Life > March 20, 2008

By Caroline Edgeton | Staff writer

The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, put on an unforgettable performance on March 5 in the last of The Secrest Artist Series.The series has been a part of the university since 1987 when Marion Secrest decided to endow this program to the school in honor of her husband, Willis Secrest.

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Considered to be a part of the campus experience, there is no admission fee for students, faculty and staff. Each performance is guaranteed to be a top-notch event for educational and entertainment purposes

Playing pieces by Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, the small orchestra created a sound that was well beyond miniature. They definitely reinforced that big things can come in small packages.

Apollo’s Fire is a group dedicated to playing instruments that would have been used during the time in which a particularmusical piece was written. The featured instruments were violin, viola, cello, contrabass, guitar and theorbo (similar to the guitar but with a much longer neck), harp and harpsichord (pre piano mechanism that produces sound by pressing a key down to pluck a string inside the instrument).

The orchestra, conducted by harpsichord player Jeannette Sorrell, began the evening with “La Primavera (Spring),” one of the four seasons’ pieces by Vivaldi. During the piece, one could hear the bright and joyful music of a springtime afternoon. With a flawless violin solo played by Julie Andrijeski, what could be interpreted as birds chirping and flowers blooming was heard through the piece. Though upbeat and harmonious, it was only the start of what turned out to be an incredible performance.

After playing the first sections of the piece, world renowned mezzo soprano Jennifer Larmore graced the audience with her incredible vocal talent. Singing one of the parts of “La Primavera” the lyrics in the program describe perfectly what the piece itself is truly about. She, too, guides the song along the way with her impeccable stage presence and ability to project loud enough for all of Wait Chapel to hear. Not only singing in the springtime piece, she also sang in Vivaldi’s “L’Estate (Summer)” as well as “Where shall I fly?” and “Iris, hence away” by Bach. Each song has an individual story, but many may not realize these stories without actual words. It was nice to have Laramore sing the music, as well as add character, while the program provided lyrics that helped one better understand what each piece was about. “It’s not all nice sounding music,” Sorrell said. Both Sorrell and Larmore have successful careers in baroque music. Sorrell earned her BA in Music Performance from the university in 1986 and has had a substantial career since. She is well known for being an orchestra conductor as well as an early music performer. Focusing specifically on 17th and 18th century music, she and colleague Roger Wright founded Apollo’s Fire in 1992 as a way of expressing their love for baroque music. The success of Apollo’s Fire has grown since its beginning. They are frequently featured on National Public Radio in the programs World of Opera and SymphonyCast. While Sorrell has received plenty of recognition for Apollo’s Fire, Larmore has also made herself an established musician. Not only has she recorded with many different international record labels, Larmore has performed in Carnegie Hall and many other of the world’s finest performance halls. She made an appearance at the Closing Ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games, as well. Her voice and stage presence are absolutely dazzling. Everyone was utterly captivated by her exquisite vocal talent.

This was, undeniably, an excellent concert. In the future, I definitely plan on going to as many of the Secrest Series events as possible. Not only was this free, but it was also an entertaining first class performance.