Cleveland-based baroque orchestra Apollo's Fire launched on Avie in July 2010 with a double release featuring Mozart and Bach. They follow with their tribute to the 400th anniversary of Monteverdi's seminal Vespers of the Blessed Virgin, released in anticipation of the group's seven-city tour in October 2010 performing this work. Vespers has been a signature piece for Apollo's Fire for over ten years, and it's fitting for Sorrell and her vibrant band--already well-known through their extensive national touring and NPR broadcasts--to bring this magnificent masterwork to wider audiences through this recording.