Michael: But how do you explain the fact that hundreds and thousands of young people simply go mad over rock music? For example, I listened to Shubert's messes. I'm not saying that I didn't understand them. As a matter of fact I enjoyed listening to them. But music like that isn't able to give me anything new, whereas rock music feels a thousand times nearer, more immediate.
Liz: No, Michael, I'm unable to understand it. And that's probably my main fault, I should say. Then... Professional musicians are always neatly dressed... But heavy metal rock players! Well... you'd have to see them to believe it! There is
only one hope for it a special section (department) for rock music at the Composer's Union that will do something about the situation.
Michael: So you're the sort of ordinary decent person who wants to restore the position ot classical music.
Liz: Yes and no... But I'll let you have the last word on jazz and I'll stick to my own opinion on rock.
1. Have you ever been to a live jazz concert/rock music concert? What is your impression of them? 2. Do you agree with all that is said in the dialogue? In what statements concerning jazz or rock music do you find the criticism appropriate?
When criticising someone, describe, don't judge. Always focus on, and confine criticism to observable behaviour.
For instance, telling your pupil who is not practising his music "Of late you've been practising less than usual and we need you in the concert" is more likely to encourage practice than snapping "You are irresponsible and lazy. Practise more from now on."
a) Below are statements about music which express different opinions. Imagine that they are your opinions and change them into subjective arguments. (Use the expressions showing critisism.):
1. "There is only one way to come to understand music by learning to play a musical instrument whether an external one like the piano or flute or by training the human voice to become an instrument."
2. "However good recorded music might be, it can never really take the place of a live performance. To be present at an actual performance is half the enjoyment of music."
3. "I find I have to defend jazz to those who say it is low class. As a matter of fact all music has low class origin, since it comes from folk music, which is necessarily earthly. After all Haydn minuets are only a refinement of simple, rustic German dances, and so are Beethoven scherzos. An aria from a Verdi opera can often be traced back to the simplest Neapolitan fisherman."
B) Team up with your partner who will be ready to give critical remarks on the statements given above. Use the cliches expressing criticism.
C) As a group, now decide which event you will all attend together. When giving your criticism try to be honest, but tactful.
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9. Group work. Discuss the effect of rock music on young people. After a proper discussion each group presents its critical remarks. First read this:
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There are world-wide complaints about the effect of rock. Psychologists say that listening to rock music results in "escapism" (abandoning social responsibilities). They also add that some rock music (for example certain heavy metal songs) affect young people like drugs. There are well-known cases of antisocial and amoral behaviour on the part of young "music addicts". How do you feel about this opinion?
Most of the expressions which you found in the dialogue (Ex. 7) are used to criticise something or somebody.
Below is a review of the Russian Festival of Music in which a Scottish journalist extolls the virtues of Russian music, a) Read the text and note down any useful expressions in giving a positive appraisal of music. b) Discuss the text with your partner.
A Feast of Russian Arts
The strong and impressive Russian theme at this year's Edinburgh Festival commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.
The festival opened on August 9 with three giant companies, the Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and Leningrad's Gorky Drama Theatre, and the spectacular young traditional folk music and dance group Siverko, from the arctic city of Arkhangelsk.
Other musicians in the first week included the Bolshoi Sextet, and the final week sees the arrival of the Shostakovich Quartet.
The first of the four programmes by the Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, in an Usher Hall draped with garlands, was a fascinating demonstration of Russian tone quality and Russian interpretation. After the two national anthems the rustling, atmospheric opening movement of the suite from Rimsky-Korsakov's Invisible City of Kitezh, with some particularly expressive strands of oboe tone, was sufficiently promising to make the thought of even a familiar piece of Tchaikovsky seem exciting.
Nobody, at any rate, could have called the Rimsky familiar. Though it was performed in an arrangement by Maximilian
Steinberg, this did not prevent the brazen battle scene, with its ferocious side-drum, from being a sensational display of Russian strength, or the woodwind passages in other movements from being an exquisite display of Russian sweetness.
