I almost didn't go to Apollo's Fire's Messiah this Christmas. I get tired of the endless repetitions of the Christmas section, which so debilitates the power of this complicated and not altogether holiday-friendly oratorio. But Cleveland Classical asked me to review it, so we went.We loved it. The performance had integrity and drama. Every part seemed rethought for the moment. And beautifully performed. Photo of Apollo's Fire by Roger Mastroianni.
As usual, here's my review. If you like it, I hope you'll subscribe to ClevelandClassical.com.
Another star was the wonderful baroque trumpeter Josh Cohen. Here's him playing "The trumpet shall sound" with another group: 
3 comments:
Just a test to see if the two halves of the anti-robot "words" must be joined to make it onto the page.
Great review, Nick. (This is my second try at a comment, since I'm not sure the first attempt worked; I guess one must have a space between the two parts of the anti-robot "words". ) With the proliferation of Messiah performances during the holiday season, even a careful selection does not always guarantee such a deeply serious and internally spawned performance as the one you experienced. The nine generously minutes you shared with us were all too few.
Best wishes for the season and a New Year filled with discovery.
The singer was "utterly musical"? ---- I don't expect you to equal the eloquence of a George Bernard Shaw, but surely you could have found more evocative words.
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