From London to Jerusalem: America period instrument ensemble Apollo’s Fire return to London for a second residency at St Martin in the Fields

Apollo’s Fire

Apollo’s Fire, the American period instrument ensemble led by its founder Jeanette Sorrell, is coming to the UK for a short tour featuring the company’s second residency at the Church of St Martin in the Fields. They are at St Martin in the Fields on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 April and complete the mini-residency with a concert at Snape Maltings.

On Friday lunchtime there is Pubs and Palaces of 1610, a chamber recital exploring music from the crossroads of baroque and folk traditions, featuring duo and trio performances by five artists from the ensemble. Then the early evening concert sees Apollo’s Fire joined by musicians from the English Baroque Soloists for Fencing Match – Duelling Double Concertos, with double concertos by Vivaldi, Telemann and Bach, plus dances by Rameau. Then late evening there is Baklava Bash: A Middle Eastern Celebration in the crypt, an evocation of a Middle-Eastern café with music from Israeli recorder virtuoso Daphna Mor and Palestinian-American oud master Ronnie Malley and friends.

Saturday sees the ensemble’s residency conclude with O Jerusalem! Crossroads of Three Faiths, a musical tour through Jerusalem and its ancient Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters, as surprising cross-influences emerge, as a Sephardic ballad leads to a classical Arabic love song, and selections from Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 echo the exotic and rapturous singing of the Jewish cantors in the temples. 

On Sunday 26 April, they will be again joined by musicians from the English Baroque Soloists for Fencing Match – Duelling Double Concertos at Snape Maltings.

Full details from Apollo’s Fire’s website.