Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Tuesday, February 16, 197 '
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Open Only to Uof M Students, Faculty, Staff & Alumni
music
German music with an Ohio accent
By DONALD SOSIN
The last time I was in Toledo
it was to hear Mahler's Resur-
rection Symphony performed
by the Toledo Symphony Or-
chestra. The group has a large
sound but needs a lot of re-
finement before it can join the
first rank of orchestras in this
country. But although the per-
formance was flawed, the work
was a joy to hear again, and in
any case it was great fun to
listen to German being sung
with such a distinct Ohio accent.
So I was prepared to be well
entertained when I went down
to hear a gigantic program on
Saturday night, consisting of
Varese's Ionisation, Respighi's
The Pines of Rome, and Orff's
Carmina Burana, and I was not
disappointed.
The program opened with the
Varese. The night before, the
thirteen percussion players and
their thirty-seven instruments
had come rising up from the or-
chestra pit. We were spared this,
but were given the same light-
ing effects as the Friday aud-
ience, consisting of changes in
color of the overhead lights
from orange, to blue, red, a n d
finally dying away with a pale
green, matching the pianissimo
ending. The 1931 work was a
landmark, full of new sonori-
ties while being tightly organiz-
ed, with respect to rhythm as
well as timbre. Today it seems
rather tame compared to some
of the things we have heard
around Ann Arbor.
Conducted by the orchestra's
tympanist, Robert Bell (while
Serge Fournier, music director,
worked siren and string drum),
the overall structure was clear-
er visually than aurally. One
could see the colors changing
from section to section, a n d
was able to keep track t h a t
way, but the sound was not bal-
anced. The various drums over-
whelmed many of the lighter in-
struments, and the piano was
barely audible, despite fortissimo
markings and the fact that Paul
Schonfield was obviously spar-
ing nothing in attacking the
keyboard. The pianist, incident-
ally, seemed better suited to
this than to the Beethoven
Choral Fantasy, which was on
the Mahler program and which
he performed quite timidly.
After this prelude, the or-
chestra, now under Fournier,
' let loose with The Pines of Rome.
Respighi's orchestration, show-
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ing traces of his study with
Rimsky-Korsakov, is brilliant,
and so was the performance.
It lacked precision in places,
but made this up in zest. I was
somewhat startled by the break
between the first and second
sections, for the score indicates
nothing of the kind; but Four-
nier's interpretations are sprink-
led with many such oddities and
one either goes along with them
or winds up very depressed.
Among the orchestra mem-
bers are thirty or so students
from the U of M School of
Music, and I would think that
they play no small part in the
ensemble's success. And t h e
first clarinetist is'a U ofM grad,
Lawrence McDonald, who p e r-
formed the solo in the third
section beautifully.
The nightingale (on tape)
whose song ends this movement
was related to Ormandy's bird
rather than Toscanini's; the
Agui tc
By LUKE BALDWIN
Andy Cohen, one of A n n
Arbor's finest guitarists, appear-
ed at the Ark Friday night. After
a rather slow start, his perform-
ance ranged from nervous com-
petence to musical excellence.
Cohen has been playing in the
Ann Arbor area for several
years, and has built a reputation
as a fast, versatile guitarist. He
is also an excellent barrelhouse
piano player, and a skilled in-
terpreter of ragtime music. He
will soon be leaving Michigan to
move to Saratoga Springs, New
York (the home of some of the
country's best folk musicians).
Andy began the evening with
his own composition, a travelling
song, bearing a great resemb-
lence to "Truck Drivin' Man."
One didn't have to be very
perceptive to notice that he
was extremely nervous. In in-
troducing his songs, he inflict-
ed upon the audience a trite
narrative that sounded a lot like
the scripted lead-ins on a John-
ny Cash Show special.
Though Cohen did some flashy
picking and injected some in-
teresting chord changes into
these first few numbers, several
mistakes, and his apparent lack
of confidence detracted from the
music.
But by the time Cohen reach-
ed his fifth song, "219," he was
ready to play. The softer tone of
his voice added a greater sense
of fullness to his singing, and
his familiarity with the guitar
latter's
effects
score,
Fourni
of anl
The
phenon
evokin
on the
stirring
all the
for the
the vo
ears, o
unbeai
have h
sound
Carl
anothe
so. Tw<
collect
poems
music
ed as
is" an
The rh
the me
s version uses the sound
record specified in the
whereas Ormandy's and
er's birds are definitely
other feather.
concluding section, a
menal buildup of sound
g images of a procession
e Appian Way was quite
g. The triple fortes were
re, and I felt compassion
e musicians: judging from
plume that reached these
nstage it must have been
rable. But I would not
had them do less, for the
was truly glorious.
