too much music!

so we have been in Leipzig for a whole month now. we can verify the rumours: it is a high-culture city!

the church where j.s. bach was kapellmeister is one of the most important venues: we have heard the boys' choir associated with thomaskirche several times, and even a professional quintet of young men who used to sing in the thomanerchor. this little group is called ensemble nobiles, and thy are tight. we heard them twice: in a local little church (where their voices filled the place mightily) and once in thomaskirche (where a quintet sounds small but holy).

this past weekend was the opening event for the world-renowned gewandhaus orchester: it was an outdoor concert which showcased their energy and the conductor's warm enthusiasm. earlier in the afternoon we heard a few little concerts by members of the orchestra: a brass band doing jazz; a pair of clarinettists playing mozart; a string ensemble playing viennese waltzes....

and the night before was the "passagenfest" in which many passageways (which are filled with shops) offered entertainment and stayed open until midnight. i saw a guy dressed in a Pan-costume which was the best i had ever seen-- stilts which became hooves and gave a bouncy spring to his step.