An enjoyable way to spend an evening during the 17th century — especially if one was a musician — would be to invite friends who were also musicians to visit. Of course, said friends would bring their instruments along with them, and possibly even music they had written, or thought of writing. It was the nature of music during this time for it to be improved upon sometimes by adding one’s own ornamentations to it. Performers were, in addition to Ms. Sorrell on harpsichord and chamber organ, violinists David Greenberg and Miho Hashizume; cellist René Schiffer and lutenist Richard Stone, but this time with a theorbo. All are well-known and regarded in the early music world. Titled Violin Fantasy, the intials V and F were intertwined on the pages of the program book. They might as easily have stood for Virtuoso Free-Style. The two violinists incorporate very different playing styles: Mr. Greenberg is very physical and demonstrative, while Ms. Hashizume is more of the stand and play variety. Yet their diversity blended beautifully in producing lush, warm, and when necessary, intricate sounds. The program differed slightly from the printed version for the first half, but was still all Italian. Insted of Rossi, Uccellini, Kapsberger, etc., we heard two Uccellini pieces, then Kapsberger followed by Rossi. No matter. Whatever the order played, the performances were superb. Mssrs. Shiffer and Stone provided a wonderful, sturdy foundation for the improvisatory flights of the violins.

If you’ve never seen one, a theorbo is a visual treat as well as a musical one. Some six feet long from one end to the other, it provides for interesting scenes while being tuned, as this one was during the second half. The instrument contains two sets of strings; the longer ones on the side of the instrument closest to the player, the shorter ones on the far side, as it rests in the player’s lap. The tuning pegs are also placed accordingly, requiring one to check the longer strings, then set the instrument on the floor in order to reach the peg, should the string require more adjustment. These pegs for the longer strings are at the far end of the approximately four-foot fingerboard. Part of the guitar/lute/ mandolin family, the sound of the theorbo is yet different from them, having a deeper, more solid sound, although the body is apparently similar in size to a guitar.

Ms. Sorrell switched from harpsichord to chamber organ for the final work on the first half, the Sonata Concertato XII of Castello. The organ sounded more like a choir of wooden flutes, which, combined with the strings made for a very different sound than when joined by the harpsichord. A lively, frisky piece, everyone was well-disposed to vacate the sanctuary for the necessary tuning of the harpsichord during intermission, as we’d been forewarned before the program started. After intermission, it was German music: Walther in a lovely piece populated by cuckoos (il Cuccu) ably performed by Ms. Hashizume, and a Scherzo for the athletic Mr.Greenberg. With no biographical information available for Duchiffre, assigning him to German heritage may not be exactly correct. (I suspect he’s more French, as is his possible descendant, Mr. Shiffer, the cellist.) Nevertheless his Sonata Apollonia combined all the nationalistic tendencies into one splendid showpiece for the instrument, and was even cleverly named for the organization that would champion his music some centuries later. Ms. Sorrell gave us a sparkling version of Bach’s Sonata nach Reincken, which was followed by the ensemble in a suite by the composer Reincken. This was a delightful work, incorporating elements of both Italian and German techniques. A fitting way to close an evening among friends. During December, Apollo’s Fire will present several performances of Handel’s Messiah. http://www.ApollosFire.org from Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriter@core.com

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