RT.S
Wednesday, November 23, 1983
The Michigan Daily
Page 5
Acoustic awe
By Elliot Jackson
HE VERY AIR inside the Ark was
pregnant with expectation Monday
right. A large crowd was packed into
seats and crushed on cushions to hear
Malcolm Dalgleish, Grey Larsen, and
Pete Sutherland "do their thing" -
whatever that was.
Certainly if any one came into the
Ark expecting any one type of music
or arrangement, he went out with an in-
creased respect for this band's vir-
tuosity, if not its talent. Consider for a
oment the fact that three men
managed among 'em to play hammer
dulcimer, bones, spoons, several fid-
dles, guitar, banjo, concertina, wooden
flute and whistles, and piano - and
they still had time to sing. It gives one
pause.
The music itself was as eclectic as the
range of instruments. Droll a capella
pieces about monsters and firewood
followed fully instrumental"
arrangements of Kentucky fiddle tunes,
Vrish jigs, French waltzes ("learned
from Belgian hitchhikers in an Irish
pub in Cincinnati"), and Greek hymns.
Original tunes flowed between all these
others, smoothing out the disparate
elements in each style. A certain tune
might capture the spirit of the Irish jig
which had preceded it, while avoiding a
slavish reproduction of its style.
Uncommon or peculiarly "folkish"
instruments lent their tone to the
evening. Particularly beautiful was the
Norwegian fiddle used by Grey Larsen.
on "La Valse pour les Jeune Filles."
This unusual instrument possesses
eight strings, four on top and four
below. When the four top strings are
bowed, the four below "hum" sym-
pathetically creating a richer, more
resonant tone than is possible from
your domestic fiddle. This made for an
especially pleasing effect on "La Valse,"
with the wistful, haunting quality of its
melody.
Tying the whole evening together was
the sound of Malcolm Dalgleish's ham-
mer dulcimer. When the instrument
was featured unaccompanied, the
clarity of its tone approached but never
crossed the bordgr into tinniness.'The
same clarity, however, provided a
sharply defined contrast to the breathy
and sibilant sounds of a wooden flute.
Somewhat less strong in terms of
polish or mastery of craft was the
group's singing. Dalgleish and
Sutherland, who did most of it, had
pleasant but rather light and uncom-
pelling voices. Their arrangements of
the humorous pieces, with more-or-less
close harmonies, were amusing.
Still, you have to admire the spirit of
a man (Malcolm Dalgleish) who would
even look at his newborn infant and
note its resemblance to a new Idaho
potato, much less write a song about it.
Anyone who was lured into the Ark in
the hope of hearing nothing but master
dulcimer playing was bound to be
disappointed. For those who expected
no such, thing, the Dalgleish-Larsen-
Sutherland band provided high times
and good music.
Beautifui
By Knute Rife
THE UNIVERSITY of Michigan
Concert and Symphony Bands
teamed up Monday night in Hill
Auditorium to perform music, old and
new.
The first half of the program
belonged to the Concert band. The per-
formance opened with H. Robert
Reynolds conducting Mendelssohn-
Bartholdy's "Overture for Band." Then
Larry Rachleff took the podium for
Leslie Bassett's "Sounds, Shapes, and
Symbols." This piece was reminiscent
of W. Francis Macbeth, with blocks of
sound building layer upon layer.
Bassett is on the Michigan faculty and
was in the audience. Rachleff called
Bassett up to the front after the piece to
share in the applause.
The band then played four of Turina's
"The Five Miniatures," a delicate little
piece. The Concert Band closed its half
of the performance with Fillmore's
"His Honor."
The top parts were, strong
throughout, especially the soloists. The
horn and flute solos in the Mendelssohn
were lyrical and moving, and the oboe
solo in the Fillmore was strong and
pure. The band as a whole, though,
started rather weakly in the Men-
delssohn. There were ensemble and in-
tonation troubles and the second and
third parts did not carry their loads.
Things shaped up in the Bassett piece,
but the trumpets had serious difficulty
producing square tones in the Turina.
Everything came together on the
Fillmore, which was of uniformly high
quality. The ensemble proved tight,
1 bands
throughout, impressively during the
final accelerando.
After intermission the Symphony
Band took the stage. It opened with
Schuman's "George Washington
Bridge," then Reynolds returned to the
podium to follow with Benson's "The
Passing Bell," a memorial piece. Next
the band played Grainger's "Irish Tune
from County Derry," based on the old
song "Danny Boy." Reynolds dedicated
this piece to his new-born daughter.
Then came the American premiere of
Bedford's "The Sun Paints Rainbows
on Vast Waves," a playful piece with
15/8 patterns and the percussion section
playing tuned bottles including a Smir-
noff's and a Mickey's Big-Mouth. The
concert closed with Sousa's "The Loyal
Legion," a standard Sousa show-
stopper.
The Benson piece was the weakest,
with the clarinets painfully beyond
their useful range, the flutes using far
too much vibrato, and a general lack of
crispness throughout. But the solo
oboeist was good, and the low brass
sounded impressive with its rich, dark
tones.