The account of the symphony was quite remarkable. It was played with thrilling velocity (yet with sufficient breathing-space where Tchaikovsky asked for it), with beautifully characterized woodwind, keenly defined textures and a penchant for highlighting inner parts, especially if they happened to involve the horns. The conductor, Mark Ermler was more in his element in Tchaikovsky's fifth symphony.
Whether or not one actually liked the horn tune was beside the point. It was authentically Russian, and though, at the start of the slow movement, it sounded like an amplified saxophone, its eloquence was not to be gainsaid. In small details such as the effect of the cellos and basses doing entirely different things at points in the finale just as in the symphony's grand design, this was a stunning performance and perhaps, after all, a Festival event.
What one did expect and received was a performance of massive vocal integrity and a grand convincing enunciation of the music by Irina Arkhipova, with a recurring arm movement hand stretched towards the audience.
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In the event, the curtains of the Playhouse Theatre opened to reveal a company that were the epitome of everything we have come to expect from a Russian folk dance group vast numbers, and endless variety of colourful and beautifully-embroided costumes, and most important of all boundless energy and infectious enthusiasm. The musicians, all extremely accomplished, performed on zither and some remarkable varieties of shawm.
It all finished with the entire company lined up in front of the stage singing Auld Lang Syne a characteristically warmhearted gesture to end a programme that was irresistibly good-natured, impeccably presented, skilfully performed, entertaining and enjoyable and which left the audience clamouring insatiably for more.
(From: "The Scotsman," August 11, 1987)
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Unit Four
TEXT From: RAGTIME1
By E.L. Doctorow
Ragtime is a novel set in America at the beginning of this century. Its characters reflect all that is most significant and dramatic in America's last hundred years. One character, Coalhouse Walker Jr., a black pianist, had a love affair with young Sarah and abandoned her to later reunite. But Sarah, who bore his child was resentful when he came to rectify his actions. The novel will take you through the tragedy of their lives.
The author E.L. Doctorow, an American writer, is famous for his other novels which include Welcome to Hard Times and The Book of Daniel, which was nominated for a National Book Award.
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| One afternoon, a Sunday, a new model T-Ford2 slowly came up the hill and went past the house. The boy, who happened to see it from the porch, ran down the steps and stood on the sidewalk. The driver was looking right and left as if trying to find a particular address; he turned the car around at the corner and came back. Pulling up before the boy, he idled his throttle and beckoned with a gloved hand. He was a Negro. His car shone. The brightwork gleamed... I am looking for a young woman of color whose name is Sarah, he said. She is said to reside in one of these houses. The boy realized he meant the woman in the attic. She's here. The man switched off the motor, set the brake and jumped down. When Mother came to the door the colored man was respectful, but there was something disturbingly resolute and self-important in the way he asked her if he could please speak with Sarah. Mother could not judge his age. He was a stocky man with a red-complected shining brown face, high cheekbones and large dark eyes so intense as to suggest they were about to cross. He had a neat moustache. He was dressed in the affection of wealth to which colored people lent themselves. She told him to wait and closed the door. She climbed to the third floor. She found the girl Sarah not sitting at the window as she usually did but standing rigidly, hands folded in front of her, and facing the door. Sarah, Mother said, you have a caller. The girl said nothing. Will you come to the kitchen? The girl shook her head. You don't want to see him? No, ma'am, the girl finally said softly, while she looked at the floor. Send him away, please. This was the most she had said in all the months she had lived in the house. Mother went back downstairs and found the fellow not at the back door but in the kitchen where, in the warmth of the corner near the cookstove, Sarah's baby lay sleeping in his carriage. The black man was kneeling beside the carriage and staring at the child. Mother, not thinking clearly, was suddenly outraged