Program: #25-06 Air Date: Feb 03, 2025
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While we have celebrated this ensemble in the past, Jeannette joins us personally this week with two new projects (and a look back at a favorite recording).
NOTE: All of the music on this program comes from the ensemble Apollo’s Fire directed by our guest, Jeannette Sorrell. For complete information: apollosfire.org.
I. Le Tre Soprano: The Three Ladies of Ferrara
(Avie AV2544).
Their names were Laura, Livia, and Anna. Together, they were known in the late 1500’s as the Tre Donne di Ferrara – the three ladies of Ferrara. Their ensemble was praised by contemporary poets and won highest renown throughout Italy and Germany. However, women were not supposed to become famous for their professional achievements. And so, one of them was murdered by her husband – a count – who went unpunished. Thus, this is a tale of revolutionary women ahead of their time, living in an era when women had no protections.
In this album, it has been my pleasure to collaborate with three extraordinary ladies of today – named Amanda, Amanda, and Amanda. The Amandas and I are proud to offer this homage to the unstoppable Italian women who broke the glass ceiling in 1580. We hope that their brilliance and boldness resound through this recording.
I. Dance of Life
TRADITIONAL CATALAN, arr. J. Sorrell
1. El Cant dels Ocells, 3:59
Francisco Fullana, violin
Attributed to STEFANO LANDI (1587–1639), arr. J. Sorrell
2. Passacaglia della Vita, 5:05
Ms. Forsythe, Ms. Powell, Ms. Crider
II. In the Palace of Ferrara
ANDREA FALCONIERI (1586–1656), arr. R. Schiffer
3. Ciaccona in G Major, Primo Libro di Canzone & Sinfonie, 1650 2:45
LUZZASCHO LUZZASCHI (c.1545–1607)
4. Toccata del Quarto Tono, 1:39
Parker Ramsey, baroque triple harp
LUZZASCHO LUZZASCHI, ed. J. Sorrell
5. Dolcezze amarissime (Trio for the Concerto delle Donne), 4:04
Ms. Forsythe, Ms. Powell, Ms. Crider
III. Love is Too Much
ALESSANDRO PICCININI (1566–1638)
6. Toccata in G Minor, 2:58
William Simms, theorbo
BIAGIO MARINI (1594–1663)
7. Passacalio à 4 in G Minor, Op. 22 No. 25, 2:58
SAMUEL FRIEDRICH CAPRICORNUS (1628–
8. O Felix Jucunditas, from Theatrum Musicium, 1669, 4:03
Ms. Forsythe, Ms. Powell, Ms. Crider
BENEDETTO FERRARI (c.1603-1681)
9. Amanti, io so vi dire, 4:41
Ms. Forsythe
BIAGIO MARINI
10. Sonata sopra Fuggi dolente core, Op. 22 No. 21, 2:59
LUZZASCHO LUZZASCHI, ed. J. Sorrell
11. Troppo ben può questo tiranno (Trio for the Concerto delle Donne), 3:47
Ms. Forsythe, Ms. Powell, Ms. Crider
IV. Disdain
BARBARA STROZZI (1619-1677), ed. J. Sorrell
12. Che si può fare, Op. 8, 4:21
Ms. Powell
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI (1567-1643)
13. Quel sguardo sdegnosetto, from The Scherzi Musicali, 2:29
Ms. Crider
VIRGILIO MAZZOCCHI (1597-1646)
14. Sdegno, campion audace, 3:18
Ms. Forsythe
V. May I Have This Dance?
DIEGO ORTIZ (c.1510–c.1576), arr. J. Sorrell
Two Recercadas from Trattado de Glosas
15. Recercada 7 sobre la Romanesca, 2:43
16. Recercada 2 sobre la Passamezzo moderno, 2:28
Francisco Fullana, violin; René Schiffer, cello piccolo
JUAN ARAÑES (1580–1649), arr. J. Sorrell
17. Un Sarao de la Chacona, 2:58
Ms. Forsythe, Ms. Powell, Ms. Crider
Total Duration: 57:23
Amanda Forsythe, Amanda Powell, sopranos
Amanda Crider, mezzo-soprano
Apollo’s Fire
Jeannette Sorrell, direction, harpsichord
II. Bach’s Coffeehouse
(Avie AV2520).
Bach’s Coffeehouse brings together a selection of Apollo’s Fire recordings – old and new alike – featuring repertoire that is believed to have been performed at Café Zimmerman in Leipzig, the city where Johann Sebastian Bach served as Cantor. Coffee houses were all the rage at the time, centres for socialising and musical soirees. Bach would have found respite from his formal duties as Cantor, by curating informal concerts at the thriving coffee emporium.
Bach’s Coffeehouse features new recordings of Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 with virtuoso soloists Alan Choo, the Singaporean violinist and Assistant Artistic Director of Apollo’s Fire, and recorder player Daphna Mohr; the Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin with Debra Nagy and violinist Johanna Novom; and “Air on a G String” from Orchestral Suite No. 3. Rounding out the album, Apollo’s Fire brings back catalogue favourites by two of Bach’s contemporaries: Telemann’s swaggering Don Quixote Suite, and Vivaldi’s fiery “La folia”, featuring Alan Choo and Spanish violinist Francisco Fullana.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
Brandenburg Concerto no. 4 in G major, BWV 1049*
Alan Choo, violin | Daphna Mor & Kathie Stewart, recorders
1. Allegro (7:05)
2. Andante (3:48)
3. Presto (4:58)
GEORG PHILLIP TELEMANN (1681-1767)
Burlesque de Don Quixotte (Don Quixote Suite), TWV55**
4. Ouverture (4:31)
5. Don Quixote awakens (1:40)
6. His attack on the windmills (1:55)
7. Sighs of love for Princess Dulcinea (3:35)
8. Sancho Panza tossed in a blanket (1:47)
9. The galloping of Rosinante, and that of Sancho’s mule (2:40)
10. Quixote asleep (1:11)
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068*
11. Air (4:39)
Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin, BWV 1060*
Debra Nagy, oboe | Johanna Novom, violin
12. Allegro (4:55)
13. Adagio (5:14)
14. Allegro (3:38)
ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741), arr. Sorrell
15. La Folia (“Madness”) Concerto grosso, after the Sonata Op. 1, no. 12 (10:48)**
Francisco Fullana & Alan Choo, violins
III. Sugarloaf Mountain
(Avie AV 2329).
