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“Modern Baroque” by Apollo’s Fire

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AcousticLvr

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Dec 13, 2022
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As a new ASR member, I offer the following recommendation: Apollo’s Fire. Based in Cleveland, OH this baroque ensemble not only has exceptional (i.e. world class) players & singers, but they play on period instruments. Additionally, the recording quality & engineering is absolutely first rate, IMO. They prove that recording technique & engineering overshadow the bit rate.

Led by Jeanette Sorrell, they have been around for more than 30 years. Here’s the link to their website: https://apollosfire.org/

Even on YouTube they sound good. Here are a couple of examples.

Warhorse Beethoven’s Fifth, 1st movement. I can actually here the musical lines that Beethoven had in mind.

Monteverdi Vespers:

Enjoy!
 
Thanks for sharing. Very spirited. I can easily imagine such a group in Germany - but Cleveland? It reminds me of the high quality of American orchestras post WWII. Does me good to know that musicians and groups like this still exist In the US. The Monteverde is particularly wonderful.
 
That was the reason for the posting & recommendation. It is challenging to maintain groups like Apollo’s Fire, but they are doing it & growing. They were an offshoot of the Cleveland Orchestra, which has its home at Severance Hall & summers at Blossom Music Center in Cleveland. I get to see/hear them live…:)
 
AcousticLvr said:
.... I get to see/hear them live…:)
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Dang, I haven't been to a Cleveland concert in years, even thought I live in Ohio. Gotta get there soon!

And a concert in Severance Hall is a good reminder of the distance between live sound and even superb reproduced sound.
 
Very good ensemble ... sadly they are using wrong trumpets.... :)
 
Wondered whether they do Bach. Yup, you can find .flac files for purchase at PrestoMusic.com.
 
AcousticLvr said:
As a new ASR member, I offer the following recommendation: Apollo’s Fire. Based in Cleveland, OH this baroque ensemble not only has exceptional (i.e. world class) players & singers, but they play on period instruments. Additionally, the recording quality & engineering is absolutely first rate, IMO. They prove that recording technique & engineering overshadow the bit rate.

Led by Jeanette Sorrell, they have been around for more than 30 years. Here’s the link to their website: https://apollosfire.org/

Even on YouTube they sound good. Here are a couple of examples.

Warhorse Beethoven’s Fifth, 1st movement. I can actually here the musical lines that Beethoven had in mind.

Monteverdi Vespers:

Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Thank you for the recommendation. I do think that with classical music any sonic deficiencies of YouTube are made up for by the interest in seeing the performers, especially close ups of parts of the orchestra in Symphonic music.
 
Wrong flutes too… Actually there are a number of instruments that look weird, especially in the Monteverdi.
 
Seeing the performers close up really does enhance the experience. Hey, there are live performance videos everywhere, in virtually every genre — why not classical & baroque.
 
AcousticLvr said:
Wrong flutes too… Actually there are a number of instruments that look weird, especially in the Monteverdi.
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In Monteverdi ? Why wrong ?
 
Just joking about the period instruments. Apollo’s Fire players ‘specialize’ in playing period instruments. You don’t see very many theorbos or lutes or valveless horns or hammered dulcimers or harpsichords, etc. in the modern orchestra today. Hearing the music played on the instruments it was written for is enlightening…at least for me.
 
AcousticLvr said:
Hearing the music played on the instruments it was written for is enlightening…at least for me.
Click to expand...
It is but only if they are not vastly compromise like trumpets in video with Beethoven ... It is so funny, because in Beethoven there is no problem at all with playing on proper copy of natural trumpet (sadly there are using awful hybrid from 70. developed in England by Michael Laird - 4-hole instrument aka vented trumped aka Baroque trumpet (sic!) or as late Jeremy Montague described it colander ;)
 
The Monteverdi is stunning, as is their latest release with a beautiful recording of Cantata 51
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