Apollo’s Fire, led by Jeannette Sorrell, has just released possibly the best available small-sized period-instrument recording of Bach’s B-minor Mass. This is thanks to their vision of Bach’s concept of the Mass setting as a whole with nothing amiss: correct choices of tempi, balances of orchestra, chorus, and solo voices.

An early-music field with a desire to sustain specialists — and, notably, to keep its academic programs in existence — must treat repertoire planning as a labor issue, not just an artistic one.

After pandemic stumbles and closures, a few key leaders are recharging Seattle’s early-music landscape with a home-grown, artist-led business model. ‘I think people have had enough of consuming art online. They want in-person experiences again.’

New England Conservatory’s Pratt Early Music Program aims to teach historical performance practice to “modern” instrumentalists and to populate symphony orchestras in the future. As collegiate early-music education is facing budget cuts across the country, the Pratt Program shows a way forward — with dedicated funding.