Johannes Freitag
Johannes Freitag
April 4th 2009
Johannes Freitag
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Johannes opened his program with I Feel Pretty from West Side Story, before launching into La Donna Mobile, If I Were A Rich Man from Anatevka or Fiddler On The Roof, Funiculì, funicular and finishing off this medley with Wunderbar on the Roland Atelier 60s.
Switching over to the AT15, a smaller white organ, we had The Last Waltz and Please Release Me. Back on the AT60s, a bit of Disney in the shape of When You Wish Upon A Star. Those of you who know a little about Johannes will be aware that he spends a great deal of his time at Disneyland Paris to play the organ there on the Fantasy Festival Stage, often with an audience of up to 5000 people.
Colonel Bogey then made an appearance, before we were taken onto the Bridge Over The River Kwai, finishing off with the Radetsky March. And no-one clapped! Back on the AT15 with Amor Amor and It's Not Unusual.
We have all tried our best to forget the cold winter, but it did not stop Johannes playing us the delightful Schneewaltzer or Snowwaltz on the AT60s, which is a lively little waltz very suitable for small brass bands.
Blackpool then came to Basildon, complete with Wurlitzer Organ with Pop Goes The Weasel (well, the audience managed this one!) - If You Are Happy and You Know It - Cockles & Mussels - Che Sera Che Sera - Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside - Daisy Daisy - Rule Britannia - Zions Daughter and last but not least Land Of Hope And Glory. And just for a bit of German culture, the choral part from Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
Back on the AT15, Johannes played us a lively little samba, the title of which unfortunately escapes me! A nice blue background set the scene for Once Upon A Time In The West. With spring in the air it was time for Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White, most appropriate along with a humming bumblebee followed by Something Stupid.
Refreshments and the raffle done, we settled down to the second half, which was played entirely on the AT60s as Johannes was having some problems with the smaller organ. He opened the second half with Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, On The Street Where You Live and It's Now Or Never.
Johannes' friend Andre was celebrating his 20th birthday with Ann presenting him with a beautifully made birthday cake and all the audience singing Happy Birthday to him, all accompanied by a kaleidoscope of patterns, courtesy of Keith. Andre appeared with a huge basket filled with lollies and small packets for the audience. Dankeschoen!
Johannes continued with the ever popular Three Coins In A Fountain followed by another favourite Somewhere Over The Rainbow. A red background created a nice atmosphere for Under The Bridges Of Paris and I Love Paris (In The Springtime). Going a bit further south and a Latin flavour with O Solo Mio and Stranger On The Shore.
Some twenty choir voices were ample for The Bare Necessities from Junglebook. If you fancied singing along, here was your opportunity with Mac The Knife, Alexander's Ragtime Band, Chattanooga Choo Choo and Hello Dolly. A complete contrast to follow with the Winnie The Poo song alongside some classical music, Hall Of The Mountain King plus a very short ending of Mozart's Bagatelle in 'C', played twice for good measure.
Johannes completed his concert with a visit to the Big Apple: New York New York, duly followed by the traditional Basildon encore, made famous the world over by Frank Sinatra My Way.
Why not come along to a Basildon Keyboard Club Concert, you will be made very welcome, have a great evenings entertainment, a complimentary cup of tea or coffee with biscuits and of course experience the delights of live music played on top of the range electronic organs & keyboards by the best players.