THE MIChIGAN DAILY
Playbill Offers Drama, Opera
SAB Rents
Art Prints-
IRE INSTRUMENTS - The Stearns Collection of rare instru-
mts is explainedby its curator, Prof. Warner, in a lecture given
the summer. Instruments from East and West, of varying ages'
d purposes, are housed in it.
ill Aud Stearns Collection
isplays Music Instruments
4v ____________________
By ROBERT SELWA
Societies throughout the ages
have treated their musical instru-
ments as art. ,
A visit to the Stearns Collection
of Musical Instruments will readi-
ly show the truth of this. The 61-
lection, located on theisecond floor
of Hill Aud., is open to the public
from 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and
Fridays.,
In this collection the visitor can
note the beautiful and colorful an-
cestors of guitars, with many lay-
ers of wood carvings; he can view
the highly decorated and ornate
instruments of 17th and 18th cen-
tury France and Italy and the
plainer and more reserved instru-
ments of France, Germany and
England. And he can see some mu-'
sical wonders of the Far East and
Egypt.
Stearns Collects
Frederick Stearns, a Detroit
pharmaceutical manufacturer,
gave up his business interests to
concentrate on his hobbies: col-
lecting art and music. pieces. He
traveled throughout the world,
particularly the Far East, to gath-
er his collection. His art collection
was given to the Detroit-Museum
of Art and the musical instru-
ments were given to the University
to start the collection that bears
his name.
"Some of the instruments in the
collection are hard to find in their
native countries today," Prof.
Robert Warner of the music
school, curator, said.
"We use some of the instru-
ments in our consorts," comment-
ed William Hettrick, assistant cu-
rator. The consorts, directed by
Prof. Warner, are presented by
faculty and students who play
medieval and renaissance melo-
dies. Their compositions use viols
and voice; the viols being six- and
seven-stringed instruments shaped
like violins but not closely related
to them.
master would take, the tiny violin=
out of his pocket, start the orches-
tra off by playing a few notes, and
slip the violin back into his pocket.
At that time there were no ges-
turing orchestra leaders as we
know them today.
In former centuries there were
many freak instruments, Hettrick
remarked. One such on display is
a 19th century cane clarinet. The
idea was that a man taking a walk
might get an urge to play a tune.
If he had his cane clarinet, he
could stop and play.,
Hurdy-Gurdy
Also in the collection is a hurdy-
gurdy from France. The hurdy-
gurdy, Hettrick explained, was
used by beggars in some periods
and by kings in others.' Basically,.
though, it was a pastoral instru-
ment. The one on display has the
head of a man with a broad mus-
tasche carved on it.
A French violin on display has
the carved head of a man with a
handsome beard. Sortie of the in-
struments have paintings and
many have intricate design work.
Among the instr gnents is amu-
sical serpent from France, an an-
cestor of the tuba, used first in
churches. An ophicheide from
Spain is serpent-headed and was
used for its terrifying effect.
An old French horn on display
has a movable mouthpiece. By
changing the location of the
mouthpiecethe musician could get
different effects.
Beetle-shaped lutes of great
craftsmanship as the theorbo of
17th century Italy are on display.
So are oliphants, intricately carved
tusks that played one note, as well
as the ancestor of the clarinet: the
single-reed Ztnmarah of Egypt.
(Continued from Page 1)
ern French farce, involving a
group of "mad" people who suc-
cessfully counter attempts by a
group of hustlers to destroy Paris.
And, in the meantime, offer some
intertaining and thoughtful phil-
osophies of life.
Operiatic Bonus
A bonus to season viewers each
year is the annual opera, pro-
duced by the opera department of
the school of music, operating in
conjunction with the University
Players. In the past, the group
has presented such diverse pro-
grams as Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tut-
ti," Debussy's "Peleas and Meli-
sande," and the very early Per-
golesi's "La Serva Padrona."
The Players' productions are
presented in Trueblood Aud, and
the. Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre.
Mendelssohn has just been recon-
ditioined, including the addition of
air conditioning and the enlarge-
ment of the wing area to allow use
of modern staging devices that al-
low whole sets to be wheeled on
and off the stage.'
. Trueblood was remodeled last
year for Shakespearean produc-
tions and now features' a semi-
Elizabethan stage. The stage in-
cludes two large acting areas con-
nected by steps and a balcony and
inner below. Besides the Shakes-
pearean productions, the stage has
recently been used for experimen-
tally staged modern plays as well.
Klein Directs
Choral Group
The Michigan Singers is a se-
lected mixed choral group' under
the University Choirs.
The 80-voice choir rehearses
one hour a day, five days* a week
and conducts an annual ,spring
concert tour.
The group contains the Tudor
Singers, a group of 16 voices which
annually performs in the Colleg-
ium Musicum.
The Michigan Singers as one of
the separate choirs within the Uni-
versity Choir specializes in specific
repertory and offers credit to all
students of sophomore standing
and above. However, freshmen may
also participate in each of the
groups.
Prof. Maynard Klein of the mu-
sic school is director of the Sing-
ers. He is well known as a festi-
val choir conductor .and has been
director of choirs -at the National
Music Camp since 1943. Prof.
Klein is director and founder of
the Rackham Symphony Choir of
Detroit, the official choir of the
Detroit Symphony ,Orchestra.
Another credit choir within the
University choirs is the newly
formed Arts Chorale, formally
known as the Bach Choir. The
Chorale is a mixed choir and on
occasion is subdivided into a Wom-
en's Choir and Men's Choir.
TI o Students
Every semester, students are
able to rent prints of the paintings
of well-known artists over at the
Student Activities Bldg.
The selection ranges from ren-
aissance works through expres-
sionist paintings. The prints are
-exhibited on the walls of the third
floor of the SAB. Students are able
to choose prints from those on
display.
This service is sponsored by the
University. It began on donations
from outside sources, but today
there is a fund which has been
established over the years for its
continuance. The first donation
was contributed by the Hudson
Co. about 15 years ago.
Approximately 800 people bor-
row prints each semester. The
rental cost for one semester varies
from 25 cents to $1.25 depending
upon the value of the print.
Many have taken advantage of
the opportunity to improve the
decoration in their quadrangle or
dormitory rooms, or in their apart-
ments.
1t G
Forsythe Gallery
L 201 Nickels Arcade - NOrmandy 3-0918
Contemporary Art
I
Local and International
'Come In and Browse!
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE--University Players present various
plays and an opera during the school year and the summer session.
Tickets are priced inexpensively, and the plays produced chosen
for special values as well as variety.
.:411
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