THE MICHIGAN DAILY SUNDAY, MAY 17,a193
i "
.,
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MANAGING EDITOR
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HENRY MERRY
RANK.E. COOPER, City Editor
for...............Gurney Williams
Director.............Walter W. Wilds
City Editor........Harold 0. Warren
litor..............Joseph A. Russell
Editor .............Mlary L. Behinyer
rama, Books......... Win. J. Gorman
flections ..........iertram J. Askwith
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tEditor............George A. Stauter
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NIGHT EDITORS
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eindel
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oodman George A. Stauter
elper John W. Thomasen
es John S. Towneend
pus toward the All-campus election,
eclipsing even the usual indiffer-
ence of the general student body.
If any but the most casual interest
is shown in Tuesday's election, it
will be the product of more enter-
prise and ingenuity than the reign-
ing bosses have formerly shown
themselves possessed of.
Having struck upon the happy
decision to force an early consider-
ation by the faculties of the pro-
posal, the Student council may now
rest content at having acquired a
substantial, if belated, claim to an
interest in intelligent action.
Campus Opinion
Contributors are asked to be brief,
confining themselves to less that. 300
words if possible. Ano~nymous corn-
munications will be disregarded. The
names, of communicants will, however,
be regarded as confidential, upon re-
quest. Letters published should not be
construed as expressing the editorial
opinion of The Daily.
Editor's Note:;
Music and Drama
MONDAY NIGHT: Ethel Barry-
more appears at the Whitney
Theatre in a comedy, "The Love
Duel."
BORIS GODWNOF
A Review.
I
s
,ere
l
Mary Mccall
Cile Miller
Margaret O'Brien
Eleanor Rairdon
Anrie Margaret Tobi
M agaret 'Thompson
Olaire Trussell
eyer
'imeu
agee
chester
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While The Daily's policy has been
this year to give space freely to
all who sought self - expression
through this column, certain factors
in the recent interchange of ideas
regarding Mr. Gorman's review of
Mr. Raymond Morin's piano recital
have persuaded the editors against
further continuing this particular
controversy.
The initial exceptions taken to
Mr. Gorman's comment were the
general tenor of his review (which
was unfavorable to Mr. Morin), and
its lack of comprehensiveness in
treating the entire recital. The last
exception is disallowed for two rea-
sons: the Beethoven was easily the
most important of the music played,
and second, the balance of Mr.
Morin's program had been played
by him previously in Ann Arbor
and reviewed at the time. Regard-
ing the first exception there are also
two disqualifying considerations
first, Mrs Morin has admitted the
chief burden of Mr. Gorman's cri-
ticism, and second, our music critic
has always been permitted com-
plete freedom in forming and ex-
pressing his judgnents.
In view of these considerations, it
seems unnecessary to carry on to
an unreasonable length any private
controversy (essentially uncritital,
perhaps) which would only magnify
or at least extenuate the initial im-
pression of Mr. Morin's recital.
Only as a result of a revolution
(which he prophecied) by the peo-
ple whom he loved was Moussorg-
sky's opera in its original concep-
tion brought to light. Purged of the
spacious brilliance and conserva-
tive alterings of Rimsky-Korsakoff's
version, familiar in the opera hous-,
es, "Boris Godunof" has recently
emerged in Russia as the expres-
sion of its soul, the great national
epic.
It was the forunate conception
and the distinction of Earl V. Moore
to close an interesting Festival with
the second performance this ori-
ginal score has been given in Amer-
ica. His decision was not an easy
one. Against him, still maintaining}
that Moussorgsky's opera owes its
vitality to the superior craftsman-
ship and the superior taste of Rim-
sky-Korsakoff, are persons of no
less distinction than Arturo Tos-
cannini and Alexandre Glazounof.
Hence we can only be grateful for
the opportunity he offered of being
abreast of Russia's important schol-
arship on its greatest composer
and an important controversy in
the musical world.
Since, however, the intention of
Mr. Moore's decision was to get as
far back as possible to the original
conception of Moussorgsky, it is to
be regretted, I think, that he did
not go the whole way and cut the
Polish scenes. These two scenes with
the absurd Marina were included by
Moussorgsky in the 1874 edition
only as a compromise, to the pre-
vailing taste and stupid demands of
the day. Very clearly they are not
at all germane to the drama. One
is able to think oneself back to the
real protagonists of the drama-
Boris and the people-only with
great difficulty after the two scenes
of conventional contriving to the
accompaniment of quivering strings
and a conventionally trivial amor-
ous debate. In addition to their
distortion of the dramatic struc-
ture, these scenes reveal Moussorg-
sky fairly unhappy writing Italian-
ate melody. They might very well
have been cut.
