Apollo's Fire

Music director Jeannette Sorrell compares the 16th-century Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi with Beethoven — a revolutionary living at the end of one era forging the style of the next. "He used the tools of the Renaissance, but created a new and intensely emotional form of expression we call Baroque," Sorrell says. She leads her orchestra and an international cast of voice soloists in Monteverdi's Vespers during a series of concerts and related events around Cleveland, before taking it on a national tour. The ensemble recently rereleased a newly edited recording of the piece. It's 90 minutes of music built for the acoustics of a big church — which happens to be Sorrell's choice of venues. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday October 5, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church (7575 Bellflower Rd. in Mentor); 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 7, at Westminster Presbyterian Church (1250 West Exchange St. in Akron); 8 p.m. Friday, October 8, and 8 p.m. Saturday, October 9, at First Baptist Church (3630 Fairmount Blvd. in Shaker Heights); and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, October 10, at St. Christopher Catholic Church (20141 Detroit Rd. in Rocky River). Tickets are $10 to $65 and are available by calling 216-320-0012, or at apollosfire.org. — Gill