music
New perspectives
The music of Harold Owen’s new passion is ingenious, but
the experience of attending it Sunday night has important non
musical aspects as well.
About 400 people came to the Central Lutheran Church for
the premier of “The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According
to Saint Mark.” Owen, a professor known as much for his ex
pertise on the Moog electronic synthesizer as for his mastery of
Baroque instruments, composed the passion in fulfillment of his
doctoral requirements at the University of Southern California
and — one suspects — other requirements.
Among the dramatis personae are the People, played by the
audience. Our performance was fair to middling, other par
ticipants woe superior It is moving merely to see Neil Wilson
in the role of Jesus Christ, in conventional modern dress (suit
and tie) standing beneath the stylized, simple .sculpted crucifix
His voice and body movements are without exception controlled
and graceful.
Conductor Rovce Saltzman binds the world together as he
turns to conduct the orchestra, men’s and women’s choruses
(members of the University Singers and Chamber Shiga's), the
soloists, the narrator and the audience. His hands are precise
and poetic.
The narrator. Philip Natwick, pastor of the Lutheran church
at 18th and Potter, stepped in the day before the performance to
substitute for Francis Theimann (a professor of education), a
flu victim. Natwick’s rich voice bent, boomed, or blended with
the text and music as appropriate
The text itself shows insight. The composer's sensitive
selection of portions from the gospel psalms from the Old
Testament and prayers from various liturgies enhanced the
dramatic impact and originality of the work.
But the music was what transcendentalized the evening
From the outset, a fascinating effect is achieved with the double
chorus. The women sing a motive and sustain a note, the men
come in with another motive and sustain a note one interval
from the women’s. By classical standards it should be
dissonant, but it is not. An echo effect is obtained, as if the
singers were climbing a mountain and certain tones stuck in
rock crevices, lingering while new tones are sounded It has a
shimmering quality.
When two hymns are sung simultaneously — “Faithful
cross'' and “Sing, my tongue’’ — in an antiphonal arrangement,
the vocal arpeggios evoke a rainbow- of fresh hues. Weird har
monies. asymmetrical rhythms, counterpunctal passages
abound, without calling undue attention to themselves, as might
seem to be the risk with “far out, modern” music.
The descriptive quality of the music is inventive throughout.
When Peter tells Jesus be will not renounce him, the choral
voice is ragged, not together. The cello yawns when Jesus comes
to Peter and says. “Sleepest thou? Coukiest not thou watch one
hour?” When the bass drum sounds, hard and brief, and the
narrator declares. “And they cru-cified him,” some members of
the audience leapt, as if jolted.
The staging was consistent with the dramatic effect. The
orchestra was upstage, the choruses in the first several rows of
the congregation, Pilate (James Kemps ter and Guy Aydelott,
standing two-faced swathed in a red scarf) stage left, the high
priest (Peter Lovely) stage right, the narrator on the far right,
and Jesus Christ in the center toward the rear — or what would
be the apex of the cross shape formed by the players’ positions.
It was a new perspective on an old and powerful story.
AbbieZiffren
— J
EOIN
NUC presents
OMURCHU
speaking on
“Culture and Revolution in Ireland”
It Will 1)0 argued that culture is the central
weapon of an oppressed people, that Imperialism therefore
destroys culture and communities, creating rootless, isolated
individuals, and that it is the task of socialism to integrate
the people with their true his troy Discussion will center on
the Irish struggle and its relation to other colonial situations.
Mr. O Murchu is a member of the central
committee of SINN FEIN, the political arm of the Irish
Republican Movement, of which the IRA is the military
wing He is as well editor of TEOIRIC, a theoretical journal
of the Republican Movement. He has written extensively
on the theory of revolution, particularly on ciuture and
language revival, and on the relation of cultural and
economic alienation to the need for national and social
revolution
Thursday, March 8
7:30 pm 150 Science
Admission free
Donations welcome
Bud Drinkers, can
you figure this out?
Ralph bought a 6-pak of Budweiser* and invited four friends over to share it.
Since he bought, he expected to have two cans to himself, but unfortunately
when he returned to the refrigerator for his second, he found it missing. So he
asked who took it. A1 said,“Joe drank it.” Joe said, “Dan drank it.” Dan said,
“Joe, that’s a lie!” And Bill said, “I didn’t drink it.” If only one of these
statements is true, who really drank it?
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Webfoot Flying Club
Springtime Flying Package for
Students, Staff & Faculty
Ground School
for
Private Pilot Eating
RPM 199 03 credits
Wednesday nights 7
10 $40 for materials &
instructor payable 1st
class meeting
March 28, 1973 Flight
special not necessary
Social Meeting for
Members & all interested
March 27, from 5-6 pm
YW Lounge in Gerlinger
Contact:
Libby Bishop x4440 / 342-4504
Ben Johnson 343-9735
Dr. Kime x4139
Special Special
Flight training as
Webfoot Flying Club
member
$75.00 - to join club
(payable 3 mos in
stallment)
$15.00 a month for
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includes 20 hours of
dual. Must have a
minimum of 10
students & be
prepaid.
Ground school ad
vised
INTRO FLIGHT
$5“
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plane—688-9291