The moot point in the two ver-
sions appears to be Moussorgsky's
orchestration. Undeniably, it is ex-
tremely ineffective and stringy for
the most part. It lacks richness in
the texture. But at least, its pre-
vailing severity and economy is
more relevant to Moussorgsky's type
of mind than is the slick brilliancy
of Rimsky-Korsakoff. And when the
experience is taken as a whole, the
prevailing monotony of dark, aus-
tere tone-color actually has engen-
dered an atmosphere of gloom and
hopelessness that fits the drama.
SUNDAY, MAY 17, 1931
it Editor-MORTON FRANK
COUNCIL BIDES ITS TIME
i
The Student council's decision to
le its time until the projected
rger with the Senate committee
student affairs has received offi-
1 action seems extremely well
vised. In fact, under the peculiar
cumstances of its present situ-
on, there was hardly any other
sible plan of action.
Editorial Comment j
YALE GOES THE WHOLE HOG
(New York Evening Post)
FIFTH MAY FESTIVAL CONCERT
A Review
It may be said in the case of
well played music (and that im-
plies not only technical proficien-
cy but the close approximation of
the music's meaning), that when
the composer's experience is gen-
uine and well ordered in terms of
musical symbols, one is never con-
scious of the performer. Conver-
sely, when the music lacks any
significant meaning or when the
composer's experience is poorly or-
dered and expressed, one's atten-
tion tends to become attracted to
and focused on the performer.
This particularly occured in the
first half of yesterday afternoon's
concert. And the conclusion that
seems to emerge from Mr. Stock's
performance of Bruckner's D Min-
or Symphony, was that Bruckner
may be second rate but that Stock
is one of our most completely sat-
isfactory musicians, and one of the
best of our conductors.
This was my first hearing of the
Bruckner Symphony. I found it
much more important music than
the Chausson Symphony which was
also a first hearing. Chausson
sounded like Grieg and thin Wag-
ner with a dash of Cesar Franck.
Bruckner emerged with greater in-
dividuality. His thematic material,
when it was unimportant, and this
was quite often the case, was in its
treatment always sincere and some-
times significant. However, when
his themes were good, their poten-
tial richness was never completely
realized in their harmonic and
polyphonic development. If one
compared him to Brahms one
might conclude that. his inspira-
tion, of the same cosmic romanti-
cism as Brahms, never lasted as
long, and never was as good for
lack of fuller explication.
The soloist of the afternoon,
Ruth Breton, made. one forget
about well-played music directing
the listener from the performer to
the composer's experience. For one,
the music never became very sig-
nificant, and secondly, she was a
much too nice person not to be
looking at. This was not complete-
ly the distraction one might think
it to be, for one found in her per-
sonality the genesis of the splendid
approach she had to music. The
young lady had taste. There was
no pretentiousness, and her stage
bearing was simple, honest and
charming. These qualities she
brought to her playing, and in ad-
dition a mature technique, a rich
tone, a nice sensitivity to the melo-
dic line and a flawless feeling for
rhythm. The Glazounov Concerto
was an attractive vehicle for her,
and her encores were pleasant. One
would have liked to hear her in a
more taxing program to determine
the extent of her talent.
H. S. R.
,THIRD FESTIVAL CONCERT
A Review
The third festival concert proved
attractively balanced. In the first
half of the program there was Miss
Reynolds' marvellous Handel and
Mr. Christian's Bach and Sowerby
which will, I believe, hold their
own musically with anything in the
Festival. In the second half of the
program Miss Burke and Miss Rey-
nolds sang with delicacy and de-
light some scenes from Humper-
dinck's inimitable score "Hansel
and Gretel"-music that nicely fit-
ted the frame of the childrens'
concert.
The "Ritorna Vincitor" aria from
"Aida" and, as encore, the "Madre
Pietosa" area from "La Forza Del
Destino" were given a mediocre
performance by Hilda Burke. Miss
Burke very clearly has an impor-
tant voice and considerable dra-
matic sense. But Friday afternoon
she sang very casually; and there
were frequent faults of intonation
and attack. In her appearance with
Miss Reynolds, however, she was
entirely admirable in voice and
feeling.
Miss Reynolds, who was disap-
pointing in the second concert,
sang an aria from Handel's opera
"Rinaldo" and an "Arioso" from
one of his cantatas. There was ex-
cellent emotive power in the way
she sang Handel's slow, broad, cu-
mulative melodic line in the Arioso.
