Newspapers / St. Andrews University Student … / Feb. 11, 1971, edition 1 / Page 3
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FEB. 11. 1971 the lance PAGE THREE Mus/c, tAedia And Noise A cursory look at the pre- seotation of two winter term groups, each the result of tour week of experimentation In the Mrformlng arts: I,CREATING MUSIC FROM noise.” Concert No. 1. George weimcr. Instructor, Program End;" “Fowl Music;" ..Opus Corpus Vox;" "Asylum £,.> “Wandering Thoughts;” ..Life with Beaujolals;’' “Opus jj.it “Rapping;” “Music to Watch Men Die By;” “Paper Piece.” January 28, Avlnger Auditorium. Since both the “CreatingMu- sic" and “Mixed Media” pro grams were the presentation of the results of Individual and group experimentation, and thus cannot be viewed as definitive or even final work in their re spective fields, the reviewer, (and the reader) must evaluate them in the same light as he would any experiment. From this point of view, the terms "success” and “failure” re present purely subjective o- plon and should not be con structed as delnlte labels; we cannot measure them in terms of box office grosses, publi cation and recording demands, packed houses or long runs; a work of this nature succeeds at falls only In the Individuals minds of the audience. The extent of preparation is largely unknown and cannot be taken Into account. (Where in the "Creating Music” program notes an aim was stated for a particular experiment, it will be used as a criterion for evaulatlon.) Two compositions that the re viewer found particularly inter- erestlng in “Creating Music” were "Asylum E” and “Life with Beaujolals.” “Asylum E” was Intended to “simulLte the feeling of entrapment,” and well It did so: its resonances sug- sest a bare confinement and a mood of desperation; played in total darkness and slightly louder it could easily be even a frl^tening experience. “Bea ujolals,” which was replaced by a shorter composition in the subsequent performances, can mean what a listener wants It to; Its sounds bring to mind both moods and actual objects. but its length and variety allow the reader’s mind to slip from ond mood or picture to another, constructing countless different streams of thou^t. “Wandering Thoughts” was a clever, sophisticated musical joke, and one of the best items on the bill. This one was a piano composition utilizing the twelve-tone compositional technique and, after t)elng play ed through, was shown to be equally playable upside-down. The improvisatory “Rap ing” — an interractlon piece by two people, one generating electronic sounds while the oth er tieats on percussion instru ments — had its value as an experiment to its participants and even to the class, but was unexciting as a presentation 1- tem. The reviewer likewise questions the validity of the in clusion of “Music to Watch Men Die By,” although it was perhaps the Wrongest statement made and was extremely well constructed for presentation. The opinion here is that it utlized no music and little noise, and was actually a work in the mixed media field—and would have been a worthy addition to that class’s performance. The reviewer maintains the following negative feelings on the other items on the pro gram: “Opus n” was fun thing for the participating audience in a single sort of way, but largely created noise from noise, and playing the record ed results backward didn’t help. “Fowl Music’’ needed refining and equipment not available to the students, and came off sounding painfully amateurish; “Opus Corpus Vox” strongly resembled an acting class as signment or improvisation, va lueless to all but is parUci- pants, and took interminably long not doing anything. “Paper Piece” seemed like a good idea beforehand, but once it began the listeners waited expectant ly for something to happen, and nothing much did. And “The End” looked good and “The End” sounded good, but the twain never met: the program called it “An attempt to express the composer’s feelings,” but the composer and the film- A C/ioose a Worldly gift from fhe Party Shoppe and enjoy the economy of quality maker seemed to l>e on dif ferent wavelengths. “EXPERIMENT IN MIXED MEDIA.” Performance no. 3. Howard Cobbs and Mark Smith, instructors. Presentation in six parts. February 7, Farrago Coffee house. The “Mixed Media”company didn’t give any titles, but we’ll do our l)est without them. The performance opaied with a con temporary musical prelude ac companied by abstract pro jections surrounding the au dience; at best it was an ac ceptable way of killing time until the audience was seated and ready. A piece based on the creation followed, with a very well-written monologue and a good series of projections, con cluding with the surprise dis covery (and adornment) of man from the middle of the audience. Unfortunately, it was marred by the rather annoying movements of three participants under white cloth, who provided a sort of mobile screen for the pro jections. Then came a silent film se quence concerning a collection of characters reminiscent of “Tobacco Road”, during which one character killed another’s baby, and after a funeral the mortgagee or landlady or some body tried to evict the bunch of them. The fUm, though long, was well-made, and the two seconds’ worth that was per formed live was jarring, to say the least. Next, apeculiarly existential segment, with live actors and projections — a sort of montage of life, with grim reminders of approaching death, climaxed by a hanging — that combined into perhaps the most intriguing portion of the presentation. An endless col lection of Sprite commercials succeeded that, played on two screens at once,looking dread fully anticllmactlc now, ap parently with no purpose other than to try one’s patience. An other live act closed the per formance, with metallic-faced actors inviting the audience to manipulate a live puppet with a plastic face. Interpret that as you may. There was good and bad in both presentations, success and fiiilure, and there were techni cal flaws; the opinion here is that there was enough good in both to make them worthwhile, but enough that wasn’t good to leave room for improvement In both. Bragg Conference (Continued from page 2) 4. They will enter discussions of the procedures to guarantee the safety erf all withdrawing troops. 5. llie A m e r leans pledge to end the Imposition of Thieu- Ky-Khiem on the people of South Vietnam in order to insure their right to self-determination and so that all political prisoners can be released. 6. The Vietnamese pledge to form a provisional coalition go vernment to organize democra tic elections. All parties agree to respect the results of elec tions in which all South Viet namese can participate freely without the presence of any foreign troops. 7. The South Vietnamese pledge to enter discussion of procedures to guarantee the safety and political freedom of those South Vietnamese who have collaborated with the U. S. or with the U. S.—supported regime. 8. The Americans and Viet namese agree to respect the Independence, peace and neu trality of Laos and Cambodia in accord with the 1954 and 1962 Geneva conventions and not to Interfere in the internal af fairs of these two countries. 9. Upon these points of agree ment, we pledge to aid the war and resolve all other ques tions in the spirit of self- determination and mutual re spect for Independence and po litical freedom of the people of Vietnam and the United States. By ratifying the agreement, we pledge to take whatever act ions are appropriate to im plement the terms of this joint Treaty and to insure its ac ceptance by the government of the United States. WANTED: Students interested in earning a little extra pocket money. The LANCE needs advertising salesmen for Laurinburg and surrounding areas. 10% commission. Apply Box 7.57 i If you have a taste tor living, Pizza Inn has a taste for you. iiivof baked cofcica i langi» romjfo sjuce ina fipjpccf yout lai/oftc topprgs That 5 soff'f oH'avor And PiT/a >'n " When frou Ve tofhving. 9«t wilh Ihe tattt otpma t/om Pitt* Ittn Put your fun. 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Feb. 11, 1971, edition 1
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