Spirits of Music, Part I

Filmed on June 15, 2002 in Leipzig, Germany's Marktplatz, Spirits of Music, Part I serves up a musical smorgasbord under the general direction of multitalented singer Bobby McFerrin, who not only conducts the Gewandhausorchester on short pieces by Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Ravel, but also sings a pair of traditional numbers with Africa's Kuumba Singers and sits in with the Bulgarian Voices "Angelite" (whose complex multi-voiced "Tapan Bie" is one of the highlights of the program). Although McFerrin notes that regardless of the diversity of the artists, they all hail from the "house of music" (in one of a handful of interview clips that, occasionally--as in Ravel's "Pavane"--interrupt the song), the end result here feels awkward. Although many will appreciate the technical virtuosity of Sibylla Rubens' soprano scales on Mozart's "Exsultate, Jubilate," they sound faintly silly coming directly after the deeply spiritual, down-home sound of the Kuumba Singers. Still, Spirits of Music does have a show-stealer in violinist Nigel Kennedy's rendition of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion," and his crowd-pleasing work with the klezmer Kroke trio. Presented in DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo, Spirits in Music, Part I ends abruptly, with no indication of what might be on the next volume (which is not yet available). Optional. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)