# Apollo's Fire at First Congregational Church, November 13, 2014

[CalPerformances](http://calperformances.org/performances/2014-15/early-music/apollos-fire-monteverdi-vespers.php) presents [Apollo's Fire](http://apollosfire.org/)  
2014-11-13  
[First Congregational Church](http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/)  
[2345 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA  ](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2345+Channing+Way,+Berkeley,+CA++&hl=en)  
8:00 PM, Thursday, November 13, 2014

[[2014-11-11|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2014|Up to the 2014 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2014#November_events|Up to the 2014 event list!]] ☸ [[2014-11-14|On to the next event!]]

## Today's Program

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643): _Vespers for the Blessed Virgin_ (1610)

## Set One

[7:50 PM, the band begins to take the stage. Tuning, practicing, and otherwise making a happy but chaotic noise.]  
[8:05 PM lights down, brief announcements from Matías Tarnopolsky]

01. [8:m PM] Versicle & Response: Deus in adjutorium
02. [8:m PM] Antiphon: Læva ejus sub capite meo
03. [8:m PM] Psalm 109: Dixit Dominus
04. [8:m PM] Motet: Nigra sum, featuring Oliver Mercer
05. [8:m PM] Antiphon: Nigra sum sed formosa
06. [8:m PM] Psalm 112: Laudate pueri
07. [8:m PM] Motet: Pulchra es, featuring Molly Quinn & Nell Snaidas
08. [8:m PM] Antiphon: Pulchra es et decora
09. [8:m PM] Psalm 121: Lætatus sum
10. [8:m PM] Motet: Duo Seraphim, featuring Karim Sulayman, Oliver Mercer & Owen McIntosh
11. [8:m PM] Antiphon: Iam hiems transit
12. [8:m PM] Psalm 126: Nisi Dominus  
[set ends 8:58 PM]

## Set Two

[9:13 PM lights down]

01. [9:17 PM] Motet: Audi Coelum, featuring Karim Sulayman & Oliver Mercer
02. [9:19 PM] Antiphon: Virgo prudentissima
03. [9:29 PM] Psalm 147: Lauda, Jerusalem
04. [9:30 PM] Sonata sopra Santa Maria, featuring Madeline Healey
05. [9:35 PM] Hymn: Ave maris stella, featuring Kristen Dubenion-Smith & Jesse Blumberg  
   
*Magnificat*
06. [9:43 PM] Antiphon: Sancta Maria succure miseris
07. [9:52 PM] Magnificat anima mea
08. [9:53 PM] Et exultavit
09. [9:54 PM] Quia respexit humilitatem
10. [9:56 PM] Quia fecit mihi magna
11. [9:57 PM] Et misericordia
12. [9:58 PM] Fecit potentiam
13. [10:00 PM] Deposuit potentes
14. [10:02 PM] Esurientes
15. [10:04 PM] Suscepit Israel
16. [10:05 PM] Sicut locutus est
17. [10:06 PM] Gloria Patri
18. [10:07 PM] Sicut erat in principio  
[set ends 10:10 PM; standing ovation; mutiple bows and curtain-less calls; no encore; all off by 10:14 PM]


## Performers

[Apollo's Fire](http://apollosfire.org/)

### The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra

* Julie Andrijeski: concertmaster;
* Peter Bennett: organ;
* Peter Christensen: tenor sackbut;
* Peter Collins: bass sackbut;
* Bruce Dickey: cornetto;
* Greg Ingles: alto sackbut;
* Rebecca Landell: cello;
* John Lenti: theorbo;
* Kyle Miller: viola;
* Johanna Novom: violin;
* Adriane Post: viola;
* René Schiffer: cello piccolo;
* William Simms: theorbo;
* [Jeannette Sorrell](http://apollosfire.org/about/jeannette-sorrell/): artistic director, conductor, harpsichord;
* Kathie Stewart: recorder;
* Kiri Tollaksen: cornetto;
* Sue Yelanjian: contrabass.

### Apollo's Singers

* Jeff Barnett: tenor quintus vox;
* Robin Bier: alto vox;
* Margaret Carpenter: soprano vox;
* Madeline Healey: soprano vox;
* Anna Lenti: soprano vox;
* Owen McIntosh: tenor vox, tenor III soloist;
* Elena Mullins: soprano vox;
* Timothy Parsons: alto vox;
* Michael Peters: bass II vox;
* Jeffrey Rich: tenor vox;
* Sian Ricketts: soprano vox;
* Jason Steigerwalt: bass I vox;
* Nadia Tarnawsky: alto vox.

