k U k adlo CaJat I Folk music: Trying a resurrection On the heights it is warmer then (n '? thinks in the valleys.'. ThI sublime metanhor of Nietz- sche. wich W.J. Turner put to fn( elct in epitomizing Mozart, could have been just as aptly ap- plied to Pablo Casals. In contrast to Mozrt's more disembodied, ethereal warmth, however, Ca- sals' is a searing intensity, per- meatin; his many accomplish- ments with an inner glow. Columbia's recent release of a deluxe 5-disc retrospective al- bum (M5 30069) devoted to the cellist-conductor as musician and man. unfurls the magnificent panorama of Casals' staggering- ly long and fruitful artistic trek, helping to place his musical achievements in proper perspec- tive. In concert and on records, Ca- sals is virtually the last remain- ing late Romantic musician who, throughout the latter part of his career, has been something of a musical anachronism, stylistic- ally speaking, although most mnv- sicians overawed by the profund- ity of Casals the man. would deny this. In the 1930's, while Tor t ni, Sohi:abel. and the Bu d- oices String Quartet were joy- ou y jt tisonn the last rem- nan- s c the Romantic intern.e- iwe Irdion and setting n a Sierist oproch t ihe ur- I rnian c of Wetern ('las e al A ,~!wb' r o: o~ of t.~ c asizc m Pcin (Continued from page 9) Gauche, the newest addition, is intrnationally oriented, and is apparently doing quite well, as is o hh Halfway Isn located in1 East Quad). Currently the mast actIve co§- P e hens o is fht Ark, an inters - esnting church orgcniatsig locat d at '1421 Hill. Under the manage- mont of David and Linda Sig- uin, who took over in/January of 1969. the Ark has gained a renuatirn as one of the finest coffee houses in the country. Yet there is a significant dii- ,mece in operation from many other folk clubs. The people who sing at the Ark are not like- lh se grouPs has been the Uni- versity of Michigan Folk Dance Club. Originating about t e n yia's ag, tihe initial emphasis was on American country dane- er and isquaro dancing. Avail- abililty and tnt 'rcsts of teach- ors ha u c altor d and varied tn nncatveties. -MeetLing Fr'iday nlight 38-11, :0 'duna'tion) at B~arbour Gyrm, t1'he~ urrnt rmphasis of the re- iiu'ar groau: of thirty to forty is 011 ISraeli 'and Balkan dances. A'se incuded in their repcirtoi'e are dances from Turkey, Swe- d ii Donmaik. Armenia, and Arab nations. Dancing is a sr'- ions. pursiut for many m~embers and generak s a social sphere of ing is_ elegant and refin' ith controlled use of1 vibrato and polished bowing, lacking ik rhetorical breadth and roug a- hued tone of Casals. In .h. Feuermann take a Clarsicw ' view of the sonata, giving a fleet, underplayed reading in the best literalist tradition. Casals, on the other hand, probes deeply beneath the sur- face in an intensely subjective ap- praisal of Beethoven's music, uninhibitedly pausing for person- al expression with a resultant broadening of melodic contours. Due to Feuermann's death in 1942 (at age 39), and Casals' mu- sical longevity (95 and still at it), the average student cellist of to- day, being familiar with Casals' artistry while, more likely than not, ignorant of Feuermann's, normally displays far more in- terpretive freedom in his play- ing than (for instance) his pianist colleagues. In our present age of emotionally constipated pianism and conducting among too many musical practitioners, this is a quirk of instrumental fate to be most thankful for. This is not, of course, to sug- gest that Toscanin. Schnabel or Feue'manun were robot musicians who performed Beethoven like Moeg synthesizers. Far from it. Each man poured a potent musi- cal individuality into a com- poser's score, though never al- nr. ,nes 1':i I c ie emi ad sp'e dynamics scentfi cally p"''- sed. lnn genized. and se! - r. Thus, when Ai comes to indi viia i emotional input. Casals is ac- tually clser to a tine reading (f Toscaninis liberalist creed m Pn, let's say. George Szell in 's a- tomotonme frenzies. Casals' seemingly paradoxical proximity to Toscanini is ex- emplified by the lack of hand- wringing or tear-jerking in his Romanticism. Indeed, the most striking ingredient in Casals' re- cordings both as cellist and con- ductor is his elemental force in phrasing and attack, a signii- cant hallmark of Toscanim's con- ducting style. This shared qali- ty can be most readily savored by comparing Casals' 1963 c- count of Mozart's "Ilaffner" Symphony (Col. MS-7066) with Toscanini's 1929 New Yo"k Phil- harmonic recording. Both "ien dig into the opening phrase of the first movement with gusto nd relish, only to unexpected ly slow down the impetus