that he had presumed to come in the door. Sarah is unable to see you, she said and she held the door open. The colored man took another glance at the child, rose, thanked her and departed. Such was the coming of the colored man in the car to Broadview Avenue. His name was Cualhouse Walker Jr. Beginning with that Sunday he appeared every week, always knocking at the back door. Always turning away without complaint upon Sarah's refusal to see him. Father considered the visits a nuisance and wanted to discourage them. I'll call the police, he said. Mother laid her hand on his arm. One Sunday the colored man left a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums which in this season had to have cost him a pretty penny. The black girl would say nothing about her visitor. They had no idea where she had met him, or how. As far as they knew she had no family nor any friends from the black community in the downtown section of the city. Apparently she had come by herself from New York to work as a servant. Mother was exhilarated by the situation. She began to regret Sarah's intransigence. She thought of the drive from Harlem, where Coalhouse Walker Jr. lived, and the drive back, and she decided the next time to give him more of a visit. She would serve tea in the parlor. Father questioned the propriety of this. Mother said, he is well-spoken and conducts himself as a gentleman. I see nothing wrong with it. When Mr Roosevelt3 was in the White House he gave dinner to Booker T. Washington. Surely we can serve tea to Coalhouse Walker Jr. And so it happened on the next Sunday that the Negro took tea. Father noted that he suffered no embarrassment by being in the parlor with a cup and saucer in his hand. On the contrary, he acted as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The surroundings did not awe him nor washis manner deferential. He was courteous and correct. He told them about himself. He was a professional pianist and was now more or less permanently located in New York, having secured a job with the Jim Europe Clef Club Orchestra, a well-known ensemble that gave regular concerts at the Manhattan4 Casino on 155th Street and Eighth Avenue. It was important, he said, for a musician to find a place that was permanent, a job that required no travelling... I am through travelling, he said. I am through going on the road. He spoke so fervently that Father realized the message was intended for the woman upstairs. This irritated him. What can you play? he said abruptly. Why don't you play something for us? The black man placed tea, on the tray. He rose, patted his lips with the napkin, placed the napkin beside his cup and went to the piano. He sat on the piano stool and immediately rose and twirled it till the height was to his satisfaction. He sat down again, played a chord and turned to them. This piano is badly in need of a tuning, he said. Father's face reddened. Oh, yes, Mother said, we are terrible about that. The musician turned again to the keyboard. "Wall Street5 Rag," he said. Composed by the great Scott Joplin.6 He began to play. Ill-tuned or not the Aeolian had never made such sounds. Small clear chords hung in the air like flowers. The melodies were like bouquets. There seemed to be no other possibilities for life than those delineated by the music. When the piece was over Coalhouse Walker turned on the stool and found in his audience the entire family: Mother, Father, the boy, Grandfather and Mother's Younger Brother, who had come down from his room in shirt and suspenders to see who was playing. Of all of them he was the only one who knew ragtime. He had heard it in his nightlife period in New York. He had never expected to hear it in his sister's home. Coalhouse Walker Jr. turned back to the piano and said "The Maple Leaf". Composed by the great Scott Joplin. The most famous rag of all rang through the air. The pianist sat stiffly at the keyboard, his long dark hands with their pink nails seemingly with no effort producing the clusters of syncopating chords and the thumping octaves. This was a most robust composition, a vigorous music that roused the senses and never stood still a moment. The boy perceived it as light touching various places in space, accumulating in intricate patterns until the entire room was made to glow with its own being. The music filled the stairwell to the third floor where the mute and unforgiving Sarah sat with her hands folded and listened with the door open. The piece was brought to a conclusion. Everyone applauded. Mother then introduced Mr Walker to Grandfather and to Younger Brother, who shook the black man's hand and said I am pleased to meet you. Coalhouse Walker was