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UID:958@coolcleveland.com
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20251108
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20251109
DTSTAMP:20260402T052049Z
URL:https://coolcleveland.com/events/music-review-apollos-fire-mozarts-req
 uiem-by-laura-kennelly/
SUMMARY:MUSIC REVIEW: Apollo's Fire—Mozart's Requiem by Laura Kennelly
DESCRIPTION:\nApollo’s Fire\, conducted by Jeannette Sorrell\, filled the
  Severance Music Center’s main stage on November 8 with an original and 
 engaging program titled “Mozart’s Requiem: A Tapestry: A Masterpiece R
 eimagined.”  The concert’s blend of Mozart’s Requiem (1791)\, newly
  commissioned music\, and traditional spirituals wove old and new into a c
 oherent whole and created a magical evening.\nThe Requiem\, famously left 
 incomplete by the dying 35-year-old genius\, has been “completed” by c
 omposers over the centuries\, but (as Sorrell pointed out in program notes
 ) their additions lack something—Mozart’s voice. Sorrell chose to pres
 ent a concert combining the parts we know Mozart wrote (38 minutes’ wort
 h) with pieces that complemented and/or enhanced what she believes reflect
 ed his world (as tumultuous as our own) the composer lived in. She threade
 d them into what she describes as a “Tapestry of our Time.”\nThe six-s
 ectioned program wove multiple elements into each division. As an example\
 , the opening segment “REMEMBER THEM\,” moved from the “Introitus”
  from Mozart’s Requiem in D minor\, to Sorrell’s “Voices of 1791” 
 (those voices are from enslaved people sailing from the west coast of Afri
 ca) and finished with Mozart’s “Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison.”\nFo
 llowing that came sections labeled MOTHERLESS CHILD\, THE KING OF GLORY\, 
 ON THE PRECIPICE\, DELIVER US FROM EVIL\, and WE’LL HEAR THE SAINTS A-SI
 NGING. Compositions interspersing Mozart’s composition were Damien Geter
 ’s “An African American Requiem\,” the world premiere of Eric Gould
 ’s “1791: Requiem for the Ancestors\,” Jessie Montgomery’s “Five
  Freedom Songs\,” and Sorrell’s “Voices of 1791.”\nGuest soloists 
 Sonya Headlam (soprano)\, Guadalupe Paz (mezzo-soprano)\, Jacob Perry (ten
 or)\, and Kevin Deas (bass-baritone)\, plus two Apollo’s Singers (sopran
 os Elora Kares and base-baritone Charles Wesley Evans broke our hearts and
  healed our souls with their (seemingly) effortless ability to convey both
  notes and feelings as they sang.\nA full Apollo’s Fire Orchestra and th
 e Apollo’s Singers followed their red-haired genius conductor with enthu
 siastic conviction. Sorrell’s fitted jacket evoked images of 18th-centur
 y composers such as Mozart or Vivaldi.\nThe large and enthusiastic audienc
 e (many of whom admitted to being “first-timers”) responded with delig
 ht. The mix of classical\, centuries-old compositions\, with spirituals an
 d freshly-composed works proved delightful — offering a taste of one gen
 re or another and then moving on quickly to the next. (So\, if one didn’
 t please you\, surely the next one did.)\nBottom line: Apollo’s Fire con
 tinues to surprise and delight. I think Mozart would have approved hearing
  baroque-era instruments and classic works presented alongside new pieces.
  As is all too easy to say (so I will again say it) “Apollo’s Fire sti
 ll burns bright.”\nSide note: This blend of old and new\, bringing out t
 he similarities between eras (with a tasteful reproach to current politics
 ) did indeed resemble a tapestry. It also suggested quilts\, such as those
  from African-American artists in Alabama’s Gees Bend with its mix of tr
 aditional and “right now.”\n\n[Written by Laura Kennedy]\n[mappress ma
 pid="5027"]
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://coolcleveland.com/wp-content/uploads/202
 5/11/Mozart.jpg
CATEGORIES:Performance,----WRITERS----,Music: Jazz / Blues,Music:
 Classical,Laura Kennelly,Review
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