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 MEN: 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. ., .. . .:. .; _.':. . .;;":. : -: :. :. c :.-:::. }4::::' 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 }a { 1 ., "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" *ffImuhumEImEE 1 Fmmqpmmvmpmmmqmmrqmmmw"mr q IE oS I 4 1 1 i M #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