Catalogue

Summary:

“These are charming performances, with lilt and brightness that make it sound as if the musicians are having a lot of fun producing the music and sending it out for audiences to hear” – Infodad

Jeannette Sorrell, the celebrated founder-director of Cleveland-based Baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire, first fell in love with the harpsichord upon hearing three masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach: the composer’s concertos in D Minor, BWV1052 and F Minor, BWV1056, and his Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (for Harpsichord, flute & violin). Jeannette and Apollo’s Fire recorded these works between 1999-2004, with the subsequent 2010 album release debuting on the Top 10 of Billboard’s Traditional Classical Albums Chart. This 25^th anniversary reissue brings together a new programme of Jeannette’s favourite Bach harpsichord concertos.

Jeannette Sorrell’s blazing interpretation of Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (for Harpsichord, flute & violin), generally regarded as the first-ever harpsichord concerto, has become legendary, her solo cadenza a “brilliant take-no-captives rendition” (American Record Guide), that is “swaggering” (The Sunday Times – London) and “nothing short of spectacular” (Audiophile Audition). The D and F Minor concertos were likely originally written for other instruments and adapted by the composer for the popular casual concert series he curated at Zimmerman’s Coffee House in Leipzig, the city where he served as Cantor.

Tracklist:

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)

Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052
1. I. [Allegro]
2. II. Adagio
3. III. Allegro

Violin I: Cynthia Roberts, Chris Verrette, Naomi Guy, Dongmyung Ahn
Violin II: David Greenberg, Cheryl Trace, Thomas Georgi
Viola: Daniel Elyar, Elizabeth Holzman
Cello: Reinmar Seidler, Ann Marie Morgan
Contrabass: Sue Yelanjian

Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor, BWV 1056
4. I. Allegro moderato
5. II. Largo
6. III. Presto

Violin I: Cynthia Roberts, Emlyn Ngai, Naomi Guy, Cheryl Trace
Violin II: David Greenberg, Rachel Evans, Dongmyung Ahn Viola: Nicole Divall, Elizabeth Holzman
Cello: Reinmar Seidler, Ann Marie Morgan
Contrabass: Sue Yelanjian

Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 for Harpsichord, Flute & Violin in D Major, BWV 1050
7. I. Allegro
8. II. Affettuoso
9. III. Allegro

Flauto traverso: Michael Lynn
Violino principale: Cynthia Roberts
Violin: Miho Hashizume, Lisa Ferguson, Naomi Guy, Allison Edberg
Viola: Nicole Divall, Peter Bucknell
Cello: Ann Marie Morgan
Contrabass: Sue Yelanjian

Jeannette Sorrell, harpsichord & direction
Apollo’s Fire | on period instruments

Recorded at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
(1–3) recorded in October 2002, (4–6) recorded in May 2004
Recording Producer & Editor: Erica Brenner • Engineer: Thomas Knab
(7–9) recorded in October 1999
Recording Engineer & Producer: Michael Schulze
Compilation mastering: Erica Brenner

This compilation ℗ 2010 & © 2024 Apollo’s Fire/Jeannette Sorrell