This Top 5 Billboard Classical Crossover-charting album followed the Top 10 Billboard Traditional Classical Chart topping album Come to the River (AV 2205), which conjured early 19th-century rural Americana. Sugarloaf Mountain:An Appalachian Gathering is an award-winning program created by Apollo’s Fire’s director Jeannette Sorrell, and follows the joys and sorrows of Celtic immigrants who settled in Appalachia. Sparkling fiddle tunes and haunting ballads of the British Isles crossed the Atlantic during the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries and took root in the hills of Virginia. They mingled with American shape-note hymns and African spirituals, creating the soulful music known as Appalachian. Passing through love and loss, dancing and prayer, the music overflows in celebration as the people of the mountains raise their communal voices.
PROLOGUE
1. The Mountains of Rhùm • Ross Hauck & Amanda Powell, vocals (2:37), arr. & adapted by J.Sorrell from the trad. Scottish, Cuillens of Rhùm
CROSSING TO THE NEW WORLD
2. Farewell to Ireland – Highlander’s Farewell • Susanna Perry Gilmore, fiddle (3:42), trad. Irish & Appalachian reels, arr. J. Sorrell
3. We’ll Rant & We’ll Roar (Farewell to the Isles) • Ross Hauck & Amanda Powell, vocals (3:17), trad. British & Canadian sea shanty, arr. J.Sorrell
DARK MOUNTAIN HOME
4. The Cruel Sister • Amanda Powell, vocals (6:54), trad. English/Appalachian ballad, arr. J.Sorrell
5. Se fath mo buart ha (The Cause of All My Sorrow) – The Butterfly – Barney Brallaghan • Kathie Stewart, flute (4:18), trad. Irish, arr. K. Stewart
6. Nottamun Town • Brian Kay, vocals & long-neck dulcimer (4:34), medieval English & Appalachian ballad, arr. B. Kay
7. Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair • Ross Hauck, vocals (4:35), trad. Scots/Appalachian, arr. R. Schiffer & J.Sorrell
8. I Wonder as I Wander – The Gravel Walk – Over the Isles to America • Jeannette Sorrell, harpsichord (4:19), John Jacob Niles/trad. Appalachian/trad. Scottish, arr. J.Sorrell
CORNSHUCK PARTY
9. The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night • Amanda Powell, vocals (3:06), trad. British/Appalachian, arr. J.Sorrell
10. Oh Susanna! • Brian Kay & Ross Bauck, vocals / Susanna Perry Gilmore, fiddle (5:02), minstrel song by Stephen Foster, arr. J.Sorrell
Pretty Peg – Far from Home • Susanna Perry Gilmore, fiddle / with René Schiffer, cello
trad. Irish Reels, variations by R.Schiffer
LOVE & LOSS
11. Once I had a Sweetheart • Amanda Powell, vocals (5:01), trad. British & Appalachian ballad
Wayfaring Stranger • Ross Hauck & Amanda Powell, vocals
The Kentucky Harmony, 1816, arr. J. Sorrell
12. Pretty Betty Martin – Katy Did – Red Rockin Chair (5:04)
Tina Bergmann, hammered dulcimer & vocals / Amanda Powell, backup vocals
trad. Appalachian, arr. T. Bergmann
13. Just Before the Battle, Mother • Ross Hauck, vocals (4:35)
G. Root, 1864
Go March Along • Amanda Powell, vocals
Southern Spiritual
GLORY ON THE MOUNTAIN
14. Glory in the Meeting House (Glory in the Meeting House / Say Old Man, Can You Play the Fiddle) (3:38)
Kentucky Fiddle Tunes, arr. J.Sorrell, R. Schiffer, T. Bergmann
15. Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep • Amanda Powell, vocals (3:13), trad. Southern spiritual, lyrics adapted by J. Sorrell
APPALACHIAN HOME
16. Sugarloaf Mountain (5:08)
Lyrics by J.Sorrell; Music arr. & adapted by J.Sorrell from the Cuillens of Rhùm, trad. Scottish
Composer Info
STEFANO LANDI (1587–1639), ANDREA FALCONIERI (1586–1656), LUZZASCHO LUZZASCHI (c.1545–1607), ALESSANDRO PICCININI (1566–1638), BIAGIO MARINI (1594–1663), SAMUEL FRIEDRICH CAPRICORNUS (1628–1665), BENEDETTO FERRARI (c.1603-1681), BARBARA STROZZI (1619-1677), CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI (1567-1643), VIRGILIO MAZZOCCHI (1597-1646), DIEGO ORTIZ (c.1510–c.1576), JUAN ARAÑES (1580–1649), JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750), GEORG PHILLIP TELEMANN (1681-1767), ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741)
CD Info
Avie AV2544, Avie AV2520, Avie AV 2329