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2. a) Read out aloud the following sentences from the text; divide them into intonation groups using proper intonation patterns; observe stresses, strong and weak forms. Make them sound rhythmically correct:

1. I am looking for a young woman of color whose name is Sarah, he said. 2. She is said to reside in one of these houses,

3. He was a stocky man with a red-complected shining brown face, high cheekbones and large dark eyes so intense as to sug�gest they were about to cross. 4. Mother, not thinking clearly, was suddenly outraged that he had presumed to come in the door. 5. The colored man took another glance at the child, rose, thanked her and departed. 6. One Sunday the colored man left a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums which in this season had to have cost him a pretty penny. 7. Mother said he was well-spoken and conducts himself as a gentleman. 8. It was impor�tant, he said, for a musician to find a place that was permanent, a job that required no travelling. 9. He had heard it in his nightlife period in New York. 10. Well, he said, it appears as if Miss Sarah will not be able to receive me.

b) Get together with your partner. Listen to his/her reading, analyse possible variants in the intonation group division.

3. Complete the following sentences:

1. There is something nice in the way... 2. There is some�thing exciting in (about)... 3. There was something unusual....

4. This is the most the girl... 5. This was the most the man... 6. This will be the most the children... 7. Delicious or not the dinner... 8. Pleasant or not... 9. She was about to... 10. We are about to...

4. Paraphrase the following sentences using the speech patterns (p. 108):

1. He has a pleasant way of looking at her. 2. She has a poet�ical way of speaking. 3. This was the biggest meal David Cop�perfield had eaten for a week. 4. She had never before said any�thing so unpleasant to him. 5. No matter how tired she was she was always ready to give a helping hand. 6. We shall buy the piano whether it is expensive or not. 7. She was just leaving the house when the telephone rang. 8. She was on the point of tears when he suddenly appeared in the doorway.

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5. Make up and act out dialogues using the speech patterns.

6. Translate the following sentences into English using the speech patterns:

1. �� -�� , �� . 2. �� -�� , �� . 3. �� -�� , �� . 4. �� . �� , �� . 5. �� . �� , �� . 6. �� , �� . 7. �� , �� . 8. �� -�� , �� . 9. �� , �� . 10. �� , �� , �� .

7. Note down the sentences containing the phrases and word combinations (p. 109) and translate them into Russian.

8. Paraphrase the following sentences:

1. We are losing money right and left. 2. Days went past without any news. 3. Judge its size, please. 4. He presumed to tell his manager how the work ought to be done. 5. I don't mind living in the city but I regret being without my horse. 6.1 would never question his honesty. 7. She suffered the loss of her pu�pils' respect. 8. "I believe you like your job." "On the contrary, I hate it" 9. It's been proved to my satisfaction that you are tell�ing the truth. 10. "He is very knowledgeable about flowers," he said clearing his throat.

9. Make up and set out dialogues using the phrases and word combina�tions (pair work).

10. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. �� . 2. �� , �� . 3. �� . 4. � �� . 5, � �� . 6. � �� , �� . 7. �� , �� ? � ��, �� . 8. � �� , o�� . 9. �� .

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11. Answer the questions and do the given assignments:

a) 1. Who was the man who arrived one Sunday afternoon to the house? 2. Why was the man looking for the young woman of colour? 3. Why was the girl Sarah accustomed to sit�ting at the window? 4. What made Sarah ask Mother send the visitor away? 5. Why was Mother outraged when she returned downstairs? 6. Why did Mother decide to give him more of a visit next time? 7. Why did the Negro suffer no embarrassment in the parlour? 8. How did the Negro describe his career as a pianist? 9. What was the source of Father's irritation when he finally asked the Negro to play the piano? 10. Why did the Negro agree to play the piano for them? 11. What was it in the music he played that changed the mood of the family. 12. Do you think the Negro accomplished what he had hoped for from the visit?

