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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bach Swings in Leipzig with Help from Bobby McFerrin and Friends, 14 Aug 2006
This DVD is of a concert from 28 July 2000that took place in Leipzig -- Bach's home town -- in the Marktplatz right across from Bach's very own St. Thomas Church. And although there was a light rain and the concert was entirely outdoors, the huge crowd, some of them with umbrellas, were clearly transported by the music and by the performers who represented a cross-section of the best of classical and jazz artists. The concert started about 10:30 at night and lasted until 1AM. And rain or not, it didn't look like anyone left. The audience was considerably younger than one would see at a typical classical music or even a typical jazz concert. And it appeared that everyone was having a marvelous time. You will, too.
The groups and artists included:
Bobby McFerrin
The King's Singers
German Brass
Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony, violinists
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Christian Gansch
Jacques Loussier Trio
Quintessence Saxophone Quintet
Turtle Island String Quartet
Jiri Stivin, flutist, and Collegium Quodlibet
Highlights:
Bobby McFerrin singing (while conducting the Gewandhaus) the Air for the G String in an eerily effective, goosebump-raising wordless falsetto
Gil Shaham and his wife Adele Anthony playing the outer movements of Bach's Double Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor
German Brass, standing on the clock tower balcony high above the crowd, playing the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
Quintessence Saxophone Quintet playing the 'Little' Fugue in G Minor and really swinging it
Jacques Loussier Trio playing the Gavotte from the Suite No. 3 with jazz riffs
A set of improvisations by Bobby McFerrin including singing the accompaniment of the Bach/Gounod setting of the First C Major Prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier ('Ave Maria') while the audience sang the words of the 'Ave Maria'
And my very favorite: The King's Singers doing a pastiche of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, along with other favorites, with some of the funniest lyrics I've ever heard, among which are Mrs Bach, 'resting after the birth of their 33rd child', telling Johann he shouldn't worry about his difficulty finishing the Toccata and Fugue, but rather 'just come to bed. Something always comes up.' And try the first phrase of the Two Violin Concerto to these words: 'Don't get your knickers in a twist, Johann.'
Among my least favorites, simply a matter of my peculiar taste probably, are the selections by the Turtle Island String Quartet, a group I've never cottoned to, and Jiri Stivin and his group, although Stivin as soloist does just fine playing the Badinerie from the Second Orchestral Suite.
The concert concludes with McFerrin conducting and singing the Gigue from the Second Orchestral Suite, with licks by Jiri Stivin and the Shahams, along with the Gewandhaus.
This is a sensational DVD. Don't expect it to be all Bobby McFerrin -- there are other DVDs that are him alone -- but the quality of the music-making and the incredible sense of occasion is palpable. You will, like I, watch it repeatedly and want to play it for friends and family.
Scott Morrison
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