Last night we attended a classical music concert in le foret vert. The setting added to the eager anticipation of the performance. We arrived early to get good seats and ours were perfect. The stage had been set up in front of a landmark old chateau and the seats were placed for best viewing with a forest covering of very large evergreens. To add a touch more of atmosphere, subtle blue lighting lit random tree branches.
We estimate that close to 1,000 chairs were available but by the beginning of the concert, people were throwing blankets on the ground and trying to get comfortable.
Promptly at 9:35, only 5 minutes late, a beautiful melody commenced. For the first 45 seconds or so, we were treated to the music without musicians! Then, suddenly, through the front doors of the chateau, the four musicians walked on to the stage, one by one, as they continued to play. BUT, AS THEY PERFORMED, THEY HAD THEIR BACKS TO THE AUDIENCE.
When they finished playing that first piece, the applause was quite loud and very enthusiastic. These guys were really good. However, despite the clapping, they continued to bow to the chateau and not the audience. They then took their seats, with their backs, STILL, toward us and started arranging the music for their next piece. A gust of wind caused a piece of sheet music to blow away behind the musicians. One of them got up to retrieve it and as he did, he "DISCOVERED" that the audience was there! With the most hilarious facial expressions, he silently but with great comic flare, passed the information to his fellow musicians.
And thus began a remarkably humorous and enjoyable evening of classical music with a delightfully different comic twist. (It was reminiscent of Victor Borge. And for those of you who are too young to remember who he was, see if you can find something on You-Tube.)
The group delighted the capacity audience throughout the concert. You never knew when they were going to veer from the classical piece they were playing to something quite humorous but still in keeping with a classical theme For example, at one point they played a piece with the bows held between their legs while they moved their violins and cello up and down. Another time, a piece was played while each musician held his instrument but used his bow to play the one being held by the person sitting next to him!