in the second phrase with a massive ritardando nowhere iniated ; n Mozart's score. After this phrase, tile movement drives aead vilh- out a hitch, receiving a ibvnt, healthy reading at the ands ot each conductor. This. I d i. should give musical pige'- holers pause: two genn'sas of supposedly conflicting perlfc-- ance idelocies have re cheo th same inerpretive anolo irnrs. The resrt con stitutes one o the mflst farcinating spin; cal en conuntes between two ftea iutr sicians eve etched ont a c Returning to the a lbun r reieu . Caas is h eetlto t0 solo concerti: the Ixke Bc- cherini B-Fiat, and chu m7ann A Mfinr. In both, Casals s(ce:- fully bends the music to hi own will. Broad, arching meldic lines dripping with juicy vibrato ere part and parcel of Casais' en- chanting rhapsodizing whica ma y offend ears craving - classic phrasing and restraint in the pur- portedly Eighteenth Century Boccherini work. Actually the B- Flat Concerto presented here and regrettably the only Boc- cherini concerto ever performed by most cellists) is a congomer- ation of bleeding chunks From other Boccherini concerti not too skillfully sutured together and recomposed by the nineteenth century cellist Friedrich Gr'etz- macher. There is, then, some justification for Casals' basically Romantic handling of this crazy- quilt composition (the recording dating, incidentally, from the 1930's). Anyone wishing to sam , ple the original Boccherini B-Flat Concerto in a fine performance should turn to Philips 900172 where Maurice Gendron is ac- companied by (irony of ironies!) Pablo Casals. I am not a little irked at Co- lumbia for including the 193 Schumann Concerto in this al- bum when any serious Casals collector presumably has picked it up already on the budget Odyssey label (32160027). There are also many outstanding, yet long-deleted Casals discs lan- guishing in Columbia's vaits, that this needless duplication can only cause the committed clas~- sical record customer to fume. Some of, Casals' most distin- guished solo work on discs is to be found in the 1930's traversal (with pianist Mieczyslaw Hors- zowski) of the Brahms F Major Sonata included in this album. It is a superbly virile, hard-hitting account, particularly notable for Some now well-known performers gave some of their first performances at Canterbury House. Chuck Mitchell, a popular Detroit singer began securing bookings for his wife (a novice singer-songwriter) in this area. Hence, Joni Mitchell often s a n g at Canterbury, Ritchie Havens, Gordon Lightfoot, Doc Wat- son and Tim Buckley were also popular draws. concert at Hill Auditcuim on April 17. There are ol v n more local ous of p o tnt I ested in ukcu'tue but ox n thouah li eacs n: ay or ganizarouron bs~i~.tc' i lit te 0t beweni 'idoo coatit One ~rnpe of a sm.x hA diffrent tye of co-opeaie venure is tile Widowors Now Talent Asociaion, cented in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is an effort of a number of folk singers to work together at giving the public high quality folk music at reasonable rates: Wildfwrs intends to circum- vent the primary depredations of an industry which may well be the most corrupt and mani- pulative in the country." It is an attempt to keep the People's music in the hands of the peo- ple. It seems well within the scope of the various folk organizations in this community to embark upon commonly pursuing and preserving People's art. Perhaps the rejuvenation of the Folklore Society would provide an appro- priate medium for such a pro- ject. In any event, a co-operative effort of some sort would do a great deal to serve those par- ticipating organizations individ- ually, as well as collectively. A liberated people hold and parti- cipate in the culture which is truly theirs, and not the pro- duct of a corrupt industrial technology. The only way we can do that is by working to- gether. - y BET TER LIGHT STUD Avoid the eye fatigue from reoc w'ork at home or office. Here i performance requirements of th< HIGH LEVEL LIGHTING fused and glare - free. Better Sight Bureau. Dur propylene shade. Height: Vytas Valaitis 9800: 9801: 9802: Bone white Matte black Beige and espresso brow the haunting beauty of Casals' tone in the cello's lowest registier.. In the higher registers one miss- es the lustrous suavity and rock- steady intonation of Feuermann, but Casals' tense, forced sound serves Brahms' frequently mo-dy and tempestuous score better than does a slick, well-oiled tong. M o mnl e n t s of breathtaking sleight-of-hand bowing technique compensate for some uncomirt- ably insecure intonation in a "e- cital of short works (recorded in the 1920's) occupying