May 12, 1969
The N.C. Essay-
Page 4
THE BARBARY ORGAN
BY JACO.UES PREVERT
Me? I play the piano
One of them was saying
And I play the violin
said anotheir
and I the harp I the banjo
I the cello
*1 .
I the bagpipes..I the flute
and I the rattle
One and all were talking talking
talking about what they were playing.
You couldn't hear the music
everyone was talking
talking talking
No one was playing.
But in a corner a man was sitting silent:
And what instrument do you play, sir
you who are silent and who say nothing?
the musicians asked him.
Me? I play the Barbary organ
and I play the knife also
said the man who until now
had said absolutely nothing
and then he advanced knife in hand
and he killed all the musicians
and he played on the Barbary organ
and the music was so true
and so vivid and so lovely
that the little daughter of the piano teacher
came out from under the piano
where she had lain down lulled to sleep by boredom
and she said:
I used to play trundling a hoop
with a ball at being a hunter
I used to play hopscotch
1 used to play with a pail
I used to play with a shovel
I played at being the daddy and at being the mama
I used to play hide and seek
I used to play with my dolls
I used to play with an umbrella
I played with my little brother
and with my little sister
I played at being the cops
and at being the robbers
but that is finished finished finished
I want to play at being the assassin
I want to play on the Barbary organ.
And the man took the little girl by the hand
and they went off into the cities
into the houses into the parks
and then they killed as many people as possible
after which they were married
and they had many children.
But
• \ the eldest learned the piano
' ’ ' the second the violin
the third the harp
the fourth the rattle
the fifth the cello
and then they began to talk talk
talk talk talk
you couldn’t hear the music any more
and everything had to begin all over again!
CALENDAR
May 12 - 7:00 p.m. - Becky Troxler
(Monday) recital in main auditorium.
8:15 P.M. - Salem College;
Faculty Recital by Nancy
Wurtele, pianist, Salem
Fine Arts Center.
May 13
(Tues.)
May 14
(Wed.)
May 15
(Thurs.)
May 16
(Fri.)
- 8:15 P.M. Elizabeth Peeler
Senior recital in main au
ditorium.
- 11:00 a.m. - Salem College
Lecture by Dr. Milton
Babbitt on Electronic Mu
sic; Salem Fine Arts Cen
ter.
8:15 - Ransom Wilson; eve
ning of Flute concertos.
- 8:15 p.m. - Lamneck and
McCraw Recital in main au
ditorium.
- 8:15 p.m. - Faculty Reci
tal, Claremont Quartet,
Clarion Quintet, Jesus
Silva in main auditorium.
May 16-17 - 8:15 p.m.-Drama Workshop
3, produced, directed,
and performed by students.
Metro by J. Buzas is di
rected by Mary Hicks; The
Successful Life of Three
by Maria Irene Fornes, di
rected by Jimmy Greenwood;
Spoon River Anthology, di
rected by Robert Murray.
Drama Theatre. Students
make reservations between
1:00 and 5':00 p.m. any day.
May 17 - 8:15 P.M. - Danny Jones,
(Sat.) senior recital in main au
ditorium.
May 18 - 3:00 p.m. - Singers Guild
(Sun.) Performance for Students,
$1.00 , Salem Fine Arts
Center.
7:30 p.m. - John Wright,
senior recital in main au
ditorium.