47 * 9 CIdIIICI .............. n... ....,... ......., .:........ . ..... ....{."........ k.... ..... ..... :,.: ..{,.....,..:........ ......... .... -........, w. ::.w: ., .: :::.: ::. :::::.-::. .:, : ,h+:i: i:":titititi% " '%:: t ti"Y .::. ::: :: x::.,y " ": ".w: ": w: .........:.....,,......., .......... .............. ., : ...,.... k.......,:::...,, ..... ..... x ,... ................. .....; .:; ..... v.4::: " :.. . ::v ".w;.w:hw3 w.:ow::. "'.v::. ::. 4, :..... .., ..............:. k... , ".{. "}::." :.:..:.::.,":.,:..,......"r...,....,.........,..: ::.., }.,".".,":::.,,"}.,,"}}.S:}., ?::.":::}w}...":.:.,"".:.+.::..,., '' S.^~'un:t'}...%kv :i} :.:;>:: ;i5r ri:"}}:4 "}}izi;:}. 3..>':.;.,. :.:._ :::;,,,a:., .,,,.:.a:::::.::: }.t _______________________-_____ Classic pro blem J.S. Bach's Mass In B-minor Joshua Rifkin Nonesuch By Robert Cassard 'T HIS RECORDING of Bach's Mass in B Minor is beautifully trans- parent. As a result of greatly reduced vocal and instrumental forces and a very conservative but superb recording job, the album generates a feeling of depth and space. There is space bet- ween the notes and physical space bet- ween the singers and instruments. the listener, in turn feels like he is part of the musical environment. The sound of the recording perfectly matches the pristine performance of Joshua Rifkin and The Bach Ensemble, a group of musicians which he has gathered specifically for this project and others like it. As a group, they are dpdicated to the performance of Bach's works "as he heard them." Although their concept of what Bach must have heard has 'proven very controversial, this two-record set presents a convin- cing case that using solo voices to sing choruses may truly have been what Bach actually expected. It is, in a sen- se, the musical proof of Rifkin's musicological claims. Importantly, no "doctoring" of the balance and quality of the voices and instruments occurred in the recording process, so the recording accurately conveys the sound.of the ensemble's performance. What is most surprising is that the sound of the choruses -most notably the "Kyrie" and "Sanctus" - sound almost identical to traditional performances of the Mass using many more voices. This is at least partially a product of the acoustically sympathetic church in which the recording was made, but that may be another historical point in its favor. This chur- ch, in fact, would be similar to the reverberant churches in which Bach himself would have performed the work. This performance is not without its problems, many of which derive from the very clarity which was previously praised. The digital recording process combined with the reduced number of performers works to expose every nuance of the piece as well as the technical quality of its performance. Extra-ordinary precision becomes necessary both melodically and rhyth- mically. On the whole, everyone seems to rise to the occasion, but when there are problems, they are spotlighted. When unison violins are not in perfect harmony, they sound completely out of tune and when a vocalist in the chorus slightly misses a note, the whole chord slides out of pitch. Although this does t COVER STORY Year end picks Page 1 It's that time of year when the world wants to know what were some of the best and worst movies, recor- ds, concerts, etc. MuSIC Take Five Page 4 A pair of diverse holiday concerts as Dave Brubeck and his boys follow the Swans and Sonic Youth into town. DISCS Silk Electric Page 5 Diana Ross' latest offering gets panned, while Flag of Convenience receives flying colors from our diligent music critics. THEATER Tintypes Page 6 The Professional Theatre Program's latest of- fering is a turn of the century musical revue. THE LIST Happenings Page 7-10 Your guide to fun times for the coming week in Ann Arbor. Film capsules, music previews, theater notes, and bar dates, all listed in a handy-dandy, day-by-day schedule. Plus a roster of local restaurants. RESTAURANTS Argiero's Page 11 Have a pasta festival at Argiero's, one of Ann Ar- Joshua Rifkin: Solo voices ROY SCHEIDER MERYL STREEP not occur very often, it is noticeable enough to take the listener's mind off of the music and put it on the performan- ce. In most traditional recordings, this does not pose a problem because the greater number of voices and in- struments act as a buffer to the erros of individuals. This is perhaps the most obvious drawback of the small chorus format used. Another drawback is that this is a relatively "dry" reading of the score adhering entirely to the notes and em- bellishments which Bach put in the page. This fully exposes Bach as a com- poser and placesethe burden of Rif kin speaks W HILE THE full-scale confronta- tion over Rifkin's controversial musical direction is taking place using High Fidelity Magazine as a battlefield (September, October and December issues), the matter is beginning to receive more and more attention from musicians and listeners everywhere. While visiting Ann Arbor for the recent" convention of the American Musicological Society, Rifkin took time out from a hectic schedule to answer some