Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Thursday, March 27, 1969
Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, March 27~ 1969
music
ijab
Thej
? By JOE PEHRSON
Words weren't designed for
'anything' like this. They only
feebly try to explain a beautiful
experience, and in this they fail
- and all beauty -is blemished.
:vow can words describe the per-
fect artistry of a genius, or the
, ability- of a- musical form to lift
us from our surroundings, plac-
ing a listener in a state of sus-
pended animation-stoned, as it
were, on excellence.
Ravi Shankar's performance
was more than this; it was a
direct confrontation with those
questions we have asked all
along, somewhere in the back
of our head. Beauty, form, life-
the whole bit, rushing through
our minds and really making it,
coming across. Words can't get /
to tis; they're only a part, but
we know this is much more and
stanlds' untouched.
The atmosphere was complete
with oriental rug and incense,
but we knew, awed by the in-
tricate musical lines and ex-
pressed emotions, that this was
superficial. There was an at-
mosphere,' but a far from physi-
cal one, created by sound alone.
Ravi Shankar's music is beati-
fic; it is inspired rand free.
It is spontaneous - flowering
before our eyes, making full use
of the improvisation possible in
this type :of .music. This is the
ecellence which baffes us; his
nbuelievable ability with varied
orn-s and types of expression.
The diversity of the program
and the types of ragas presented
is -evidence of this. The first
raga, an evening ome, combined
a rhythmic cycle (tala) of 11
beats with a slow, passionate
performance of a mournful
mela, or basic scale. The sitar
pleaded and 'questioned within
the structure of the raga and
was, excellently supplemented by
the tabla, the Indian drum. The
combined moments, when both
instruments fought, answered,
and quarreled with each other,
was particularly impressive.
This section (called the gat)
placed marked emphasis on the
original, question, and the quiet,
poidering thoughts of the ex-
position.'
The second number was an-
other 'evening raga, one in tin-
tat (a cycle of 16 beats). This
had a much' lighter sound, but
one of devotion. Shanker com-
mented that this should evoke a
picture of a gii'l who in perfect
fidelity. waits anxiously for her
lover.
The piece, though, was not
/sweet or. drippingly sentimental,
hut was noble. Using the upper
register of the sitar, Shanker
conveyed an atmosphere of pas-
" onate sensitivity reserved in
dark joyfulness. Although in
many cases Alla Rakha, on tabla
.Mshed to speed up the tala,
creating a more throbbing, basic
emotion, Ravi held the feeling
of reserve until the final mo-
ments of the gat. This last sec-
tion showed a perfect synthesis
of' -sitar and tabla as they both
moved' in improvisation from
perfect artistry of
ti ' .
I
605 E. William
769-1593
a genius
BUILD,
TIHURS. - FRI.
HALLELUJAH
KING VIDOR, 1929
All Black Cast, First serious
treatment of Negro life, but
its exaggerated and patron-
izing approach reveals basic
American stereotypes.
7 and 9 ARCHITECTURE
Pat Reynolds
and
Dave Siglin
contemporary and traditional
folk music
FRI., SAT.
MAR. 28, 29
9:30, 10:3011:30
$1.00
DIAL 5-6290
ENTERTAINMENT ."are-
markable story . . an ex(perience.
C I if f Robertson's performance
could not be better."
-WINSTED, N.Y. POST
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINEE
BEST ACTOR-
CLIFF ROBERTSON
TECHNICOLOR
TECHNISCOPE
"SO ABSORBING AND
SO GOOD THAT ONE
IS HELD FROM
BEGINNING TO END.
-COMMONWEAL
"RUTH LESS"
Edgar G. Ulmer, dir. Sidney
Greenstreet, Louis Hayward
A
Mar. 27
8 & 10
Mar. 28, 29
1:00 A.M.
75c
. : :klv. iiii i i:'s iC "111+."2 ._ '
GLT YOURM MAWITH A
Want Adl-"
662-8871
AUDITORIUM
- ALSO-
by popular demand
DR. CHICAO
dir. George Manupeli
FRIDAY, I1 P.M.
I
PROFESSIONAL THEATRE PROGRAM
presents
jtratfba
Festival Theatre of Canada
PHOTOS by
PETER DREYFUSS
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try a new hairstyle
designed to your
personality .. .
OPEN*3 NIGHTS
Mon.-Thurs.-Fri. 10 to 9
Tues.-Wed.-Sot. 9 to 6
DASCOLA BARBERS
at Maple Village-Campus
b
the structure of the rhythm cy-
cle, finally to return at each
sum, or initial beat.
Next, Alla\ Rakha played a
tabla solo. This was really re-
markable, since he attempted
to imitate on the drums the
sounds which Shankar enun-
ciated verbally. The tabla can
produce an amazingly wide
range of sound and Rakha used
all these sounds to create actual
metrical sentences.
Perhaps the most spectacular
part of the evening was Shan-
kar's sitar solo. He suggested
the audience remain quiet dur-
ing this number since. it re-
quired a tremendous amount of
of concentration.
This raga, low in pitch, sug-
gested the qualities of the hu-
man voice in a sensual, waver-
Ing monologue. Later, overtones
were added to the original melas,
and the peaceful lament was
answered by an arpeggio, played
on the supplementary strings of
the instrument.
The final piece was an even-
ing raga in wlat Sankar called
a "semi-classical romantic lyri-
cal style." This means folk tunes
and popular melodies miay be
introduced into the fabric of
the raga. Shankar, in the role
of an oriental Charles Ives, com-
bined some of these lighter
melas with an appropriate re-
gard for form.
Although an Eastern audience,
according to tradition, would
have reacted more openly to the
evening's presentation, the mu-
sical ideas came across. At least,
it was probably the first time
so many people stumbled out of
IHill Auditorium utterly sense-
less.
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MARKLEY
MIXER,
FRIDAY, MARCH 28
't t9:30-12:30
-featuring-
"our o the Wolf"
DAILY CLASSIFIEDS
BRiNG QUICK RESULTS
I
THE
LITTLE CLUB
featuring
The John Higgins Quintet'
Friday, March 28 9-12 P.M.
LEAGUE SNACK BAR
---Admission Free---
Ni
"ONE OF THE YEAR'S10 BEST!"
-Judith Crist -New York Times
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"FACES"
'A PHENOMENALLY GOOD PICTURE!"
-Newsweek
"FACES"H
"CONSTITUTES MORE OF AN
EXPERIENCE THAN A SHOW!"I
-Time Magazine
"FACES"
"A POWERFUL-SHATTERING FILM!
A MFRC1I FRRI V INTIMATF MIiF"
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#I
MICKEY ONE
March 28-29
Warren Beatty
drector Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde, The Chase)
I
LOVES OF A BLONDE April 4-5
Czechoslovakian Comedy
"Foreign"-Women's Wear Daily
KING OF HEARTS April 1112
Alan Bates
"Wildly raffish, slapstick, and satire."-N.Y. Times
CINDERELLA AND THEGOLDEN. BRA
April 18-19
"Infinitely profound"-The Board
COWBOY FILM FESTIVAL