b) The title "Ragtime" is supposed to be the symbolic re�presentation of the atmosphere which characterizes the scene of the novel. Do you feel that the rhythm and the intonation of E. Doctorow's prose imitate those of ragtime? (whose charac�teristic features are syncopation, swing, high tension, fluctua�tion between the regular rhythm of sharp harmonic accents and a lively irregular ragged melodic line, the incongruity, that is a special charm of the music).

c) 1. Discuss the stylistic means the author uses to create tension:

1) the incongruity of the sensational plot and the dry tone in which it is described, 2) the common situation and the for�mal tone, 3) the contrast of different >

2. Describe how the author contrasts the young man's be�haviour and appearance with the music he plays. Pay attention to the epithets, similes, metaphors, repetitions and gradation, abrupt changes from short sentences to long ones, and then back again. Observe the proportion of short sentences, the tele�graphic >

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12. Explain what is meant by:

1. He was dressed in the affection of wealth to which co�loured people lent themselves. 2. She is said to reside in one of these houses. 3. A bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums which in this season had to have cost him a pretty penny. 4. The sur�roundings did not awe him nor was his manner deferential. 5. Oh, yes, Mother said, we are terrible about that. 6. There seemed to be no possibilities for life than those delineated by the music. 7. This was a most robust composition, a vigorous music that roused the senses and never stood still a moment. 8.... until the entire room was made to glow with its own being. 9. His taste ran to Carrie Jacobs Bond. 10. He thought Negro music had to have smiling and cakewalking.

13. Give a summary of the text (p. 104).

14. Make up and act out dialogues between:

1. Mother and Father before the tea.

2. Mother and Sarah after the visit of the Negro pianist.

3. Father and Mother's Younger Brother about the pieces the pianist had played.

15. Sometimes we accept invitations to go to the event, just to be polite, so we don't hurt other people's feelings. Write about an experience you didn't enjoy, but which you felt obliged to participate in.

VOCABULARY EXERCISES

1. Study the essential vocabulary and translate the illustrative examples into Russian.

2. Translate the following sentences into Russian:

A. 1. He was given a little money and at times, in the spirit of adventure, he would set off to explore the town. 2. You should set aside some money for a rainy day. 3. He tried to set aside his dislike of his daughter's fiancee. 4. We should set off before dawn to get there on time. 5. The redundancies set off strikes throughout the area. 6. The bank helps people wanting to set up business. 7. He set out to climb Everest. 8. Put the jelly

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into the ice-box to set. 9. We are all set. 10. I like the setting of the show. 11. He has set his heart on becoming a ballet dancer.

12. They sat up till the small hours setting the world to rights.

13. Did someone set fire to the house deliberately? 14. Di had never set foot in Italy before. 15. Jill is very set in her ways. 16. Stephen tut-tutted his way through the end-of-vacation examination papers he had set his freshmen students. 17. The chauffeur regretfully abandoned his plans for an afternoon at the railings. 18. Anthony could not have blamed Steve if through resentment he now decided to abandon his brother to the dreadful struggle that was to come. 19. The Forsytes resented encroachments on their property. 20. Kit had been called out once before during the night and his body resented the second disturbance. 21. He was a big man who resented the buttons on his shirts.

B. 1. It is said that the business of words in prose is primari�ly to state; in poetry not only to state but also (and sometimes primarily) to suggest. 2. White gloves to the elbow suggested a Royal Garden party. 3. It would be dreadful if something terrible happened and I were not at hand. 4. He spoke German without any suggestion of French accent. 5. Gentlemen, give a big hand to the band. 6. "I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it. I'll try my hand to-night," thought Hurstwood. 7. My doubts on that point, if I had any, were soon cleared. 8. The debate was conducted in the depressing atmosphere of a half-empty Chamber. 9. The curator's conduct through the museum was informative. 10. A pianist, bandlead�er, composer and arranger, Duke Ellington, had a major impact on jazz composition and playing. 11. It is the highland nearest to the shore which falls most abruptly. 12. When the adjective "abrupt" is used speaking about words and manners we mean that they are sudden and unconnected. 13. They say that to be ignorant of one's ignorance is the malady of the ignorant.

