December 17, 1969
The N. C. Essay
Page 2
AYING IN MY HEAD
MUSIC PL
I want to slow down; too many
things are happening too fast. The
new Stones' LP is out and a gas. The
Airplane's Volunteers is their most
important release since Surrealistio
Piltow, Sandwiched in between are
Steve Miller's beautiful Your Saving
Grace and Creedence Clearwater's
latest gut-kicking view of Americana.
We're just coming off the heels of
new things from Led Zeppelin, Byrds,
Dillards, Johnny Winter, Frank Zappa,
Dillard & Clark, etc. And Lord
knows what awaits us over Christmas.
Like Randy Bums.
Randy Burns? Who's he? Simply
a singer/writer/guitarist whose music
has found its way onto my turntable
nearly every day of late. Burns was
once a member of Morning, a group who
did gigs around Yale University for
a time and then split to the West
Coast. There, they played all over,
lived with the Grateful Dead, and
fought off money hungry record com
panies. Finally, the pressures of
several internal and external hassles
broke the music and the trust; Morn
ing dispersed, not without hard-feel-
ings, it's reported. But now, the
group's lead singer, Burns, has an
CHfllTIB€fl music
ReCITflL s
R€UJflflDinG
hy Ruth Rendleman
The Student Recital Sunday^
Deaember ?, in the Main Auditorium
was rewarding for the handful of peo
ple that were ■present. Cathy Tait
and Bruae Moss opened with the Mozart
Sonata in Eb Ma,jorj K. ■ 280. The
opening brilliant Allegro with its
intricate interweaving of lines be
tween the piano and violin were han
dled with technical skill and fine
balance. In the intensely chromatic
slow movement in Mozart’s grand
"grand tragic" key of G minor it was
rewarding to hear Mr. Moss ' tonal
control at its best with a beautiful
Mozart sound. The final Rondo based
on a typical "hunting" theme also
contains a dark and passionate cen
tral episode in C minor. The control
in this movement is hard to maintain,
perhaps because of the fast tempo
that was taken, but it was handled
well.
After a short bveak Mr. Moss and
Miss Tait were joined by Philip
Wachowski (viola) and Mark Ward(cello)
to play the Schumann Piano Quartet
in Eb Major, Opus 47. The piano
quartet repertoire is rather limited:
aside from the two Mozart and three
Brahms quartets there are relatively
few other really great works. But
the Schumann has much to offer and
was approached with such a thorough
knowledge of what the piece contained
that the result was a great
(Cont. on page 4)
by Mike Ferguson, Staff Reporter
album out (with at least one other
member of Morning playing) filled
with honest, folk music that avoids
the outlandish pretense that often
turns rock into pablam.
Evening of the Magician is an
easy record to listen to, but not
as simple to hear. The music isn't
striking in the sense that grips you,
siezes you immediately. Instead,
these low-key acoustical perform
ances, like a new friendship meant
to last, take time to grow. Put
this record on in a quiet room.
Sit and listen to what Randy Burns
has to say. Watch his thoughts and
words form before a December fire.
Your head won't be the same again.
Technically, the record isn't
top quality. The production is
weak and the performances themselves
less than polished (although Bruce
Samuels adds a sturdy bass and
mellow flute throughout). But
within the imperfections there is a
precious, delicate beauty, a beauty
that even a hastily planned studio
In as far as I can determine
at this point, we here at the North
Carolina School of the Arts should
be concerned with two very important
aspects of this very great and very
unique adventure. And I refer to
the school's reputation and the
school's character.
I think they are both extremely
vital aspects of our growth here,
and whether conciously or sub-
conciously, we are influenced by
both in our lives not only at NCSA,
but in the fast paced world around
us.
The hang-up comes in our in
ability to recognize the differences
between the two, and our sub
sequent failure to arrange our sense
of values accordingly.
We hear much about the respon
sibility we have to uphold and im
prove this school's reputation. We
don't hear quite as much about up
holding and improving the school's
character, for one reason or another,
and this is tod bad. There is, I
firmly believe, a very genuine con
cern about this matter of character,
but strangely enough along with the
concern there is a definite lack of
commitment to any kind of concrete
action. Perhaps there is some con
fusion in that people often think of
the two as being the same thing.
This is a very grave mistake.
William Hersey Davis once wrote
about character and reputation, and
if I may, I would like to give you
my translation of what he said.
The circumstances in which you
live determine your reputation; the
• you believe determines your
character.
Where we are concerned:
Reputation is what this school
session couldn't hide. The songs,
inherently innocent, seem to some
how benefit by the shoddiness of
the studio. Like the infant
Byrds, Burns' work is filled with a
sense of wonder that overcomes other
inadequacies.
Randy's songs are sketches,
richly colored and textured pictures
of feelings and dreams that calm the
ear as Japanese landscape paintings
soothe the eye. The titles tell you
much about Randy Burns. Evening
Magician, Echoes of Mary 's Songs,
Ron's Song, You've Got All Of Love
Standing At Your Door, Susan Yoicr
Mind's Got \Jings, Girl From England,
Lady^, Rain Again, Rainy Day Children,
Springtime Song, and When Daylight
Comes In Everything. Like an early
morning sleeper, you dart in and out
of Randy's visions, storing them
away in your memory.
Few songs have moved me as much
as Lady Rain Again. The song con
veys a paradox of moods; absolute
of ours is supposed to be; character
is what it really is. I think then,
we can see the first difference already.
Reputation is the photograph
in the brochure, or in the /17.C. Essay;
character is the real face of the
person, or teacher.
Reputation is what you have when
you come to the School of the Arts,
simply, if for no other reason, be
cause you were accepted. Character
is what you have when you leave this
place.
Reputation, the artist must
quickly learn, makes you rich or
poor; while character makes you
happy or makes you miserable.
A single newspaper report can
give an artist his reputation - but
that lifetime of hard work, and even
failure, will give him his character.
It was once said that character
is what a man would do if he knew
he would never be caught.
There are two freedoms in
this world. One, where man is
free to do what he likes. The other,
where man is free to do what he ought.
And each of us, whether we like it
or not, must one day decide which
freedom we execute.
The tragedy of this world of
ours, however, is that men too often
decide to give their first class
loyalty and devotion to too many
second class causes. And in each
case, the cause has betrayed them.
We must become something more
than mere artists - something more
than mere men and women on pain of
becoming otherwise something less.
(Cont. on page 4)
R E P II T A T I 0 M AND CHARACTER
by David Wood