For those unaware, Jeannette Sorrell, the pioneering founder and director of baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire, always has unique vision for her interpretations of the classic repertoire.

And so it is with this recording of J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor that draws the listener into an equally fresh, intimate and searing emotional journey – from the anguished opening outcry through to moments of joy, pathos, triumph, and ultimately, a vision of peace.

Jeannette explains, “While music is always an emotional journey, I feel that Bach’s Mass is an exceptionally cathartic and healing one for our time”. Aiming to emulate the intimacy of Bach’s own performances of the B Minor Mass, which the composer completed in the year prior to his death, Jeannette utilizes twenty-four instrumentalists and twenty-two choristers, including the five soloists.

As summed up by Chicago Classical Review, which named Sorrell’s and Apollo’s Fire’s live performance one of the Best 10 Concerts of 2025, “Easily one of the most memorable concerts of recent years … the vocal ensemble was inspired throughout … The instrumental consort was in brilliant form, playing with unimpeachable balance and intonation … and a sensitivity to the dancelike elements of the mass. Presiding over it all was Jeannette Sorrell, who with understated grace led her charges on a moving traversal of Bach’s unsurpassed canvas”.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)
Mass in B Minor, BWV 232

CD1:
Part 1: Missa (Kyrie & Gloria)
1. No. 1, Kyrie eleison
2. No. 2, Christe eleison
3. No. 3, Kyrie eleison
4. No. 4, Gloria in excelsis Deo | No. 5, Et in terra pax
5. No. 6, Laudamus te
6. No. 7, VII. Gratias agimus tibi
7. No. 8, Domine Deus | No. 9, Qui tollis peccata mundi
8. No. 10, Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
9. No. 11, Quoniam tu solus sanctus | No. 12, Cum Sancto Spiritu

CD2:
Part 2: Symbolum Nicenum (Credo)
1. No. 13, Credo in unum Deum | No. 14, Patrem omnipotentem
2. No. 15, Et in unum Dominum
3. No. 16, Et incarnatus est
4. No. 17, Crucifixus
5. No. 18, Et resurrexit
6. No. 19, Et in Spiritum Sanctum
7. No. 20, Confiteor | No. 21, Et expecto

Part 3: Sanctus
8. No. 22, Pleni sunt coeli

Part 4: Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem
9. No. 23, Osanna
10. No. 24, Benedictus
11. No. 25, Osanna
12. No. 26, Agnus Dei
13. No. 27, Dona nobis pacem

Recorded April 5th-10th, 2025 at Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio, on CD1 they open this dutifully resplendent set Part 1: Missa (Kyrie & Gloria): which begins with the harmonious Kyrie eleison, the veritably shimmering Christe eleison, a stoically melodious selection of Kyrie eleison and both the joyful Gloria in excelsis Deo | No. 5, Et in terra pax and the gently strident fare of Laudamus te, and then we are gifted the choral Gratias agimus tibi, the elegant Domine Deus | No. 9, Qui tollis peccata mundi, the set rounding out on the renaissance-hued ambiance of Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris and the foreboding Quoniam tu solus sanctus | No. 12, Cum Sancto Spiritu.

Then we are gifted CD2, which opens on Part 2: Symbolum Nicenum (Credo): which begins with the harmonically layered Credo in unum Deum | No. 14, Patrem omnipotentem, the soulfully-hued Et in unum Dominum and the dulcetly-sculpted Et incarnatus est, and they are in turn followed seamlessly by the gently strident fare of Crucifixus, the uplifting Et resurrexit and the resplendent Et in Spiritum Sanctum, before closing on the chorally heavenly Confiteor | No. 21, Et expecto.

Next we get Part 3: Sanctus whose piece Pleni sunt coeli is, simply put, a soaringly engaging work of musical art, and then comes Part 4: Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem: which itself opens on the affecting beauty of Osanna, the more floral in texture Benedictus, the bountiful section of Osanna, the recording overall coming to a close on the resilience of Agnus Dei and the quietly robust, yet never overwrought Dona nobis pacem.

Apollo’s Fire:
Jeannette Sorrell (director, harpsichord), Rebecca Myers (soprano), Aryssa Leigh Burrs, mezzo-(soprano), Emily Marvosh (contralto), Jacob Perry (tenor), Edward Vogel (baritone), Paul Max Tipton (bass-baritone).

BACH B Minor Mass – Kyrie, Christe Eleison, Kyrie, Gloria – APOLLO’S FIRE/Jeannette Sorrell (2019) [Official Video]

Official Purchase Link

www.apollosfire.org