The band recovered well on the
Grainger, and the brass ensemble at
the beginning of the piece was simply
luscious. The momentum carried overw
to the Bedford and the Sousa, and the
band delivered polished performances
of both pieces.
The concert was fun, entertaining,
and generally professional. You could
not beat the free admission. It was well
worth the time. If these bands continue
their quality musicianship, I recom-
mend catching future concerts.
Doonesbury dances - APPhoto
Mike Doonesbury, as well as many of Garry Trudeau's other famous car-
toon characters, will sing and dance in the brand-new Broadway musical
Doonesbury.' Trudeau wrote the play that opens in New York on Monday.
'Hill Street' cop Conrad dies
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Michael Con-
rad, who won two Emmys for his por-
trayal of the fatherly and eloquent desk
sergeant on television's acclaimed
"Hill Street Blues," has died after a
long struggle against cancer, an NBC-
TV spokesman said yesterday.
The tall, balding actor played Sgt.
Phillip Freemason Esterhaus, who
began each show with a checklist of or-
ders for his patrol officers that ended
with the adminition: "Hey, Let's be.
careful out there!"
CONRAD, 58, had been treated for
cancer over the past two years. However,
NBC spokesman Brian Robinette said
the family would not disclose the cause
of death. He died Monday night.
Robinette said he believed Conrad
died in Southern California, where the
actor recently was working on the
television series.
"He was a very strong man, always
positive and marvelous," said Rene
Enriquez, who plays Lt. Ray Calletano
on the award-winning series. Enriquez
said Conrad knew he was suffering
from cancer, but "he came to work up
to the,,last minute. He thought he was
going to conquer it."
"MICHAEL Conrad died in the sad-
dle," said Charles Haid, who plays of-
ficer Andy "Cowboy" Renko on the
show. "He worked up until the end. He
was with us until the last possible
minute and for that we have great
respect and admiration for him."
Enriquez said private funeral ser-
vices were planned today.
Robinette said he did not know
how Conrad's death would affect the
show, which was halfway through
shooting its fourth season. Twenty-two
episodes were planned.
Conrad, a native of New York City,
was the eldest son of a career army
man, served in the Artillery during
World War II before attending New
York City College. Hestudied drama,
found roles in summer stock and joined
the national tours of "A Streetcar
Named Desire" and "Mr. Roberts."
Conrad, who stood 6-foot-4, was
known early in his career for
"physical" and bad guy roles. But he
found his greatest success on "Hill
Street Blues," where his soft-spoken
and elegant expressions made him an
island of serenity amidst the chaos of
the big-city police station.
Conrad
...dies at 58
Canning the state
Minnesota resident Stephan Jahn sent a box filled with soft drink cans to Gov. James Blanchard to complain about
paying ten cent deposits when he visited Michigan. Monday, Blanchard said he mailed a $1.20 check and a letter tojahn
inviting him to save the money for his next trip to the state.
Crime commission gets boost
Unique Volunteer Opportunities Available
at Childrens' Psychiatric Hospital,
Call Dinah Arnold
-t
763-0115 or 763-1580
I .
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Reagan
administration wants Congress to give
the President's Commission on
Organized Crime power to issue sub-
poenas and grant immunity from
prosecution to obtain testimony.
The request, which went to Congress
last Friday, was announced yesterday by
Justice Department spokesman Art
Brill.
BRILL ALSO announced that the 20-
member commission named by
President Reagan on July 28 will hold
its first public hearing in Washington on
Nov.29.
The commission's chairman, Irving
Kaufman of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals, said that witnesses would
E include Attorney General William
French Smith, FBI Director William
Webster, and Drug Enforcement Ad-
ministrator Francis Mullen.
Brill said that the subpoena powers
sought for the commission are "given
to the Warren Commission, which in-
vestigated the assassination . of
President John F. Kennedy, and to the
commission which investigated the
'Organized crime has changed over the
years and this will give us a fresh view,
particularly into....motorcycle and prison
gangs.
- Judge Irving Kaufman
THE TURKEY IS WAITING
nuclear accident in 1979 at the Three
Mile Island nuclear power plant in
Pennsylvania.
The commission would be em-
powered to ask a federal court to hold
any person who refused to comply with
a subpoena in contempt and to jail any
such person for up to 18 months. If
Congress approves, the commission
also could, with the approval of the at-
torney general, grant witnesses im-
munity from prosecution for the
testimony.
The commission which is due to report
on March 1, 1986, is supposed to outline
the current organization of organized
crime, disclose the sources and amoun-
ts. of organized crime's income and to
recommend any needed changes in law
or administrative procedures to com-
bat organized crime.
Brill said the new commission was
necessary because "organized crime
has changed over the years and this will
give us a fresh view, particularly into
emerging organized crime networks
like motorcycle gangs and prison
gangs."
Judge Kaufman said, - "Organized
crime today is a more dangerous and
pervasive force than ever before. It af-
fects virtually every aspect of our
nation and its economy, and our current
laws are proving inadequate."
THE TREE WILL BE TRIMMED
w WILL YQUBE THERE?
NOT WITHOUT A RIDE!
-,r3S W-7-
$1 May Find You One .