“Playing with Fire” is the perfect title for this film of passion because it is so full of combustion, from the conductor’s unruly canopy of red curls to her full-bodied physical expressions of the story associated with her score. It is no surprise her baroque ensemble is called Apollo’s Fire.
Apollo was no ordinary god. Son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto, he was the master musician who, along with his “choir” of Nine Muses, delighted the ancient gods of Olympus.
Jeannette Sorrell, our 21st century conductor par excellence, brings the essence of this god back to life with her leadership of Apollo’s Fire. When the music calls for it, she plays a gorgeous double-manual harpsichord, an exact replica of an 18th-century French harpsichord preserved in a Paris museum. Each member of the ensemble plays with instruments from the baroque period and Sorrell, who knows the intricacies of the time period and the stories associated with each piece they play, works with the musicians to evoke the “affekts” or passions in their listeners.
Interesting to know is that her ex-husband, René Schiffer, is her principal cellist whom she called back from Europe after their divorce because he’s simply that good a musician. Schiffer tries to explain their break up saying, “When you fall in love you fall in love with your sub-conscious.” I’d like more follow-up on that, but the film went on.
I’ve always wanted to know what was required of a conductor. Sorrell explains that she reads music for the different instruments and can hear them as she reads. How she can conduct, read the music for each instrument and play her harpsichord at the same time is a feat to view.
The entire documentary is itself a work of art. Allan Miller, the director, writer, and executive producer has choreographed an informative, gloriously beautiful account of Sorrell’s incredible talent. He has a degree in music from Harvard and is also a conductor, so he knew just what questions needed answering and just what examples of Sorrell’s genius needed to be captured.
Classical Music Magazine (UK) has called Apollo’s Fire “The U.S.A.’s hottest baroque band” and the world is lucky to be able to examine it and its fiery conductor through a recent availability on digital platforms.
Credits
Director/Writer: Allan Miller
Featuring: Jeannette Sorrell
Produced by Gina Maria Leonetti (line) and Allan Miller (executive producer)
Cinematography: Nyika Jamsco
Sound Department: Peter Miller
Editorial Department: Rob Burgos
Released: 2019 (first) and June 9, 2023, on digital platforms
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