questions about the, new recor- ding and its origins. Daily: On what evidence do you base your contention that Bach used musical forces smaller than those which have been traditionally considered correct? Rifkin: The evidence that we've normally used for determining the for- ces that composers have had is documentary evidence-lists of payments, rosters of choirs and or- chestras, descriptions of performances and things like that-and our estimates of Bach's forces have been based almost completely on such material. In the case of Bach, it has seemed to me that this evidence is not very infor- mative as it is very fragmentary, im- precise, and subject to widely differing interpretations. Daily: What exactly is it that makes critics of your contention so uncomfor- table? Rifkin: The problem is that in the great majority of Bach's compositions sustaining the listener's interest en- tirely upon him. All in all, the Mass in B Minor fares very well in this "new" version, which will serve as an excellent addition to anyone's collection. The liner notes themselves are an in-depth musicological "Bach-feast" and would be worth the price of admission. Whether or not this is the one absolutely. correct version of the Mass is not the important issue. However, the act of striving to attain authenticity in per- forming this and other works like it, is of vital importance. When it produces results like these, the reward is the revitalization of a masterpiece. there is only one copy of each line of the score. The fight that is now going on centers upon whether, as I believe, one person sang from each part or, on the other hand, if two or three could have done so. I contend-based on what I feel is an overwhelming body of evidence supporting this-that only one person ever- sang from a part which would mean that the number of parts equalled the number of singers, that is, four or five. Daily: Was doubling of parts more frequent in the orchestra? Rifkin: That is a little more problematic, but, yes, you may find doubling in the string parts. Bach nor- mally had more than one violin playing each line but gave them separate parts. In the recording, we used very, very small string forces and, for reasons even more complex than with the voices, I think they are what Bach ac- tually used. Daily: Perhaps making a case for a small number of voices automatically makes a case for a small orchestra simply for reasons of balance ... Rifkin: Actually, I set the numbers without regard to my own pre- conceptions or guesses. In other words, I tried to look at the evidence as a cold- blooded historian and ask: what would the forces have been? After finding the answer I said: Well, let's see what hap- pens if we play it this way, that is, with the right number of 18th Century in- struments and the right number and type of singers. The balance was just fine! In fact, we discovered, almost to our astonishment, that it worked very, very smoothly=-a fact which made all of us involved with the project feel that Bach knew what he was doing and that the Mass, as he must have heard it, "works." Weekend Weekend is edited and managed by students on the Weekend, (313) 763-03 Vol. 1, Issue 10 staff of The Michigan Daily at 420 Maynard, Ann Ar- Daily, 764-0552; Circulati Friday, December 10. 1982 bor, Michigan, 48109. It appears in the Friday edition tising, 764-0554. Magazine Editor ............Richard Campbell of the Daily every week during the University year Assistant Editor ...................Ben Ticho and is available for free at many locations around the Copyright 1982, The Mu campus and city. ------- - - - - - ---' -cmu -n - iy USED EQUIPMENT SPECIAL SAVE BIG DOUG ALL GUARANTEED AND RECONDITIONED SAVE up to 60% (OFF Manufacturers Suggested List Price)\ THIS CHRIS " Fisher Cassette Deck CR 120 * Teoc 124 Cassette Deck BIG I Phillips Turntable AF887 " Teac o3300sx, 10" reel to reel " Toshiba receiver sa3500 Recorder with remote Sharp cassette deck rt1157 " Onkyo t9 am/fm tunerM/ " Marantz speaker system " Onkyo a7 140 watt rms amplifier 3 way 12" woofer " Infinity quantum 5 speakers S Sansui r70 receiver " Hitachi turntable ht-205 " Technic 5 bond equalizer sa801O Wad Receiver Model 7020, - S* Genesis I speakers * ~ANDMANYMOREI HI FI STUDIO 215s. ASHLEY DOWNTOWN 1 BLOCK WEST OF MAIN 769-0392 or 668-7492 % BLOCK NORTH OF LIBERTY F RI ESECOND F RI VfC ANCE7 ?P M- N EVER P tC Mon., Dec. 13 1982 -.209 ---tat--St-,Ann-Arbor-MI-4810 Joshua Rifkin: Getting Bach to basics bor's favorite food stops for people with a fetish for fettucini. CLASSICS Bach's best Page 12 Conductor-pianist Joshua Rifkin is well known for his album renditions of his wide-ranging mus album of Johann Sebasti an admirable attempt t 17th century German r Weekend interview, Rif ROY SCHEIDER MERYL STREEP 'STILL OF THE NIGHT" JESSICA TANDY D=iord hNHgraphyNFSOR ALMENDROS, A.S.C. Sry by DAVID NEWMAN and ROBERT BENTON S&renpay by ROBERT BENTON Pm&.d by ARLENE DONRAN Dimeted by ROBERT BENTON PoriIBIAIom 4 "C""'eeotwe ms e AA%.:IQO - Wf eet :. Starts Next Week at your Local Theater! I Weeen~dl c , e _O. _ ... ... _-......---------f