Kirckman Concerts Present: Apollo's Cabinet

Murders, drinking songs, Cinderella stories, European tours, serene polyphony and candlelit rituals all feature in the evocative and story driven programmes of Apollo’s Cabinet. Winners of the Royal Overseas League Mixed Ensemble prize, Utrecht Oude Muziek competition, York Early Music Competition Friends Prize, Göttingen Händel Competition and the International Biber Competition, the group offer a signature mix of acting, dancing, poetry and drama to bring historical performance to modern audiences.

The Elements is an immersive concert experience reflecting the wonder of our planet – and the accelerating threat it faces. Music from French opera forms the foundation of four elemental suites. Interwoven with narration and evocative video projections, the performance captures the splendour, beauty, ferocity and destruction of the planet we live on.

Apollo’s Cabinet is an award-winning ensemble known for their imaginative and theatrical approach to early music to create powerful concert experiences. The Elements reflects the group’s passion to using early music to speak to contemporary issues. Centered around Baroque depictions of the natural world, including dramatic portrayals of the elements by Jean-Féry Rebel, Andre Cardinal Destouches and Michel Richard Delalande, the programme captures both the awe-inspiring beauty and the destructive power of nature. What drew the ensemble to this repertoire was its startling relevance: music that once expressed wonder and awe still resonates in this time of environmental crisis. By incorporating narration, videography and a new commission by Orlando Gough, Elements offers an immersive and urgent reflection on our relationship with nature and what we do to protect it.

Programme:

CHAOS - Jean-Fery Rebel

EARTH - Music by Jean-Fery Rebel, Andre Cardinal Destouches, Michel Richard Delalande, Antonio Vivaldi, Orlando Gough (*1953)

WATER - Music by Jean-Fery Rebel, Andre Cardinal Destouches, Michel Richard Delalande, Georg Philipp Telemann, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Marin Marais, Jean Baptiste Lully , Orlando Gough (*1953)

FIRE - Music by Etienne le Moine, Jean- Philippe Rameau, Charles Dieupart, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Pietro Locatelli, Jean-Fery Rebel, Andre Cardinal Destouches, Michel Richard Delalande, Orlando Gough (*1953)

AIR - Music by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Jean-Fery Rebel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Orlando Gough (*1953)

THE FIFTH ELEMENT (world premiere) - Orlando Gough (*1953)

This performance will last approximately 2 hours, including an interval.