Orff's Carmina Burana is
er giant work, only more
'enty-four parts of a large
ion of thirteenth-century
by lusty monks are set to
which has been describ-
"neo-primitive," "hypnot-
d "utterly spontaneous."
iythms are compelling and
elodies of the simplest na-
cipia
ture; together they provide a
striking setting for the profane
text. The title page mentions the
necessity for "imaginative magi-
cis," magical images, usually
presented in ballet form. Di-
rected by Bud Kerwin, the
dancers made quite clear the
meanings of the poems, occas-
ionally very provocatively in the
more licentious verses, and in
general contributed a great deal
to the performance. One dis-
turbing thing was the constant
squeaking of their slippers that
sometimes threatened to drown
out solo lines.
As far as the music goes, the
orchestra was in top shape.
With the exception of some
eccentric liberties taken by
Fournier, involving interminable
fermatas, and ritards thrown in
or left out at random, the play-'
ing was rhythmically solid and
remarkably clean. The choir
was not as good, the men being
no,an
weak and the sound not very
robust.
The three soldiers were not all
of equal quality. The baritone,
Charles Roe, a U of M doctoral
student, was the only one who
had an interpretation to offer,
as well as having an excellent
voice. In his five solos there
were subtle contracts of t o n e
and color. Rex Eikum, the ten-
or, sang well but his lament
about the roasted swan deserv-
es more irony and freedom than
he gave it. As for the soprano,
Helen Joseph, I am totally at a
loss as to how she was engag-
ed for the performance. If she
has a career, it is as a successor
to Florence Foster Jenkins. For-
tunately, she had a very small .
part and it was not enough to
completely spoil what otherwise
was a most enjoyable evening,
full of sound and light and the
lilt of Latin with an Ohio ac-
cent.
'Cohen
Rogers. Cohen played second
fiddle without ever touching a
violin. Rogers breaks were in
themselves very pleasing. The
ionally complemented
smooth, lyrical tones occas-
ionally complemented Cohen's
singing and guitar work. But
more often, the fiddle seemed
superfluous, on occasion drown-
ing the sound of Cohen's guitar.
Cohen's subtle, but effective,
thumb picking supplemented his
almost reminescent vocal style
in "Mr Bojangles." "Goin' Fish-
in'," "Down in the Valley To
Pray," and "Wedding Bell Blues'
also added very satisfying mo-
ments to the final set.
Cohen's early nervousness, and
coinciding tendency to strain
his songs, seemed to indicate
that he is not yet a finished
performer. That is a good thing.
For Cohen's musical strength
for outweighed his errors, and
there is every reason to believe
that he has the potential to be
a truly great musician . .
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arrangement alllowed for a more twelve-string guitar tunes, well
sensitive touch. His intricate executed and firm. The twelve
bending of the notesFgave one string is rarely flatpicked, but
the impression that Cohen was Cohen did it very successfully
feeling the music, and not sim- on the Leadbelly standard,
ply going through a series of "Keep Your Hands Off Her."
purely mechanical gestures to Moving to the piano, Andy
produce the sound. immediately seemed more com-
Maintaining the mood, as fortable. His singing improv-
well as his touch on the guitar; ed, and the first set narrative
Andy then played a Bruce Phil- was replaced with a conversa-
lips song about the last run of tional, informative, enjoyable
the Wabash Cannonball. He short history of ragtime piano.
followed with another Phillips Beginning in Skip James'
song "Rock Me To Sleep." barrelhouse style, Cohen mov-
By the end of the set,. I was ed with great ease through
still firmly convinced of Cohen's everything from "Grace and
ability as a guitarist. He is Beauty - (A classy rag)" to
capable of playing anywhere on "Lulu's Back in Town."
the neck, and has a broad Jelly Roll Morton was one of
knowledge of music that pro- Cohen's biggest influences on
vides a lot of variety in his mu- the piano, so Andy probably
sic. However, at times. he seem- could have played Morton's
ed to be slapping the strings songs blindfolded. Cohen skill-
with the flatpick. Even when fully pounded his way through
picking very cleanly, Andy's "Grandma Spells" and "Your
flatpicking lacked the tone and Feet's Too Big."
warmth of his finger picking. Although Andy hasn't devot-
Cohen's singing was also a bit ed quite as much of his time to
inconsistent. His high, nasal the piano in recent days (he
voice had a tendency to sound has been playing piano even
tight, and throaty. But when he longer than guitar), his love for
slowed down and thought about the instrument was reflected in
what he was singing, the tones his great agility on the key-
mellowed and gained character. board and his sense of music.
Cohen began the second set In the third set Cohen was
with a couple of traditional joined by blues fiddler Andy
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