Apollo's Fire to Release BACH'S MASS IN B MINOR on AVIE Records

AVIE Records will release a new recording of J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor from Apollo's Fire on October 23, 2026. The recording, catalogued AV2850, is led by conductor Jeannette Sorrell and features Apollo's Fire and Apollo's Singers.

The soloists on the recording are Rebecca Myers, soprano; Aryssa Leigh Burrs, mezzo-soprano; Emily Marvosh, contralto; Jacob Perry, tenor; Edward Vogel, baritone; and Paul Max Tipton, bass-baritone.

Jeannette Sorrell, the founder and director of the baroque orchestra, aimed 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, utilizing twenty-four instrumentalists and twenty-two choristers, including the soloists. Sorrell explains, 'While music is always an emotional journey, I feel that Bach's Mass is an exceptionally cathartic and healing one for our time.'

'The Mass in B Minor was not written all in one dash like Handel's Messiah. Rather, it serves as a summation of Bach's artistic legacy. It is epic in two ways: as a traversal of musical styles (renaissance, baroque, galante), and also as an emotional traversal of the human condition – from the anguished opening outcry, through moments of joy, pathos, a searing crucifixion, and ultimately the triumph of peace.'

Chicago Classical Review named Sorrell's and Apollo's Fire's live performance one of the Best 10 Concerts of 2025, writing, 'Easily one of the most memorable concerts of recent years… the 20-member vocal ensemble was inspired throughout the performance. 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.'

Tracklist

Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 — Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Missa (Kyrie & Gloria)

I. Kyrie eleison

II. Christie eleison

III. Kyrie eleison II

IV. Gloria in excelsis Deo | V. Et in terra pax

VI. Laudamus te

VII. Gratias agimus tibi

VIII. Domine Deus | IX. Qui tollis peccata mundi

X. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris

XI. Quoniam tu solus sanctus | XII. Cum Sancto Spiritu

II. Symbolum Nicenum (Credo)

XIII. Credo in unum Deum | XIV. Patrem omnipotentem

XV. Et in unum Dominum

XVI. Et incarnatus est

XVII. Crucifixus

XVIII. Et resurrexit

XIX. Et in Spiritum Sanctum

XX. Confiteor | XXI. Et expecto

III Sanctus

XXII. Pleni sunt coeli

IV. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem

XXIII. Osanna

XXIV. Benedictus

XXV. Osanna

XXVI. Agnus Dei

XXVII. Dona nobis pacem

About the Artists

Named for the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo's Fire is a GRAMMY-winning ensemble. Founded by award-winning harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell, the period band is dedicated to the baroque ideal that music should evoke the various Affekts or passions in the listeners. The Apollo's Fire musicians are creative artists who share Sorrell's passion for drama and rhetoric.

Apollo's Fire has performed six European tours, with sold-out concerts at the BBC Proms in London, Madrid's Royal Theatre, Bordeaux's Grand Théàtre de l'Opéra, the National Concert Hall of Ireland, and venues in France, Italy, Austria, and Portugal.

Chosen by the Daily Telegraph as one of London's 'Best 5 Classical Concerts of the Year,' its 2014 London performance was praised for 'superlative music-making… combining European stylishness with American entrepreneurialism.'

North American tour engagements include Carnegie Hall (twice), the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals (three times), the Boston Early Music Festival series, the Aspen Music Festival, Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, as well as major venues in Toronto, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Most of these concerts have been sold out. In 2021, Apollo's Singers made their debut with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Jeannette Sorrell, winning rave reviews.

At home in Cleveland and Chicago, Apollo's Fire enjoys sold-out performances at its series, which has drawn national attention for creative programming.

With over 17 million views of its YouTube videos, Apollo's Fire has released 32 commercial CDs and won a GRAMMY award in 2019 for the album Songs of Orpheus with tenor Karim Sulayman. Twelve of the ensemble's CD releases have become best-sellers on the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums Chart, including Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Monteverdi Vespers, Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, Biber's Mystery Sonatas, and Sorrell's crossover programs including Sacrum Mysterium – A Celtic Christmas Vespers; Sugarloaf Mountain – An Appalachian Gathering; and Sephardic Journey – Wanderings of the Spanish Jews.

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