### Guest soloists

* [Jesse Blumberg](http://jesseblumberg.com/): baritone vox, bass I soloist;
* [Kristen Dubenion-Smith](http://kristendubenionsmith.com/): mezzo-soprano vox, altus soloist;
* [Oliver Mercer](http://www.olivermercertenor.com/): tenor vox, tenor soloist;
* [Molly Quinn](http://mollyquinn.com/): soprano vox, cantus soloist;
* [Nell Snaidas](http://www.nellsnaidas.com/): soprano vox, sextus soloist;
* [Karim Sulayman](http://www.karimsulayman.com/): tenor vox, quintus soloist;
* Jonathan Woody: bass vox, bass II soloist.

## Notes

Wow, what an amazing, moving, powerful, uplifting experience! At the end I looked around and noticed more than one audience member crying with joy. Wow!

Forgive me for not beginning at the start, but I wanted to establish right up front that this show was one of the best I've seen all year; Apollo's Fire has now been inscribed as the latest entry on my "must see" list of performers.

After a few opening remarks from Matias Tarnopolsky (sp?), the show began with the sound of a processional drum from the church lobby as the majority of the group sat silently on stage. As the beat of the drum continued, about a dozen of the singers -- the soloists? -- marched slowly and solemnly up the aisle and took their places with the rest of the chorus. And so with that semi-staged theatrical flourish, the performance began!

As might be obvious from the setlist, the various motets were vehicles for spotlighting the talents of one or more soloists who embellished their singing roles by gesturing or walking or otherwise _acting_ in a manner consonant with the lyrics of the song. While not as dramatic as a semi-staged work (such as a Handel oratorio), the acting seemed appropriate to conveying the meaning of the tunes without overstepping what boundaries might exist to differentiate this as a religious work rather than a secular one. Sitting up front, this kept me quite engaged!
 
Another thing that kept me engaged was trying to follow the singing (in Latin) via the tiny print in the program. Struggling at that task convinced me that it's probably time to get some half-readers (so I can make out the letters without squinting while still being able to look up and follow the action onstage). Sigh; the vicissitudes of age are slicing me with a thousand tiny cuts!

The task of following the progress of the piece was aided somewhat by the repetition of the minor doxology: _Gloria patri et Filio..._ at the conclusion of each Psalm, with a final repetition at the conclusion of the _Magnificat_. Interestingly, Monteverdi seemed to me to have developed ever more complicated variations for that section, so that while each return was clearly recognizable, it was also grander and more ornate, finishing with the most amazing bit at the end, the emotional intensity of which is what I presume caught myself and many other audience members in a sort of shared auditory ecstasy. Way to go Claudio! And three cheers for Jeannette Sorrell at conjuring this performance from her merry band!

Look's like Amazon is offering a [studio recording](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VC5194/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003VC5194&linkCode=as2&tag=ffhq-20&linkId=BQNIIZGWOUTTRB26) of this work from a few years ago (with different soloists) -- and HDtracks has a [24-bit version](http://www.hdtracks.com/monteverdi-vespers-1) available to download (albeit from another group) for even less. An embarrassment of riches! I think that one of those choices is going to be in my collection pretty darn soon!

{{tag>music Apollo's_Fire First_Congregational_Church Julie_Andrijeski Peter_Bennett Peter_Christensen Peter_Collins Bruce_Dickey Greg_Ingles Rebecca_Landell John_Lenti Kyle_Miller Johanna_Novom Adriane_Post René_Schiffer William_Simms Jeannette_Sorrell Kathie_Stewart Kiri_Tollaksen Sue_Yelanjian Jeff_Barnett Robin_Bier Margaret_Carpenter Madeline_Healey Anna_Lenti Owen_McIntosh Elena_Mullins Timothy_Parsons Michael_Peters Jeffrey_Rich Sian_Ricketts Jason_Steigerwalt Nadia_Tarnawsky Jesse_Blumberg Kristen_Dubenion-Smith Oliver_Mercer Molly_Quinn Nell_Snaidas Karim_Sulayman Jonathan_Woody }}

[[2014-11-11|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2014|Up to the 2014 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2014#November_events|Up to the 2014 event list!]] ☸ [[2014-11-14|On to the next event!]]