Product Details

• Actors: Steven Epstein, Yo-Yo Ma, Moshe Safdie
• Directors: François Girard
• Writers: Nick McKinney
• Producers: Niv Fichman
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony
• VHS Release Date: February 17, 1998
• Run Time: 55 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1573301264
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,501 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

"The Sound of the Carceri" (55 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 2 for Unaccompanied Cello. Imagine Giovanni Piranesi's dazzling "carceri" (prison) etchings, the unrealized dreams of this 18th-century Italian master architect, brought to life in a computer-rendered 3-D "virtual" collaboration. In this cutting-edge film by Francois Girard, Yo-Yo Ma explores Bach's mysterious Second Suite, creating with his music a sound to match the invented spaces of our imagination.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intellectually, aesthetically, and technically satisfying., October 11, 1999

By 

Peter Bridge (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach No. 2, The Sound of the Carceri (Cello Suite 2) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The second in a series of six collaborations of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and a number of different creative talents, creating multi-media presentations and interpretations of the J.S Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. Here, Ma takes his inspiration for a performance of the Suite Number 2, from the "Carceri" (prison) etchings of the 18th century Italian architect Giovanni Piranesi, and works with film makers, sound technicians, and a digital artist to create scenes within the Piranesi images. Ma is placed digitally within the Piranesi scenes, and I found the effect dramatic and pleasing, rather than contrived. Ma works with particular attention to the sound production, and the conversations between Ma and the sound technician, recorded live and at some length, reveal depths of understanding of the impact of the music and of production, on both the performer and the listener. In my opinion, worth owning -- I bought the series. 58 minutes long, in colour.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars sorrowful and thought-provoking, September 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach No. 2, The Sound of the Carceri (Cello Suite 2) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Music and architecture combine in this video to convey the loneliness and sorrow of imprisonment--more powerfully, perhaps, than straightforward words or photographs could do. Ma's treatment of Bach's cello suite no. 2 is emotional; Piranesi's drawing are cerebral. The combination is moving and thought-provoking. The video, like the others in this interesting series, is best viewed as a part of the series. Viewers will inevitably like some of Ma's ideas, and the execution of those ideas, better than others--but this is one of my favorites from the series.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Sound of Reverb, February 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach No. 2, The Sound of the Carceri (Cello Suite 2) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film tackles the no-so-intriguing question of how Bach's Second Cello Suite would sound in the physical context of Piranesi's Carceri (prison), assuming that it had been built in the first place. The "deeper" questions, as hinted in the film, probe the philosophical nature of experience and perception. Regrettably, such questions are never clearly framed, let alone answered. The video brims with pseudo-intellectual musings which, in practice, boil down to the central issue of how much reverberation to use for the final take.

For what it's worth, some of the computer graphics are interesting. You get to see Yo-Yo playing in a digitally realized 18th-century building, all nicely done in black and white. Just don't expect too much more than that.