Arts & Entertainment
Bach Ensemble offers
insightful performance
Period instruments
echo 18th century
with delicate sounds
By Michael Stock
Staff Reporter
Kimball Hall was gently carried
back into the 18th century Tuesday
night as the Bach Ensemble provided
an insightful performance.
The ensemble, directed by Joshua
Riflcin, played on period instruments
either constructed in the 18th century
or exact reproductions.
The sounds of the period instru
ments were softer and gentler than
modem, metal-stringed instruments.
Just as Bach would have liked it.
The Bach Ensemble offered the
audience performances of Tomaso
Albinoni’s Trio Sonata in B-flat Major,
Op. 1, No. 12; Giovanni Legrenzi’s
Sonata in G minor “La Mont’ Al
bana,” Op. 2, No. 11; Bach’s Con
certo for Oboe in E-flat Major and the
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D
Major, BWV 1050.
Rifkin’s ensemble opened with
Albinoni’s Trio Sonata, the Bach
Ensemble pouring out the gentle lilt
and roll of the period instrumenta
tion. The Allegro provided a heavy
topping of rhythms, filling Kimball
Hall with a thick sound for two vio
lins, a cello and harpsichord. Rifkin’s
signature arrangement of one instru
ment per part provided a balance
between each voice.
Bach’s Concerto for Oboe added
the voices of a viola and Stephen
Hammer’s oboe. Each delicate line
was crafted through Rifkin’s arrange
ment. The regality of the oboe solo
reached from the ascent and descent
of scales to the steady, percussive
plink of Rifkin’s harpsichord.
The Brandenburg Concert provided
an unprecedented harpsichord solo
from the 18th centurv. and Rifkin’s
performance was breathtakingly per
fect. The first Allegro of Bach’s Bran
denburg Concerto offered the strong,
coursing pace of a harpsichord, off
setting the gentle wooden flute solos.
Rifkin’s lightning-paced harpsi
chord voice accented the melodra
matic edge of the violone and first
violin. The insistent pace built to a
fervent tension, released in the final
part of the Allegro. Christopher
Krueger’s flute solos voiced dulcet
whisperings over the melancholic
strains of the harpsichord.
The Bach Ensemble’s performance
was a delicate construction of sound
under Rifkin’s direction. Voices of
the period instruments were gentler,
but full-bodied, providing the punch
and lilt punctuating perfect Baroque
music.
. . Courtesy of Ued Center for Performing Arts
The Bach Ensemble
Dramatic black poetry reading
to show culture through verse
By John A. Skretta
Staff Reporter
Two prominent African-Ameri
can poets will present selections of
their works Friday night and Satur
day morning in a symposium spon
sored by the Institute for Ethnic
Studies.
Poets Haki Madhubuli and Sonia
Sanchez are “two of the most vi
brant poets in America today,” said
Joyce Joyce, an English professor
at the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln.
Joyce said there are several great
reasons for students to attend the
reading.
“Most people don’t just go to
the library and check out a book of
poetry,” Joyce said, claiming that
poetry in print often goes unread.
The opportunity to hear Mad
hubuti and Sanchez read their own
poetry, however, gives the listener
new insight into the poems.
“Meaning can easily be hidden
within images (in poetry),” Joyce
said, “but even poetry that appears
to be obscure when read, espe
cially when read dramatically,
ceases to be obscure. It becomes
very clear.”
Madhubuli and Sanchez arc both
rooted in an historical tradition of
African-American literature that
Joyce said can be traced back to
poets like Langston Hughes. The
tradition “really gained force in the
’60s,” she said.
"They understand that you can
not move people as easily through
the intellect as you can through
feelings, and they really work on
affecting peoples’ hearts,” Joyce
said. Sanchez and Madhubuti strive
to “make you question how you
really feel about things by forging
an identity with the subject,” she
said.
