Apollo's Fire: Mysteries, Sacred & Profane

Biber: Rosenkranz Sonate no. 1 in D Minor (The Annunciation)
Rosenmuller: Sonata 7 a 4 in D Minor
Bruhns: De Profundis
Biber: Fidicinium sacro-profanum Sonata XI in C Minor
Tunder: O Jesu dulcissme
Biber: Balletti lamentabili a 4 in E Minor
Kapsperger: Toccata in E Minor, from Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarrone
Piccinini: Corrente in E Minor
Schmelzer: Lamento sopra la morte Ferdinandi III
Bach: Wie bist du denn, o Gott
Veronika Skuplik, violin; Jeffrey Staruss, baritone; Julie Andrijeski, violin/viola; Karina Fox, viola; Rene Schiffer, cello; Andreas Arend, theobo; Peter Bennett, organ.

After spending the better part of three weeks on the road I'm back in Cleveland for at least a few days, and I'm glad to work some music into an otherwise dreary night, thanks to a friend who reminded me of this concert while I was out of town.

Flipping through the program before the concert, I was reminded of the advantages to having not only a vibrant but diverse classical music scene in Cleveland: I only recognized the name of the last composer on the program; the remaining seven were new to me and I do wonder how much play they'd get from less specialized ensembles.

The organ was, unfortunately, a significant presence in this evenings music, providing a persistent, droning, baseline that -- at least from my seat -- was a dark cloud overshadowing the remaining instruments, and turning physically tiring -- like the unending noise of an airplane's engine and this distration was particularly true of The Annunciation.

Rosenmuller's Sonata was a nice contrast and the particularly lively ending of the piece gave for an albeit temporary parting of the organ's clouds and I think, overall was my favorite piece.

In the first half of the program there was some confusion when the musicians didn't release the tension and relax at the conclusion of Biber's Fidicinium and before beginning Tunder's O Jseu dulcissime -- Had the the first not been instrumental and the second vocal, I'm not sure I would have been able to identify this as the break.

In the second half of the program, I must have allowed my attention to wander a bit too far, because I was unable to identify the transitions between the first four pieces following intermission -- but a beautiful theorbo (long-necked member of the lute family) solo somewhere along the way seized my attention, and the echos of that solo when the strings returned held it until the beginning of Bach's Wie bist du denn, o Gott -- but I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure which of the four compositions to credit that solo to.

I'm not the biggest fan of the vocal sphere of classical music, but Bach's Wie bist du denn, o Gott was quite palatable, enjoyable to listen to and easy to follow in translation.

Lincoln

Apollo's Fire: Handel's Messiah

Handel: The Messiah
Meredith Hall, soprano; Amanda Crider, mezzo-soprano; Ross Hauck, tenor; Jeffrey Strauss, baritone.
At First Baptist Church, Shaker Heights.

"Every saint has a past; every sinner has a future" Ludo, Topeaka (quoting Oscar Wilde)

On one hand I feel that I should approach the performance in a vacuum, but to do that is to deny the realities of life: Namely how any one experience moves us will invariably affect later experiences. On the short drive from my house to First Baptist Church for tonight's amazing performance of Handel's Messiah Ludo's Topeka popped up on my play list. And the wonderfully simple lyric quoted above finally made sense to me. During the performance, it seemed an apt parallel for my relationship with Apollo's Fire.

Going in I had some reservations: After 3 Messiahs in a row last year I was tempted to sit it out this year. My past Apollo's fire have been mixed (though trending better) and Handel's Messiah in its full and unabridged form weighs in at a hefty three hours...hardly a performance one wants to get stuck in. On the flip side, though I've had this ticket for weeks, after yesterday's stunningly poor performance by a different orchestra I would take just about anything to cleanse my palette.

What tonight's audience got was -- in the words of the gentleman sitting next to me -- "awesome". It hardly felt anywhere near the three hours it actually was, with only the last two verses beginning to challenge my attention span.. Though all four soloists were amazing, Amanda Crider was particularly enthralling. In the past I've been critical of Apollo's Fire as an organization that takes itself too seriously; that feeling was nonexistent tonight: It seemed that the group took a humble, respectful approach to the piece and it worked well. The orchestra, soloists, and chorus all had a wonderfully cohesive sound and maintained relative parity throughout with only a few moments where it seemed that the chorus could have been a bit louder.

Being at First Baptist, this was my first experience with Apollo's Fire at a venue other than St. Paul's and generally it was quite a positive change: Easier parking, more comfortable seating [though a even a padded church pew for the better part of 3 hours is pushing my back's limits] and acoustics that beautifully captured and reverberated the singer's voices.

In fact, I have only two complaints from the evening: The heating system kicked in a few times during the performance and loudly announced its presence with a sound that made me crave microwave popcorn, and at several points the performance stopped for rather lengthy tuning sessions which broke the flow... though I suppose I'd rather be comfortably warm and listen to an in-tune orchestra than the alternative.

The net result was the finest Messiah I can remember hearing. Though the Hallelujah and A Child Is Born choruses are, of course, the hallmarks of the piece there were few sections of this work that weren't enjoyable to listen to.

