McFerrin Lends His Voice, Spirit to St. Paul Orchestra

Bobby McFerrin’s conducting, classical scatting and improvising on his favorite instrument, the audience, are all of a part. Or so they were Sunday evening, when he led the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in a joyous program Sunday at Royce Hall. It has not always been so, but in his final year as creative chair (see Morning Report, F2), McFerrin seems more purposeful and accomplished fronting an orchestra, yet as comfortable and generous a spirit as ever.

Bizet framed the program, the “L’Arlesienne” Suite to open and the Symphony in C to close. The suite, though attractively played, sounded square and formal. The symphony, though a bit thin in the violins, blossomed wonders at every turn.

At least part of the difference lay in what came between. First, McFerrin joined principal cellist Paul Howard in Vivaldi’s G-minor Concerto for two cellos, singing the missing part with astonishing evenness, range and agility. Then came jazz charts with saxophonist Brian Grivna and bassist Christopher Brown, a flickering duet with concertmaster Steven Copes, and solo songs culminating in a hysterically condensed and affectionately caricatured version of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Most interesting, though, were his creations with the audience, first en masse, then stepping into it for duets. He set up ostinatos for his partners, against which he improvised with inventive versatility, making not just jokes but patches of instant modular music.

So then when he made a soaring song set of the symphony’s Adagio or underlined the riffing interaction of the finale, it came as an extension of textures and ideas we had just experimented with ourselves. At no point fettered by a score, McFerrin encouraged natural collegial playing, with discipline clearly invested in rehearsal rather than authoritarian performance.