ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Tuesday, October 5, 1982 Page7
Cantorum creates vintage vocals.,
By Jane Carl
D URING THE 1960s Andrew Parrot
was one of the few music resear-
chers re-discovering the musical styles
and practices of the 16th and 17th cen-
turies: Now Parrot puts many of his
findings into Schola Cantorum of Ox-
ford, the 40-voice English choral en-
semble he conducted last Sunday in a
concert of latek Renaissance and con-
temporary works at Rackham
Auditorium.
A wholesome-looking group, the choir
began the concert with two works by
Giovanni Gabriele, nephew of the
famed Andrea Gabrieli. The ensemble
captured the essence of the 16th century
style, especially with the eerie, ethereal
quality of the soprano voices that
Renaissance music' demands.
However, the antiphonal passages
would have been clearer in Hill
Auditorium.
Many groups perform the charac-
teristic ornamentation of the period in
heavy-handed fashion, but the Schola
Cantorum ably tossed the music off
without adding unnecessary weight.
Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia, set to
the poem by W. H. Auden, was filled
with impish, unexpected twists. Unfor-
tunately, the soloists imitating musical
instruments were ineffective, but the
recurring "blessed Cecilia" theme was
sung very richly.
The first half ended with four Italian
madrigals said to be the forerunners of
opera. The most intertesting, O che
nuovo miracolo, by Cavalieri, had a
-strange juxtaposition of elements. The
chorus, sang dialogues with an ensem-
ble of three sopranos and a tambourine.
The Schola Cantorum performed at Rackham Sunday afternoon.
The Dallapiccola madrigals which
opened the second half were disappoin-
ting. Written years before his venture
into serialism, the writing was trite and
sung in the same manner.
A collection of English madrigals
that followed was performed equally
dispassionately. The singing lacked the
excitement and intensity necessary for
any work of art to be realized.
The concert concluded with
arrangements of five American
spirituals by Sir Michael Tippett.
Basically'simple works, they were con-
veyed with much emotion. Suddenly,
the choir was not afraid to raise its
voices and fill the room to the strains of
Go Down, Moses, and Deep River.
Schola Cantorum is well versed in
Renaissance works, but could take
more care in choosing its contemporary
fare. Also, although authenticity was
obviously a must, the speaker for the
organ was located in the middle of the
choir and muffled by the sopranos' skir-
ts into which it was aimed. Given a
speaker in his time, Bach would have
placed it much more effectively.
I
FIDIUAL TEATRES
1 5t Ae oflibery 741.07001
I
Lovely Rita sings about (Dead) Bob Marley.
Holy Humdrum! Rita
sings a sad
By C. E. Krell
PEOPLE TEND to assume that, like
sex, all reggae music is wonderful.
However, as anybody who has watched
a couple go through the death throes of
an inefficient "anti-premature, all-'
encompassing, dammit-with-me-you'll
orgasm-or-else" aid device, guidebook,
or photograph knows, not all sex is
wonderful. In fact, it can be downright
("But holy humdrum, Batman,
what's so OK about "OK?"
"Robin, you petulant papacy
promoter, shut up and let me write this
review or I'll break all your 'race'
records.")
I
Rita Marley did not fill Hill
Auditorium' last Saturday night.
Moreover, The Fabulous Five, Inc., her
backing band, was evidently tired after
a week-long engagement at the
Kingston Holiday Inn Park West.
II
I almost thought I'd walked into a
seance instead of a reggae concert.
They kept chanting "Marley, Marley,
Marley, Marley."
(In the future, all famous people who
have passed away will be referred to
with the prefix D-e-a-d- to avoid the
confusion of "Shit, isn't he dead?")
Most of the songs performed
Saturday night (80-90 percent) were
written by D-e-a-d-Bob Marley. Unfor-
tunately, Bob never showed. More's the
pity. They certainly tried to get him
there, though; some guy on stage
named Roy thought he was Bob. Basic
-algebra: a) Roy does not equal Bob, b)
-Bob is greater than Roy, c) Roy equals
*>the null set.
III
song,
her shoes off, she danced. A lot of
people in the crowd danced. They all
had fun. The gentleman next to me had
fun, too. He slept through a good deal of
the concert.
Rita sang her fun single, "One
Draw." It was so fun, she sang it twice.
Rita also sang "No Woman, No Cry."
That wasn't fun; it was a tender,
emotional moment. A tribute of sorts. I
cried-the Fabulous Five Inc.
decided to play their instruments
during this song. I wanted to tell Rita to
make them stop. She didn't. I cried
some more.
IV
This concert reminded me 'of the
couple who decided to become intimate
in a large vat of ("Oh, Boy!") Jello
Pudding. The couple had a good time in
the pudding, but after they finished
licking off the remnants of the colloidal
delight, and were left with no more
pudding, they decided that really they
didn't love each other after all.
Moral: "A reasonably good time in
the pudding doth not make for a par-
ticularly exciting aural experience."
-J P. Sarre.
(Fooled you, didn't IU.
Debra Winger Richard Gere
AN
OFFICER
AND A
GENTLEMANI
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WED.-12:40, 3, 5:20, 7:40, 9:55
It's A Comedy,
A Thriller
& A Romance!
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WED.-12:20, 2:30, 4:50, 7:10, 9:30
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