2008 Woodie Awards
A Night of French Diversions
A review
John Pavik
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
In a rare cross pollination between the Dance, Theater, and Music departments, a fabulous production of Erik Satie's "Sports et Divertissements" and Darius Milhaud's "Le Boeuf sur le Toit" was presented at UNCG last week. Everyone involved offered lively performances that brightened the moods of the audience so dampened by recent dreary weather.
The talented pianist Dalyn Cook gave the first performance of Satie's work with an accompaniment by narrator Andrew Weisbecker. It s a unique piece that is visual art as much as it is performance art. In the engraved original and updated scores there are elaborate drawings that correspond to each of the 20 short pieces that covered imaginable topics like "the Octopus," "the Bride's Awakening," and "Fireworks." These wonderful works were displayed via overhead projector for all to enjoy.
As always with Satie, even if the music is deeply serious or light, his sense of humor always bleeds through. This is apparent in the vigor of his music, titles ("Music in the Shape of a Pear") and his amusing, oh-so-French narration that goes along with it. "The Sled," for example, translates to "How cold it is! Ladies keep your noses inside your furs. The sled speeds along. The landscape feels very cold and doesn't know what to do with itself."
Satie (1866-1925) himself is known for initiating the neoclassic musical movement, or at least for radically breaking away from the musical ideals of this Romantic Era predecessors. His influence extends to today and has impacted composers such as Poulenc, Stravinsky, and Milhaud. That influence, however, is controversial- some find his music simplistically childlike while others consider it to be incredibly profound and advanced for its time. Eric Salzman called Satie, "a remarkable innovator who displays more genius than talent," a statement that accurately sums up the abstract nature of Satie's influence.
The highlight of the program was the Jean Cocteau/Milhaud coloration, "Le Boeuf sur le Tuit" (The Nothing-Doing Bar). As a pantomime about the drab American prohibition during the time, it also serves as a representation of many French philosophies of the era-with all the farcical trimmings therein.
UNCG's performance retained most of those elements from the original concept: the exaggerated game of dice, the cross dressing women, and the policeman with the oversized head were all there. While what they changed was significant, it wasn't harmful to the original piece. Some changes included the cast moving at a normal pace rather than in slow motion and their decision to wear no masks. This was partly necessary to remove the racial aspects of the original while keeping the silly gender-bending confusion that always makes an audience laugh. No harm done. Piano virtuosi John Salmon and Andrew Willis performed the music. Both musicians fleshed out every bit of humor from Milhaud's obtuse but satisfying score.
The talented pianist Dalyn Cook gave the first performance of Satie's work with an accompaniment by narrator Andrew Weisbecker. It s a unique piece that is visual art as much as it is performance art. In the engraved original and updated scores there are elaborate drawings that correspond to each of the 20 short pieces that covered imaginable topics like "the Octopus," "the Bride's Awakening," and "Fireworks." These wonderful works were displayed via overhead projector for all to enjoy.
As always with Satie, even if the music is deeply serious or light, his sense of humor always bleeds through. This is apparent in the vigor of his music, titles ("Music in the Shape of a Pear") and his amusing, oh-so-French narration that goes along with it. "The Sled," for example, translates to "How cold it is! Ladies keep your noses inside your furs. The sled speeds along. The landscape feels very cold and doesn't know what to do with itself."
Satie (1866-1925) himself is known for initiating the neoclassic musical movement, or at least for radically breaking away from the musical ideals of this Romantic Era predecessors. His influence extends to today and has impacted composers such as Poulenc, Stravinsky, and Milhaud. That influence, however, is controversial- some find his music simplistically childlike while others consider it to be incredibly profound and advanced for its time. Eric Salzman called Satie, "a remarkable innovator who displays more genius than talent," a statement that accurately sums up the abstract nature of Satie's influence.
The highlight of the program was the Jean Cocteau/Milhaud coloration, "Le Boeuf sur le Tuit" (The Nothing-Doing Bar). As a pantomime about the drab American prohibition during the time, it also serves as a representation of many French philosophies of the era-with all the farcical trimmings therein.
UNCG's performance retained most of those elements from the original concept: the exaggerated game of dice, the cross dressing women, and the policeman with the oversized head were all there. While what they changed was significant, it wasn't harmful to the original piece. Some changes included the cast moving at a normal pace rather than in slow motion and their decision to wear no masks. This was partly necessary to remove the racial aspects of the original while keeping the silly gender-bending confusion that always makes an audience laugh. No harm done. Piano virtuosi John Salmon and Andrew Willis performed the music. Both musicians fleshed out every bit of humor from Milhaud's obtuse but satisfying score.
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