one of 'ie set's LP sides. These pitch prob- lems crop up relatively sedo however, and are totally elit5(d by the profoundly moving ,eat- ment Casals accords to :liw movements of concerti by Vi- valdi and Tartini, his rhtwie snap in Boccherini's Sixth s"na- ta, and his puckish humor o the M'nuetto from Haycn's Fr't - nata-. In the minds of many. Casals' incomparable m u s i c i anship) comes to the fore most eloquet- ly in his unforgettable chamber music collaborations, represent- ed in this album by a per'form- ance of Schubert's Cello Quin- tet (with violinists Isaac Stern and Alexander Schneider, viol- ist Milton Katims, and cellist Paul Tortelier as artistic part- ners) recorded at the 1952 Pra- des Music Festival-a classic of the recording art if ever there was one. The musicians' stormy, often rough-hewn exposition cause the explosive climaxes of this masterwork to surge forth like inexorable forces of nature, while the more serene measures sing out with compelling urgen- cy. The other greatest recorded statement of the Quintet (re- grettably deleted) is the more polished and tightly-knit Buda- pest Quartet-Benar Heifetz ac- count of 1943, which some lis- teners may prefer to the rug- ged Casals rendition. Debating the relative merits of the two recordings, however, is like quibbling about whether Mac- beth or King Lear is the greater work of a genius-these are two miraculous musical recreations to live with and treasure. I on- ly hope that Columbia will now see fit to restore the old Buda- pest disc to active ciruclation, since the Budapest's '60's "re- placement" (currently available on Vol. MS-6536) is a woefully inadequate version of the Quin- tet. Casals' steady, .clear and co- gent 1969 reading of Brahms' Variations on a Theme of Hay- dn with the Marlboro Festival Orchestra highlights his signi- ficant contribution to the con- ductor's art. His choice- of a slower-than-usual tempo, which might have bogged the work down under the hands of a Klemperer. instead clarifies it through a lovely revelation of frequently-hidden inner voices. The master chamber musician draws forth appealingly sensu- ous instrumental lines from his orchestra men ( the marvelous fluidity of tie winds is parti- cularly satisfying) , while his mhcandling of Brahms' kno') ty ('ioss-i'hytlhms delight the mind as ell. All in all. this is an ilrtel e!y musical tieat- ment of te score which gets my rote' fo, A topbilling among versions currently lited i the Schwan. alog ,ith Toscanini's very dtf'erent, bvt co-ually valid t h Victr ic C- (5400. "he1 fi 'anIP is dcvTd to a soIund m nlageof Caslshim- self givi g a rapid flzishback se- ouenr'e of events and ar'etivities in his life, both in music and speech. By means of 'clover tape splii ngand superposition of words ovei' music.a moving ton- al effect emanates from the grooves with disarming sincer- ity. The set's handsomely de- sinned 24-page illustrated book- let and complete Casals disco- graphy (with recording dates minddningly absent) elaborate this intricately woven tapestry. In sight and sound, we learn of Casals' musical development, his worship of Bach. his hopes for world peace, his meticulous but highly individual rehearsal tech- niques with an orchestra (only Toscanini can rival Casals for strained vocalizing while con- ducting a rehearsal). A special word of praise for both Columbia and E.M.I. for their joint effort in re-releasing the splendid material from the '20's and '30's in commendably honest. ungimmicky m o n o sound. Now. Columbia, h o w about releasing the indispensible material in this set on single discs so that it receives wider circulation? I hope that this al- bum of re-releases presages fu- ture budget reissues of further Casals recordings as well as pio- neering reprint efforts on behalf of such neglected instrumental- ists as violinists Joseph Szigeti. Perhaps it is most appropriate that Casals himself conclude this review. In the course of his narration on the final disc, he deplores "the cold war . .. with its atom bomb tests, rearma- ment and bitter strife." He wish- es for "a tremendous movement of protest in all countries" by citizens against "those who have power to prevent this catastro- phe (a nuclear holocaust)." He then answers his own rhetori- cal question as to what contri- bution he can make in the strug- gle for world peace: "The cello is my only weapon." Price $16.99 ly to be holding down the top forty, or even filling the air- ways of underground radio sta- tions. Instead, the emphasis is on maintaining a high quality of music, without taking it out of the hands of the people. Those who perform there