The Passing of Music

Tonight I attended a concert put on by a family band of sorts. The Werner quartet is 4 kids, one boy and 3 girls ranging from 14 to 18 years old. First of all I was under the impression that the quartet only played cello. But to my surprise, all of the kids were not only exceptional cellists, but incredible pianists, and bass players. They constantly changed clothes, set and instruments. I really can't get over how amazing this really was. Each child played solo pieces, all of these were memorized, completely. Each player had truly unique styles from the others. Andree the youngest, was by far the most fun to watch. She was constantly moving rythmically to the music, she was probably the smoothest piano player of the bunch. Mariel the next oldest was the steady one, the backbone. She wasn't as magnanimous as Andree or as technical as the two oldest, but she was constant, nearly mistake free. She seemed content with being more in the background, but when she soloed she was quite good. Helene the second oldest was probably the most technical of the four. She was astounding. She loved to be at the front, and you sort of could tell. Luc, the oldest, he was the leader. Though not quite as technical as Helene he had that quality that cannot be attained with precision. He had IT. Anyway, it was during the concert that something dawned on me.
The idea of music, at least this kind has a great deal of heritage. What I mean is that it is passed down. I suppose the argument could be made that the family isn't all that impressive because they only attempt to recreate great works in music. But there is something about how they presented it all. They came out many different flashy, fun outfits; they were constantly changing instruments, sets. They not only mastered these pieces, some of them hundreds of years old, they managed to convey the same feeling behind the music all the while adding a modern theme. They made it their own and transformed it. They even made their own arrangements of some of the pieces to better fit their style and influences. The encore was the most fun.
They came out this time with electric cellos, a keyboard, a bass guitar and an electric guitar. Oh and sequined outfits and hair wigs. They played a set of Queen songs to close out the evening. As if what they showcased wasn't impressive enough, they proved that they could also excel at rock and roll. Luc played guitar like he had been playing as long as he had cello, but it was plain to see that he had picked it up recently. All this and for 6 bucks. I am speechless. What a night.