Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons - Concert In Honour Of Pope Benedict XVI
STYLE: Classical RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 45267- LABEL: ArtHaus Musik 101457 FORMAT: DVD Music video ITEMS: 1
Reviewed by Steven Whitehead
If not a curate's egg then this is a pope's pudding. Parts are very good indeed but there is too much stodge to allow us to get excited. To be fair, this DVD was not meant for me. It is the story of how Bavarian TV took the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra and Choir and a trainload of Bavarian pilgrims to visit Rome and out on a concert for a Bavarian Pope (and his brother who gatecrashes the dress rehearsal). The concert elements are good: "Tu Es Petrus" by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Ludwig van Beethoven's "Symphony No 9 in D Minor". And that's all, folks. 78 minutes out of a running time of 145 minutes with the remainder of the programme comprising "The Arrival of Pope Benedict XVI in the Paul VI Audience Hall", a speech from Friedrich Kardinal Wetter, a speech from the Director General of the Bayerischen Rundfunks, an address by Pope Benedict XVI and a making-of documentary 'Divine Spark For The Pope'. Even with subtitles, the spoken word parts were very hard going. One for Bavarian admirers of the Pope only, methinks.
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