United States Bach: Caleb Hudson (natural trumpet), Kathryn Montoya (recorder), Gaia Saetermoe-Howard (oboe), Alan Choo (violin), Nicole Divall (viola), Min Young-Kim (viola), Kathie Stewart (recorder), Apollo’s Fire / Jeannette Sorrell (harpsichord and conductor). First United Methodist Church, Akron, 20.10.2024. (MSJ)
Bach – Overture from Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major; Brandenburg Concertos No.2 in F major, No.3 in G major, No. 4 in G major, No.6 in B-flat major
At last Thursday’s Cleveland Orchestra concert, I overheard a couple of audience members talking about their concert plans. ‘You going to see Apollo’s Fire this weekend?’ the first man asked. ‘Yes’, the second replied. ‘They’re playing the Brandenburgs. Again’. They chuckled ruefully.
It was an interesting exchange to ponder. In the modern world of Baroque performance, Johann Sebastian Bach’s once-forgotten Brandenburg Concertos have become common enough to be taken for granted. And it may well be that there are pieces in the musical repertory that deserve to be put out to pasture every so often. Speaking as a critic, I would love to see Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Concerto and Shostakovich’s Fifth be given a rest for a couple years.
But the Brandenburgs? I am not so sure about that. The six concertos are extraordinary examples of the art of musical composition with all sorts of gloriously absurd demands: joyfully rude hunting horns in the first; a stratospherically high trumpet part in the second which is probably more difficult than breakdancing across a minefield; string trinities in fractal designs in the third that say more profound things about the world than most religious tomes; an absolutely manic fiddle part in the fourth; the invention of the world’s first solo keyboard concerto in the fifth; and dusky soloists with an antique instrument support staff in the sixth.
I am inclined to say that if a performance of the Brandenburgs disappoints, it is either a lack of imagination in the listener or a lack of commitment in the performers. I have little doubt that the rueful chucklers were cheering as loudly as everyone else at this Apollo’s Fire performance of the second, third, fourth and sixth Brandenburg Concertos.
The simple economics of the programming was amply in evidence as I struggled to find a parking place outside Akron’s First United Methodist Church because of the capacity turnout for these beloved works. And it is not just the familiar repertory, it is that audiences know after more than three decades of evidence that Apollo’s Fire won’t just phone it in. The ensemble’s mission under founding director Jeannette Sorrell has always been to deliver performances worthy of the composer’s imagination and, once again, they delivered.
The ensemble’s level of achievement sends me back into the mines to dig out a new batch of superlatives. Perhaps the best thing I can do is focus on a few salient details. One must wonder how Sorrell is able to continuously fuel a mind so curious that almost every phrase in a performance feels considered and adjusted in the moment, so that no two Apollo’s Fire performances sound alike. Phrases, for instance in the Concerto No.3, were never gratuitously interrupted nor pulled about with exaggeration, yet at the same time, no paragraph was allowed to tick by on a metronomic autopilot. Rather, the rise and fall of phrases – particularly at the joints where one connected to the next – were weighted to give a sense of gravity leading to a new thought or a new key. Questions of historical practice versus creative expression became moot as both approaches melded into one. Of course, Sorrell’s thoughts only become a reality when fleshed out by her tremendous players, and it is their close-knit connections as they play that bring the ideas to life. It was joy to catch, near the end of the Third, a moment where principal cellist René Schiffer added an extra trill and winked at fellow cellist Anna Steinhoff as they rolled into the closing measures. Their sense of fun was contagious.
The Concerto No.2, less frequently performed than the others thanks to that treacherous trumpet part, here shone like a gem. Caleb Hudson did not just navigate the notes, he gave both shape to his own part and conscious thought to his interaction with the other, less robust instruments. Kathryn Montoya, often heard as an oboist with the ensemble, proved equally adept on the recorder, bringing a rock-steady precision and clarity to her intricate part, while Gaia Saetermoe-Howard slipped bright daubs of oboe color over and around the other instruments. Alan Choo alternated between vivid solos and enthusiastic leadership of the violins. A typically insightful moment was Sorrell’s choice of tempo for the second movement, which is almost always done too slowly. When played flowingly, as here, it is obvious that Bach pulled a real ‘Adam’s rib’ moment by basing the whole slow movement on a gently rocking accompaniment figure in the basso continuo that is borrowed from the first movement. Most performers miss the connection, but not much escapes Apollo’s Fire.
The mellow Concerto No.6 was introduced with an improvised intro from Sorrell on continuo harpsichord. It featured an ideally contrasted pair of viola soloists: Nicole Duvall’s instrument speaks with a gleaming mahogany voice, while Min-Young Kim’s viola brings a darker, duskier tone. This contrast helped clarify the interactions which, with the additional layer of amorphous viola da gamba chords, sometimes turns into a muddy contrapuntal sludge. Not here: this time, it was a star moment for instruments usually left in the shadows.
Montoya returned with Kathie Stewart to play the chirping recorders in the Concerto No.4, with Alan Choo reprising his demonic star turn in the ferocious solo violin part (as heard last year). It is fascinating how smoothly Choo transitions from adept leadership of the violins as concertmaster to stepping out brilliantly as soloist, often moving from one role to the other in just a few notes.
To present the entire ensemble on equal footing (and serve as a convenient warmup), the concert opened with an alternately noble and invigorating performance of the overture from the Orchestral Suite No.3. Here, and throughout, the ensemble was in formidably fine form to start their thirty-third overall season (and the thirtieth presenting concerts in Akron).
In the end, I think it comes down to this: new explorations are necessary and welcome, but the reality is that an independent arts organization must depend on a certain amount of bread-and-butter programming to ensure a solid bottom line. The problem that can enter is when the performances turn routine, and the music fails to spark to life. To date, that has not happened with Apollo’s Fire, perhaps because each performance lives in the moment, never becoming a remote museum display. If they bring that level of passion to what they play, I can only welcome whatever gifts they bring.
Mark Sebastian Jordan