Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
This splendid recording of Bach's St. John Passion, BWV 245, by the Cleveland, Ohio, group Apollo's Fire and its director, Jeannette Sorrell, was recorded live at a Cleveland church and was derived from live performances given in New York according to a concept Sorrell devised. Although Apollo's Fire is oriented toward historical performance, there's no evidence that anybody in Bach's time ever performed the work this way. Yet, against the odds, it works well live, according to reports, and certainly on this recording. Essentially, the New York performances involved a semi-staged version of the work, with the soloists interacting physically according to the drama (and singing without musical scores), and the choir dispersed through the audience. The latter doesn't seem to have happened in this Cleveland performance, although the soloists look from the pictures (and sound) like they sang to each other rather than to the audience. Even if the realization was a bit less unusual, this is still unlike any other performance of the work you've ever heard. The drama is as apparent in the choruses as in the solos, and really, the strength of the performance is that the chorus is integrated into the work here in a unique way. The soloists are very strong vocally and enter entirely into the spirit of the performance. You could sample the scene with Pilate's interrogation for an impression of the thorough realization of this figure by baritone Jeffrey Strauss. You may find that your favorite moments in the score seem to be given short shrift here, but this masterwork is simply being looked at through a wholly new lens. A genuinely fresh Bach recording, and an excellent choice for those interested in this consistently innovative mid-American ensemble.
© TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr124,99/month
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jesse Blumberg, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jesse Blumberg, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Terry Wey, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Amanda Forsythe, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christian Immler, MainArtist - Jesse Blumberg, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Owen McIntosh, MainArtist - Madeline Healey, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christian Immler, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Owen McIntosh, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
DISC 2
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jesse Blumberg, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Jeffrey Strauss, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jesse Blumberg, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Jeffrey Strauss, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christian Immler, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jesse Blumberg, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Jeffrey Strauss, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Jeffrey Strauss, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Christian Immler, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jesse Blumberg, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Terry Wey, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Amanda Forsythe, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor - Apollo's Fire, Orchestra - Apollo's Singers, MainArtist
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Album review
This splendid recording of Bach's St. John Passion, BWV 245, by the Cleveland, Ohio, group Apollo's Fire and its director, Jeannette Sorrell, was recorded live at a Cleveland church and was derived from live performances given in New York according to a concept Sorrell devised. Although Apollo's Fire is oriented toward historical performance, there's no evidence that anybody in Bach's time ever performed the work this way. Yet, against the odds, it works well live, according to reports, and certainly on this recording. Essentially, the New York performances involved a semi-staged version of the work, with the soloists interacting physically according to the drama (and singing without musical scores), and the choir dispersed through the audience. The latter doesn't seem to have happened in this Cleveland performance, although the soloists look from the pictures (and sound) like they sang to each other rather than to the audience. Even if the realization was a bit less unusual, this is still unlike any other performance of the work you've ever heard. The drama is as apparent in the choruses as in the solos, and really, the strength of the performance is that the chorus is integrated into the work here in a unique way. The soloists are very strong vocally and enter entirely into the spirit of the performance. You could sample the scene with Pilate's interrogation for an impression of the thorough realization of this figure by baritone Jeffrey Strauss. You may find that your favorite moments in the score seem to be given short shrift here, but this masterwork is simply being looked at through a wholly new lens. A genuinely fresh Bach recording, and an excellent choice for those interested in this consistently innovative mid-American ensemble.
© TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 40 track(s)
- Total length: 01:47:18
- Main artists: Apollo's Fire Jeannette Sorrell
- Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
- Label: Avie Records
- Genre: Classical
(C) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (P) 2017 Apollo's Fire/Jeannette Sorrell
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.