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Pompous tosh masquerades as truth
As a "classical" music fanatic, I looked forward to this series and was disappointed. In fact, I found it difficult to watch the whole series. True, the scenery is pretty and the places chosen are appropriate but the series was spoiled by superficial research, pompous narration and repetition. Simon Callow sermonises his way through Europe, intoning the text as though he were speaking about gods rather than people, composers who, in their day, were often not well known and were treated like servants (much as composers are treated today, really!). The script is littered with doubtful claims and downright falsehoods. The two episodes about Bach (Eisenach and Leipzig) suffer especially in this regard. Was JS Bach very religious or was he just sensible enough to keep his doubts to himself in a turbulent world? He didn't compose religious music when no one was paying him to do so. He was the ultimate professional. Callow proclaims that Bach composed his famous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor at Cothen. Callow might be referring to the "Dorian" because there is considerable doubt that Bach composed "the other one" at all, let alone where. Nicky Vasilakis seems to be a more-than-adequate violinist but, after a couple of episodes, I kept asking myself "Can she play any other pieces?" Her nasal Australian accent is most irritating, as is her pronunciation in a number of instances. This is a series that should have been made but with more down-to-earth writers and presenters. Howard Goodall's organ series is an example of how it should have been done.
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- jamesmoule
- Aug 2, 2012
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- Runtime5 hours 38 minutes
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- 1.78 : 1
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