a r e hired bescause they are good singers, rather than because their names are household words. As a result. the Ark has developed a regular following. an essential factor in keeping a coffee house alive. Many va ym inerests cent- er aiound the Ark. In the past a great dl ef atention has been given to I'aditiOnal music. Bar- rv O'Neil Norman K e n n e d y. Mih-1 Cooney, and many oth- ers har' contribut'd to this facet of 0h ," r arin' Bob White, Rowa1' Sore's. and Bruc 'Phil- lins ha a' hl'nd 'ri elments of bot h tiii ir''n, oiad country 1?l1] c : all d aloping large fol- Iowins. But theint erests range be- yond inerely the coffee house functions. Sacred Harp singing is an example of this. It is an activity that has taken place at the Ark at hoots and on Sun- day afternoons for two years. The fragmented state of the folk community was recently il- lustrated when the Ann Arbor News reported that a Sacred Harp-sing would take place at the Music School on April 3rd, and that it was the first such 4ctivity in the city. People with common interests simply haven't been aware of each other. People concerned with other parts of the folk culture have been organized for some time, but only on a small scale with interest fluctuating. One of the more successful of other club-sponsored activities, (For further information c al11 Dennis Rigan 663-9619). Sister organizations include the Young Friends Dance Group, which meets Sunday evenings at Friends Meeting House, and the Scottish Country Dance Club. The latter is sponsored by Prof. Rane Curl and meets Thursday nights in the Women's Athletic Building. The population of the group fluctuates around the minimum number required for sets. The dances originated in ballrooms but have since sur- vived within the culture of rural Scotland. There are also folk oriented activities directly linked to the Univer-ity,. Professor M a1m teach s courses in othnomusi- cology i "music in cultures"- all forms of music from any part of the world, some of which ar folk, in the School of Music. Tieie is olso a course in Black Musi offered throu°h the De- partment of Afro-American Studies. Professor Mastl servos a the presidelnt of the Michinan Folk- lore Society, xhich will be hold- ing its annual meeting at Wes- tern Michigan University on April 24. (Those interested should contact either B a r r y O'Neill or Prof. William Malm.) More popular outgrowths of the local folk culture have been country and bluegrass music. Many local bars now regularly have such groups as "The R.F.D. Boys." "The Stoney Lonesome Boys," "The Lightning Express," and "Buddies In The Saddle." The all-time favorite local coun- try band (now based in the San Francisco Area) is "Command- er Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen." They will be doing a May be seen on dispic 401 S. Main of ANC 2055 W. STADIUM BL Tel (313 Q- . . n y v 4 #+egr .-! THE PRESENTATION OF THIS COUPON ENTITLES YOU TO NANY25c OFF ON A NYONE COMPLETE DINNER AT LUMS Offer Good April 1 1 thru April 30, 1971 AND G"3N'T FORGET- LIVE ENTERTAINMENT Vytas Valaitis music, Casals continued to un- abashedly pour on the 1'ibrato to poignant effect in a corr'aut Boccherini score, and to rrndor Beethoven in a free, but soulfully insightful fashion. One can get Casals' powerful individual surge against the main- stream of performance nr'wctice in his time by successively play- ing the 1930's recording of Beet- hoven's' Third Cello Sonata in- cluded in this set, and a con- temporaneous reading of it 'on Seraphim 60117) by the ether "Greatest Cellist of the Cntury" (and probably unchallenged in any age for sheer virtucsity on the instrument), E m m a n u e l Feuermann. Feuermann's play- lowing his own personality to ly overwhelm the music. They merely shifted the emphasis from a totally subjective exploitation of a work involving the exposure of one's viscera, toward a more objective conception aimed at conveying the composer's inten- tions. Implicit in their caveat to look to the score was a prelirni- nary analysis of oneself. But just as Greek heroes were misled by their mistaken inter- pretations of the Delphic oracle's pronouncements, oft-blind purists of our time have mis-interpreted the literalism of Toscanini to connote computerized piano-roll playbacks of the masters: plug in a Beethoven score and get the TUESDAY THRU -E- SATURDAY, 9 P.M. TO 1 A.M. after 9 p.m. all patrons must be at least 21 Broadway plym6h Rd 63-1740 , E I WILDS STATE STREET ON THE CAMPL ____. __..__._._ w . _ _ Page Eight THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, April 1 I 1971 Sunday, April 11, 1971 THE MICHIGAN DAILY.