Spirits of Music
In the summer night of June 15, 2002, an enthusiastic audience of more than 20.000 gathered on Leipzig's historic Market Square, while some 150 musicians from several continents waited behind two stages for their turn to appear. The artists had come together from Cuba, Norway, Poland, Great Britain, Syria, Germany, Bulgaria and the USA to contribute their "Spirits of Music" to an unusual concert event uniting classical and world music.
The evening's success can be gauged from the double DVD Spirits of Music. The concert is a musical journey through the centuries and the continents, from sacred classics to spiritual world music. The concept left room for all styles and approaches; what counted was nothing less than the spirit of the music.
The event took place under the guiding hand of Bobby McFerrin. His name stands like no other for the reconciliation of two musical worlds that are so different from another as they sometimes seem. Leipzig was no exception, and McFerrin played many parts, excelling in all of them. Alongside his remarkable solo improvisations he brought a charming and unconventional manner to his conducting of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, one of Germany's most famous orchestral ensembles. The vocal virtuoso then picks up the microphone again in Vivaldi's Concerto for two cellos: McFerrin sings one of the solo parts, while the other is performed by Veronika Wilhelm, the Gewandhausorchester's solo cellist.
In the aria Erbarme dich from Bach's St Matthew Passion, McFerrin is supportet by the second great genre migrant of the evening: Nigel Kennedy. But this is is only one side of the British violinist. Kennedy suprised his Leipzig audience with his performance as a virtuoso klezmer artist. He was accompained by the Polish klezmer trio Kroke. And, as can be expected, Kennedy and McFerrin join forces in a combined improvisation. Their free version of Miles Davis's All Blues is bursting with brio and full of fresh ideas.
The same sort of thing happens with the musical meetings of minds between McFerrin and the evening's world music ensembles. The Kuumba Singers pick up the traditions of African folk songs, spirituals and gospel. The roots of the Bulgarian Voices Angelite lie in Bulgarian folk music. Vocal Sampling is the very essence of Cuban exuberance. The Norwegian Mari Boine combines archaic elements from her homeland, Lapland, with modern sounds and rhythms. The ensemble that travelled all the way from Syria, Ensemble Al-Kindî & The Whirling Dervishes of Damascus, celebrates the tradition of the dervish dance.
The grand finale, a free adaption of Handel's Hallelujah theme, once more brings together all the artists and ensembles of this midsummer night on both stages and brings the event to a rousing conclusion.
In the summer night of June 15, 2002, an enthusiastic audience of more than 20.000 gathered on Leipzig's historic Market Square, while some 150 musicians from several continents waited behind two stages for their turn to appear. The artists had come together from Cuba, Norway, Poland, Great Britain, Syria, Germany, Bulgaria and the USA to contribute their "Spirits of Music" to an unusual concert event uniting classical and world music.
The evening's success can be gauged from the double DVD Spirits of Music. The concert is a musical journey through the centuries and the continents, from sacred classics to spiritual world music. The concept left room for all styles and approaches; what counted was nothing less than the spirit of the music.
The event took place under the guiding hand of Bobby McFerrin. His name stands like no other for the reconciliation of two musical worlds that are so different from another as they sometimes seem. Leipzig was no exception, and McFerrin played many parts, excelling in all of them. Alongside his remarkable solo improvisations he brought a charming and unconventional manner to his conducting of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, one of Germany's most famous orchestral ensembles. The vocal virtuoso then picks up the microphone again in Vivaldi's Concerto for two cellos: McFerrin sings one of the solo parts, while the other is performed by Veronika Wilhelm, the Gewandhausorchester's solo cellist.
In the aria Erbarme dich from Bach's St Matthew Passion, McFerrin is supportet by the second great genre migrant of the evening: Nigel Kennedy. But this is is only one side of the British violinist. Kennedy suprised his Leipzig audience with his performance as a virtuoso klezmer artist. He was accompained by the Polish klezmer trio Kroke. And, as can be expected, Kennedy and McFerrin join forces in a combined improvisation. Their free version of Miles Davis's All Blues is bursting with brio and full of fresh ideas.
The same sort of thing happens with the musical meetings of minds between McFerrin and the evening's world music ensembles. The Kuumba Singers pick up the traditions of African folk songs, spirituals and gospel. The roots of the Bulgarian Voices Angelite lie in Bulgarian folk music. Vocal Sampling is the very essence of Cuban exuberance. The Norwegian Mari Boine combines archaic elements from her homeland, Lapland, with modern sounds and rhythms. The ensemble that travelled all the way from Syria, Ensemble Al-Kindî & The Whirling Dervishes of Damascus, celebrates the tradition of the dervish dance.
The grand finale, a free adaption of Handel's Hallelujah theme, once more brings together all the artists and ensembles of this midsummer night on both stages and brings the event to a rousing conclusion.