DVD: Bach & Friends testifies to the greatness of Bach’s music

by James Bash on March 5, 2010

J.S. Bach continues to be one of the must influential composers of all time, and a new DVD, entitled Bach & Friends, offers even more proof that the music of this amazing man (who lived from 1685-1750) has lost none of its appeal. Created by Michael Lawrence, Bach & Friends features a number of today’s greatest performers in the classical music arena who show their love of Bach’s music through their own words and performances.

Acclaimed performers like Joshua Bell, Hillary Hahn, Matt Haimowitz, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, Manuel Barreuco, Simone Dinnerstein, and Zuil Bailey play pieces by Bach and talk about the music. You can enjoy a phenomenal performance of Bach’s famous “Toccata in D minor” by glass harmonica virtuoso Robert Tiso and then watch the lithe dancing feet of über-organist Felix Hell while he plays Bach’s “Fugue in D major.”

The testimonials are no less impressive. Pianist John Bayless discusses the importance of improvisation. Philip Glass gushes over the sheer volume of masterworks that Bach created. Members of the Emerson String Quartet talk about the spirituality of Bach’s music, describing how it lifts the performers and the audience to a higher plane.

Though the historical content in Bach & Friends is spare, you do learn some interesting tidbits like the time that the famous French organist Louis Marchand chickened out rather than face Bach in an organ-duel. Marchand heard Bach warming up, and it so freaked him out that he left town. Bach celebrated by giving a six-hour organ concert!

Unfortunately, no choir director like Helmut Rilling is interviewed. Bach wrote over 200 cantatas and hundreds of other vocal works, but this is not represented in Bach & Friends. The ba-de-das of the Swingle Singers and Bobby McFerrin in the DVD are fantastic, but they are interpretations of Bach’s instrumental music.

Overall, Bach & Friends is a terrific testimonial to the greatness of Bach’s music. Lawrence, who has written, produced, and directed over twenty documentaries, brings you really close to the performers when they talk and perform, which gives this film a personal flair. The earnest and genuine quality what the performers say and how they perform make this film a must see.

James Bash

James Bash writes articles for a variety of publications, including magazines such as Opera America, Open Spaces, Opera, MUSO, International Arts Manager, American Record Guide, Symphony, Opera Canada, and PSU Magazine. The newspapers include Crosscut, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Oregonian, The Columbian, The Portland Tribune, The Register-Guard, and Willamette Week. James has also written a number of articles for the Oregon Arts Commission. James was a fellow to the 2008 NEA Journalism Institute for Classical Music and Opera. He is a member of the Music Critics Association of North America (mcana.org) and lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Kathy.