Two more options to hear this: Saturday, December 18th,, 8pm at First Baptist Church on Fairmount Boulevard in Shaker Heights or 5pm Sunday at St. Christopher Catholic Church, Rocky River.

Lincoln

Apollo's Fire: Myths of Love and Betrayal

Vivaldi: Alegro from Concerto Grosso in C, RV. 561 (Arr. Sorrell)*
Vivaldi: Due tiranni ho nel mio cor from Ottone in Villa, RV. 729
Vivaldi: Concerto in B minor for Four Volins, Op. 3 No. 10, RV. 580**
Handel: Chaconne from Terpsichore (Il Pastor Fido), HVW 8c
Handel: Che sento? Oh Dio! Se pieta di me non senti (Cleopatra's Solioquy) from Guilio Cesare in Egitto, HVW 17
Duchifree: Proserpine: Symphonie dramatique (Arr. Sorrell, World Premiere)***
Rameau: Prelude from Premier Livre de Pieces de Clavecin
Rameau: Cruelle Mere des amours (Phedre's aria) from Hippolyte et Arcie
Purcell: Dido's Lament from Dido Aeneas, Z. 626
Vivaldi: La Folia (Madness): Concerto grosso, after the Sonata, Op. 1, No. 12, RV. 63****
(Encore) Rameau: Les Indes Galantes [uncertain].
at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights.
Jeanette Sorrell, harpsicord and conductor.
*- Oliver Brault, Julie Andrijeski, Johanna Novom, violin.
** - Cynthia Roberts, Oliver Brault, Johanna Novom, Andrijeski, violin.
***- Oliver Brault, violin; Rene Schiffer, cello.
****- Cynthia Roberts, Oliver Brault, violin.

While St. Paul's Episcopal remains one of the most uncomfortable places I've heard anything -- a feeling that hasn't changed over the past year -- my tide is turning when it comes to Apollo's Fire. Though I enjoyed some more than others, the assortment of pieces arranged around the title of the program held my interest throughout.

Apollo's Fire will be taking this program on their first-ever European tour over the next 10 days, and it's another export that Cleveland can be proud of.

Likewise, Apollo's fire and Ms. Sorrell seem to be loosening up; though my initial reaction last year was of an organization that was stiff and took itself too seriously there was certainly some fun being had on and off stage at tonight's concert.

Beginning with the lively and familiar Allegro from Vivalidi's Concerto grosso in C the orchestra made a energetic statement that carried through the evening. Though Due tiranni ho nel mio cor was a bit slow for my tastes, Ms. Sophie Daneman's voice was beautifully revealed.

Frequent readers--and anyone else aware of my love of the string family -- shouldn't be surprised that the concerto for four violins was absolutely captivating and among my favorites for the evening. What I found surprising was the amazing, eerie, and almost human chorus that emerged during the allegro of this piece; it faded as quickly as my ear picked it up but I still had to look to make sure that one hadn't snuck in to the building.

Neither of the Handel pieces on the program really did anything for me, but a gentleman in the same row was quite -- almost disturbingly -- enthused by them.

Following intermission, Douchiffre's Prosperine: Symphony dramatique, composed by a member of Apollos Fire and receiving its world premiere at these concerts was an impressive excursion. Though a bit slow out of the gate, it was soulful and expressive and to that point I can't recall seeing a group of musicians so clearly enjoying the music that that was coming from their fingertips, and you could hear the passion as well.

After Prosperine the audience was treated to a rather extensive tuning session -- followed by Ms. Sorrell's assurance that there was no additional charge for tuning, and her introduction of the two Rameau pieces on the program...though neither piece ranked highly in my final assessment, Ms. Sorrell's introduction carried a comfortable relaxed but confident vibe that was a marked change from the vibe I had gotten from earlier performances and was one of the intangibles that made the concert worthy of 180 minutes in a church pew.

Closing the published program was the stunning and apply titled La Folia (Madness), Vivaldi's Concerto grosso. Seemingly out-joy-ing the enthusiasm displayed during Prosperine in addition to being musically brilliant the piece featured some interesting stage choreography in which musicians were not traditionally anchored but rather literally played off of other musicians. Also worth noting is the introduction, where the amazingly large Theorobo gave a distinct and beautiful sound that I associate with a Spanish Guitar. The enthusiasm was unanimous, but the gentleman at the end of my row was frighteningly in to the music.

There was an encore -- I didn't quite catch the title and after being introduced by Ms. Daneman with the concept that if you "do right by love, love will do right by you" and I found myself wondering what it takes to do right by love, and why it seems I'm so far from finding it.

Lincoln

Apollo's Fire: Mozart Celebration

Mozart: Overture from Idomeneo, K. 366 with concert ending by Jeanette Sorrell
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K 491; Sergei Babayan, piano.
Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K 385 ("Haffner")
Mozart: Ballet Music from Idomeneo, K. 367

Anyone who's been reading this blog long enough knows that my Apollo's Fire concert experiences this season were polar opposites, to put it kindly. Tonight's concert in Cleveland's Severance Hall falls somewhere between the two. It was nice to hear Apollo's fire in a venue that didn't involve two hours on the painfully hard wood of a church pew. As the orchestra tuned I was struck by what a massive difference there was in sound with the Baroque A=430Hz tuning instead of the modern A=440Hz -- those 10 Hertz have a huge impact on the sound; I don't think I've noticed before because I've never heard Apollo's Fire in a venue where I've heard any other group perform prior to tonight.