Madhubuti has written more than
10 volumes of poetry and is the
founder and editor of Third World
Press in Chicago. Sanchez has
published more than a dozen col
lections of her poetry and has re
corded oral performances of some
of her poems. Her work has been
See POETS on 10
Zoo Bar crowd fires up
to get-up-and-dance music
By Robert Richardson
Senior Reporter
The Bonedaddys look the Zoo Bar
stage Monday night in fu!I traditional
costume, looking like eight colorful
patrons of the Middle East.
The Los Angeles club band’s cos
tumes were as showy as the mem
bers’ music and dance. Members were
wearing hats and most had long hair
and leopard skin costumes.
The band is touring in support of
its latest release, “Worldbeatniks,”
on Chameleon Records. Starting about
a half-hour late wasn’t any hindrance
to audience support as the crowd just
took that much more lime to get fired
up.
The band’s opening song, “We
Just Want To Play,” included smooth
harmony and strong consistent drum
work, accented by the saxophone of
Jay Work, ft was written by the
Bonedaddys after the Montreal Jazz
Festival because rain during that show
prevented the group from perform
ing.
The band then ripped through
several songs from its latest album,
including “Shoo-rah Shoo-rah,”
“Jokcnge” and “Hippie Children.”
Beginning with strong horns and
four vocal parts, each contributing to
a spectacular harmony, “Hippie Chil
dren” offered a clean sound. The well
balanced music and vocals comple
mented each other. The changing
tempos added a diverse perspective
to the vivid band.
The majority of the songs sounded
similar. All focused on heavy drum
beats, obscure sounds and a funky
dance melody that was guaranteed to
See ZOO on 10
Stones roll in with energetic live album
Courtesy of Columbia Racords
By Carter Van Pelt
Staff Reporter
The Rolling Slones just can’t get
no satisfaction. After 28 years, their
latest release, “Flashpoint,” clearly
demonstrates the point. Despite
members’ ages (most of them are
pushing 50), the Stones once again
nave managed to release an album
that explodes with the same kind of
youthful energy that they have had
for the past three decades.
“Flashpoint,” the first Rolling
Stones’ release since 1989’s “Steel
Wheels” album, features 14 tracks
from the 1989-90 Steel Whecls/Ur
ban Jungle tour and two new studio
tracks.
The album appropriately starts up
with an energetic version of “Start
Me Up” and eventually moves into
light versions of the classics, “Ruby
Tuesday” and “You Can’t Always
Get What You Want.”
One of the best tracks on the album
is a version of the rarely performed
country/folk song “Factory Girl” from
the 1968 “Beggar’s Banquet” album.
This is followed by guitarist Kei»h
Rolling Stones
“Flashpoint”
Columbia Records
Rating: 31/2
flatings are 1 (bad) to 5 (excellent).
Richards’ “Can’t Be Sccn”and a very
early Slones’ classic “Little Red
Rooster” that features masterful blues
playing by guest guitarist Eric Clap
ton.
Massive audience reaction as they
rccogni/.e opening chords of popular
songs provides a stimulating aspect
in the album. This is particularly
notable on “Paint It Black,” as Keith
Richards teases the audience with a
short acoustic guitar solo before the
band blasts into the song. The audi
ence’s excitemeni crescendos as he
slowly works into the piece. The lis
tener imagines and feels the energy of
being at the show and seeing the band
play to 50,000 fans.
After “Paint It Black,” the live
portion of the album concludes w ith
powerful versions of four of the most
popular Rolling Stones’ songs:
“Sympathy for the Devil,” “Brown
Sugar,” “Jumping Jack Flash” and
“Satisfaction.”
The final two tracks, recorded in
the studio last year, provide a look at
the latest direction of the Stones. The
tracks, despite their new ness, seem to
be cut from the same stone as the
previous work. The ever-present gui •
tar of Richards and Ron Wood and
the cocky vocals of Mick Jagger arc
as fresh as ever. The new single,
“Highwirc,” is an unusual political
commentary from the Slones con
cerning the gulf crisis.
More true to their traditional form
is the other studio track, “Sex Drive,”
that makes the final statement on the
youthful vibrancy and determination
with which the band powers itself
into the ’90s.