solemn. Everyone was standing. There was a silence. Father cleared his throat. Father was not knowledgeable in music. His taste ran to Carrie Jacobs Bond.7 He thought Negro music had to have smiling and cakewalking. Do you know any coon songs?8 he said. He did not intend to be rude coon songs was what they were called. But the pianist responded with a tense shake of the head. Coon songs are made for minstrel shows,9 he said. White men sing them in black face. There was another silence. The black man looked at the ceiling. Well, he said, it appears as if Miss Sarah will not be able to receive me. He turned abruptly and walked through the hall to the kitchen. The family followed him. He had left his coat on a chair. He put it on and ignoring them all, he knelt and gazed at the baby asleep in its carriage. After several moments he stood up, said good day and walked out of the door. | , , T-Ford . , , . [-] ; - . . , (?) . , [] ... , , , . , , . , . . , [ ]. (?) , - /, - , [] , , / , , . /( ) /. - - , , /, , - . . , . [] , , , , , , [] . , , . []/. [] ? . ? , , , . / , . , , . / , , , , , , . . , , , [ ] ( ). /[] , , . - [] , , . - . Cualhouse . , . . . , . [] . , , , . . , . , , - . - , , , . / . , , Coalhouse , , , . [/ ] . . [ ] , . . . , . . [ ] Coalhouse . , [ ] . , , . , , . / , . . , - , , , 155- . , [] , , , ... /, . . /, , . ? . - ? , , , . , , , , [ ] . , . , . . , , , (?). . " , " . . . . . . , , . Coalhouse , : , , , , , , . , . - . Coalhouse " ", . , . , [] ( ?) , , - / . , , . / , , / /, // . , , , , . . . . , , . Coalhouse . . . . . [] , , . - , . [ ] , . . , . [] . . . , , , . . . , , , , . , ( )/ . |
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Commentary
1. Ragtime: the form of music, song and dance of black US origin, popular in the 1920's in which the strong note of the tune comes just before the main beat of the music played with it (syncopation)
2. a new model T-Ford: the model T-Ford, of which 15 million were sold, was the automobile that changed the pattern of life in the United States. It first appeared in 1908 and was one of the first cars to be made by assembly line methods and was the first gasoline-operated car sold at a price that many Americans could afford. The name of its builder, Henry Ford, became a household word around the world.
3. Theodore Roosevelt: (1858-1919), twenty-sixth president of the United States of America (1901 -1909).
4. Manhattan: one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. Reputation as the cultural centre of the nation.
5. Wall Street: a street in New York City, extending from Broadway to the East River, financial center of the United States.
6. Scott Joplin: (1868-1917), American composer of ragtime music, who was known as the "King of Ragtime". The son of a railroad laborer who had been a slave, Joplin showed musical ability by the time he was seven. He taught himself to play the piano and eventually became an itinerant musician, playing in cafes and honky-tonks and learning the music of the blacks in the Mississippi Valley.
7. Carrie Jacobs Bond: (1862-1946), songwriter, author of about 170 published songs, including "I Love You Truly" and "The End of a Perfect Day".
8. coon songs: White American Negro (Black) folksongs.
9. minstrel show: stage entertainment featuring comic dialogue, song and dance, in highly conventionalized patterns. Performed by a troupe of actors in blackface comprising of an interlocutor, two end men, and a chorus; developed in the United States in the early and mid-19th century.
SPEECH PATTERNS
1.... there was something disturbinglyresolute and self-important in the way he asked her...
There was something strange in (about) the way he greeted me that morning.
There was something disturbing (in) about the way the girl entered the room.
There is something special in the way she dresses on Sundays.
2. He was a stocky man with large dark eyes so intense as to suggest they were about to cross.
I think the speaker is about to conclude his speech.
I have a strange feeling that something terrible is about to happen.
The satellite launch is about to commence.
3. This was the most she had said in all the months she had lived in the house.
This was the most he had eaten in a long time.
This was the most I had heard from my family all year.
While your pupil is recovering he can only read the book. This will be the most you can expect of him.
4.... tuned or not the Aeolian had never made such sounds.
Clumsy or not she was a good basketball player.
Busy or not Mr Jones always finds time for his students.
disturbingly [dis'tq:biNli] syn(annoyingly) ; ,
resolute ['rezqlu:t] , ,
self-important [ ] ;
disturbing [dis'tq:biN] ,
stocky , ,
