of these splendid recordings are a must-have for early music fans.

As much of a liturgist as she is a music director, Jeannette Sorrell enjoys placing musical selections within a ritual structure. In Sacrum Mysterium, the floor plan is a 13th century Vespers preserved in the Sprouston MS in Glasgow attributed to St. Kentigern, the city’s patron — but before, during and after, the program takes detours to explore wonderful Scottish and Gaelic carols, lullabies, folk music and other tunes ranging from medieval chant to 18th century jigs and reels, creating an irresistible mix of Celtic-inspired music. Apollo’s Fire’s excellent collaborators are Sylvain Bergeron and his Montréal-based Ensemble La Nef, who are well-known for putting together their own programs seamlessly uniting period art and folk music (whose borders are remarkably porous).  [Read more…]

‘Royal Trumpets and Drums’ at Severance: a conversation with conductor Bernard Labadie

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Canadian condutor Bernard Labadie conducts the Cleveland Orchestra in Rameau, Neruda and Handel this weekend (April 29-May 2). We reached him in Quebec City to talk about his debut with the Orchestra.

Mike Telin: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk and congratulations on all of your successes during the past few months.

Bernard Labadie: Thank you very much, and it has been a very good year.

MT:  In addition, you will be making your Cleveland Orchestra debut next week.

BL: Yes, absolutely. It is quite exciting actually.

MT: You also made your Metropolitan Opera debut this season.

BL: Yes and I also did my Concertgebouw debut as well.

MT: We must not forget the rave reviews you received for your New York performances of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ and the Bach ‘Christmas Oratorio’ with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Quebec.

BL: Yes, the performances went very well.

MT: Regarding the program for next week, I see you are doing Handel’s ‘Water Music’. Will that be the complete or just one or two of the suites.

BL: We’ll be doing all three suites, so that will be the whole second half. It is actually a very substantial second half.

MT: The first half will be the Neruda ‘Trumpet Concerto’ with Michael Sachs as well as your own arrangement of a suite from Rameau’s opera ‘Dardanus’. Can you tell me a little bit about the Rameau? [Read more…]

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