Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain
Apollo's Fire, Jeannette Sorrell
The Baroque music group give us sounds we don’t often associate with Bethlehem but are probably far closer to what was heard there: zingy harps, reedy winds and plenteous modality. At first...
Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain
Apollo's Fire, Jeannette Sorrell
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The Baroque music group give us sounds we don’t often associate with Bethlehem but are probably far closer to what was heard there: zingy harps, reedy winds and plenteous modality. At first...
About
Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain conjures a holiday celebration of the Scottish and Irish immigrants who settled in the Appalachian Mountains. With Jeannette Sorrell directing Apollo’s Fire and a host of singers young and old in folk carols and shapenote hymns, Christmas is welcomed with love, singing, dancing and prayer. Following the release of the award-winning Sugarloaf Mountain: An Appalachian Gathering (AV2329), which was a Top 5 Billboard Classical Crossover hit, Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire present Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain. In this celebration of the American immigrant experience, fiddlers, medieval harp, hammered dulcimer, bagpipes and singers join with children’s voices to evoke the Celtic roots of an Appalachian Christmas. From Christmas Eve in medieval Scotland to folk carols and shape-note hymns at a toe-tapping Christmas gathering in Virginia, Apollo’s Fire follows the journeys of the Irish and Scottish settlers who bravely crossed the Atlantic, settled in the mountains and welcomed Christmas with love, singing, dancing and prayer.
Artists: Apollo’s Fire - Jeannette Sorrell, director Amanda Powell, soprano Ross Hauck, tenor Jeffrey Strauss, baritone
Critical Acclaim:
“The lightning strike of genius can happen, sometimes even repeatedly to those willing to earn it. Jeannette Sorrell is one such person. This show was intense, interesting,
spectacularly performed, and deeply moving. If that’s not genius, I don’t know what is.” - Seen & Heard International
”The five sold-out performances of “Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain” this month attest to the popularity of Apollo’s Fire’s crossover shows. This one is just as alluring and
infectious as its predecessor” - ClevelandClassical.com
Contents and tracklist
- Apollo's Singers, Apollo's Fire
- Jeannette Sorrell
- Apollo's Fire, Apollo's Musettes
- Jeannette Sorrell
Awards and reviews
December 2018
The Baroque music group give us sounds we don’t often associate with Bethlehem but are probably far closer to what was heard there: zingy harps, reedy winds and plenteous modality. At first it sounds like a try-hard jamboree. You quickly realise it is far more, built of extreme focus yet huge variation in mood, geography and style.
Daily Mail 14th December 2018
The Appalachians teemed with fine ‘home musicians’ and here is an exhilarating attempt, using period instruments, to reflect that richness.