Palmer Christian gave a finely
conceived and articulated perform-
ance of the Organ Fugue in C
Minor and an interesting perform-
ance of a new work by Leo Sower-
by, "Passacaglia," which displayed
sufficient inventiveness to justify
A
After its record these past three
ears, and in the light of the over-
helming student vote in favor of
te change in organization, little
>nest excuse could be found for
:oceeding with nominations for
ie All-campus election this Tues-
ay. Under any,conceivable circum-
ances; if Student council elections
ere ordered, those receiying office
>uld at best be lame-ducks. If the
-organization plan were sanc-
>ned, they would be shoved, out
office; if it were not, they would
ave got off to such a slow and
iaky start (they could hardly pre-
:me to act until an official deci-
>n ,regarding their future was
ade) that they would be fatally
indicapped for successful tenure.
Hence the Student council's move
as justified because of its unsettl-
. status. The only mitigating in-
tence in this case would be any
rong indication of the faculty
ew toward the project. While
ere is no evidence of faculty feel-
g one way or the other, sufficient
'warrant an absolute prediction,
may not be out of place to call
tention to the highly favorable
aise the plan has met when pre-
nted to various interested mem-
rs of the faculty and administra-:
>n, The fact that those who have
.wed the project look well upon
seems to allow some basis for
suming its official approval. This
also a very patent reason for
lding up the election of a new
udent council.
En spite of these considerations,
wever, the council will probably'
censured in certain quarters for
erlooking the mandate of the
astitution under which it now
erates to nominate candidates for
Upon the passing of Latin as an
entrance and B. A. degree require-
ment at Yale, we can but drop a
tear and then turn our minds to
some subject at once more cheerful
and more sensible. For there is little
use seeking to fight the present
tendency to take the intangibles
out of college life and college edu-
cation. We frankly deplore the dis-
appearance of Latin. The study of
its structure brought order and
discipline to the mind. Without it,
no American can have a true and
zestful knowledge of the language
that he speaks. All his life he would
be cut off from delightful intimacies
with words. As he lost in the loss
of Greek a boy's grasp of the heroes
of Troy, so now will he lose lEneas
and the mighty Casar. A grip of the
past is taken from him, and Heaven
knows that Americans need no de-
privation such as that. So, too, does
he lose the chain of culture which
runs down through all the litera-
ture of the Christian era. To fill the
void, they are going to let him
study modern languages. What will
French, Spanish or Italian be to
him without a knowledge of their
basic root, Latin? But, as we say,
there is little use heaping up words.
The thing is done and faculties are
the least changeable of human in-
stitutions. 'Tis a pity, though, Yale
couldn't have given classical cul-
ture just one small break. It might
be useful to Babbitt, 1932; not, of
course, during his active business
career (to which everything must
be sacrificed) but after he has made
his pile and is settling down to
collect libraries or buy first editions.
And anyway, the principal point
of interest in Moussorgsky's idiom
is his recitative. He knew that aria
and formalized ensemble between
the soloists would mess his type of
drama. Consequently, he forged a
peculiarly melodic recitative-near-
ly always closely integral with the
word, never wearisome, but rather
possessing the pulsation and glow
of aria at its best without the arti-
ficiality.
The opera has fierce power and
directness. Mr. Moore's reading am-
ply revealed it; and this was an
achievement, for it is an opera
which probably loses more by the
absence of action and stage than
the average opera. Aside from the
conviction that Mr. Moore's reading
carried, the principal point of in-
terest in the production was Mr.
Baromeo's debut in a role that has
been stamped by the genius of a
man who is one of the good basses
and the best actor of this- gener-
ation. Chaliapin has stubbornly re-
fused to sing the original version.
So that if the original version is to
be frequently performed, the oper-
atic stage needs a new Boris. From:
the indications of his performance
last night, Mr. Baromeo can grow
into that Boris very readily. He has
an adequate, at times very remark-
able voice; and further, he showed
great emotional power in the two
great scenes in Kremlin. The mini-
mum of acting which he allowed
himself on the concert platform was
sensitive and effective.
The production was considerably
aided by the splendid singing of
Nelson Eddy, Fred Patton, and Wal-,
Happy suggestion: A Dallas credit
man reveals it is a common prac-
tice of the embarrassed business
man to mail unsigned checks, fig-
uring that in the time needed to
return a check for signature he can
straighten out his bank balance.-
Detroit News.,
When we feel at last we have
B r i t a i n thoroughly understood,
along comes a cable that Sir Thom-
as Lipton may be admitted to the
bership who shall be voted
. at the All-campus election.
technical reason for opposi-
to the council's decision will no
rt be trumped up principally by
icians seeking avenues for their
I