The opening Overture from Idomeno was generally pleasant and a good start to the concert, but felt a little boomy, and generally felt that the balance between percussion and the rest of the orchestra was a little off.

The Piano Concerto, on the other hand, left nothing to be desired. I've heard Sergei Babayan play two solo recitals at CIM, and while an excellent pianist his work truly shines when pared with an orchestra. The balance between piano and orchestra was perfect giving the impression of a dialog between the two rather than a shouting match as often seems to be the case. Much ado was made out of the unavailability of the originally announced 1877 Bluthner pianoforte yet I can't imagine the that performance would have been any more enjoyable to listen to.

The second half of the performance included Mozart's Haffner Symphony. You may be asking "Wait, didn't you just hear the Cleveland Orchestra play that last weekend?" -- when I saw the program, that was certainly my first thought, until I realized that the program listed only four movements and has a different Köchel number, with the Symphony coming much later than the Haffner Serenade (K. 385 vs K. 250). My fears of having to compare two performances of the same work thus assuaged, it was an great piece to listen to, with the first movement holding to it's Allegro con spirito tempo notation. The second and third movements seemed to be just a touch lethargic and occasionally stiff, yet the fourth (presto) movement, which Mozart directed be played "as quickly as possible" was a burst of well paced energy.

And thus we have Ballet Music from Idomeneo to end the program with Carlos Fittante and Robin Gilbert-Campos as period dancers. I have to say that the strongest reaction I can muster is "apathetic". The music didn't particularly catch my ear, the dance didn't particularly catch my eye, and I was lulled into a somewhat hypnotic very contemplative state (where reflecting on recent events in life, including two events today, I couldn't help but think of Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts..." [As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII], my Deity certainly has me cast in a comedy at the moment.)

Lincoln

Apollo's Fire: Mediterranean Nights

My reaction to the last Apollo's Fire concert I attended was accurately be summed up in one word: "Blugh". I am happy to report that this evening's concert was anything but blugh; all-in-all it was a quite enjoyable, quite pleasant sounding evening.

The first half of the program was not played in program order making it difficult to relate which was my favorite piece -- It was the second piece played, but I didn't catch the name. In any event, it started with a familiar rhythm on the harpsichord -- though I can't place it (Movie? Theme park? Hold music?), featured some fantastic violin playing and was generally captivating.

There wasn't a piece in the first half that I particularly didn't like, and intermission came before I started longing for it--another sign I'm enjoying a program.

I didn't feel that the second half was quite as strong as the first. I enjoyed Murcia's Difencias Sobre La Gayta ("Bagpipes"), and certainly visualized the instrument named in the title. Likewise, I was intrigued by the concept of Romance Biego (The 10 Commandments) from Briceno, but didn't feel especially attracted to the music or the overall sound.

I had previously noted that Apollo's Fire seemed to take themselves too seriously -- this was certainly not the case with this evening's performance contributing to a much more pleasant atmosphere. During the final Fandango and ensuing encore there was quite the amusing interplay between musicians, especially a musical duel between Ms. Sorrell on harpsichord and Mr. Herreid on baroque guitar at one point.

After this concert I'm inclined to give Apollo's Fire another opportunity.

Apollo's Fire: Blugh.

Ok, so I'll admit that Baroque isn't your typical classical and I know that instrument tuning for baroque music isn't necessarily A=440 But...

Two of the recurring thoughts I had during the performance were "Hmm, if my violin sounds out of tune I can say I'm playing Baroque" and "Oh, my God, how freaking long is this going to go on?".

Perhaps it's because my mind was in other places (I had been stood up on a 'date' for the performance), and perhaps it's because church pews aren't really the most conducive environment for relaxing concert enjoyment, and definitely in part due to the relatively lousy acoustics of the venue but to say that I didn't enjoy the concert is a massive understatement. Which is odd, as I generally like both Vavalidi and Bach.

Sure there were high notes, but there wasn't even one entire movement that I felt salvaged the evening. Somehow, they managed to make a program that was nearly exactly two hours feel like a six hour ordeal.

I had similar feelings the last time I tried Apollo's fire -- about 3 years ago -- but thought that as my musical taste and appreciation for classical has developed the 2nd time around would be more fruitful. Sadly, that was not the case. I have one ticket for an upcoming concert (see aforementioned stood up date) and I have a very strong suspicion that that will be the last time I do Apollo's Fire.

Contributing, I think, is the overwhelming impression Apollo's Fire in general, and the artistic director in particular, gives of taking themselves far too seriously. Or maybe I lack the proper reverence and appreciation for the genius I have the good fortune to share a room with. In either event it certainly doesn't contribute to the experience, and in my case is a major detraction to borderline comical. I don't even think the Cleveland Orchestra takes themselves as seriously... and that is an organization that I would respect if they did so.