14. He had been working at hospital for so long that he ignored the "No smoking" sign.

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3. Give the English equivalents for:

�� , � ��; ��; �� ; �� ; �� -�.; ��; ��; �� ; ��; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� (��) ��; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� ;

�� -�. ��; �� -�. ��; �� ; �� ;

��; ��; �� (��); ��; �� ; �� ; �� ;

�� ; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� ; � ��/�� ; �� ; ��; �� ; �� (� ��); �� ; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� ; ��; ��; �� ; �� ; ��; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� ; �� -�. �� (��); �� -�. ��; �� ; �� ; �� -�. ��; �� ; �� -�. (��-�.); �� ; �� -�. � ��; �� ; �� (��); �� ; �� .

4. Paraphrase the following sentences using the essential vocabulary:

1. Please, will somebody start the discussion? 2. Mrs Cassidi was fully determined to give her son a good education. 3. If you don't want to get some lung disease you must give up smoking altogether. 4. Is there any wonder she felt injured about your criticism, it was so bitter. 5. Let's resolve this problem once and for all. 6. After many attempts the scientist eventually managed to carry out his experiment successfully. 7. The path was so steep that we could hardly make it. 8. She knew so many things that the average girl of eight did not know. 9. She paid no attention to the hint. 10. The bad mistakes you sometimes make bring to mind the idea of bad knowledge of grammar.

11. When working he always keeps his tools within easy reach.

12. Pull yourself together, and start from the very beginning.

5. Use the essential vocabulary in answering the following questions:

1. When do people carry a chip on their shoulder? 2. What do some people do when they are in a tight corner and they can see no way out? 3. Why didn't you have a chance to tell him what you think of the whole situation before he left? 4. Why hasn't the orchestra played yet? 5. Why does the man

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Keep working when he must be in so much pain after the acci�dent? 6. What did his poor answer imply about his knowledge of the subject? 7. What do you do with your test paper after finishing it? 8. Why can't you put these questions on the examination paper? 9. When did the robbers manage to escape? 10. Why wasn't Mary able to express herself clearly?

6. Choose the right word: to ignore, to neglect or their derivatives.

1. The easiest way is to just... the letter, act as if I've never got it 2. Sometimes he was so busy that he... to shave for a day, often his shirts needed changing and he... these too.

3. She... him, and let him standing with an outstretched hand.

4. The children were suffering from.... 5. For a week after�wards he... the financial pages. 6. He is also absorbed in sports to the... of his studies. 7. If any exceptions to these rules occurred, they were quite simply.... 8. The house was in a... state. 9. The young officer decided that he could safely... the whole thing. 10.... of the truth he committed the crime.

7. Fill in the blanks with postlogues:

1. It was a popular tune of the day set... new words. 2. The bad weather will set... our building plans. 3. There is no one to set... him as an actor. 4. The judge set... the decision of the lower court. 5. She set... her house work straight after break�fast 6. The pupils cleared... when they saw the teacher. 7. Clear... of the room, I want some peace and quiet. 8. Clear... your desk before you leave school.

8. Make up short situations or a story using the essential vocabulary.

9. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. �� . 2. �� . 3. �� . 4. �� , �� . 5. ��, �� . 6. � �� , �� , � �� . 7. �� , � �� . 8. �� , �� , �� . 9. �� . 10. �� . 11. �� , �� , �� , �� . 12. � �� , �� , �� , �� . 13. �� , �� .

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10. a) Give the Russian equivalents for the following English proverbs:

1. He who pays the piper calls the tune.

2. Don't take your harp to the party.

3. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

b) Explain in English the meaning of each proverb.

c) Make up a dialogue to illustrate one of the proverbs.

CONVERSATION AND DISCUSSION MAN AND MUSIC

TOPICAL VOCABULARY

1. Musical genres (styles):>

2. Musical forms: piece, movement, sonata, area, fantasy, suite, rapsody, concerto, solo, duet, trio, quartet, quintet, sixtet (etc.), chorus.

3. Musical rhythms: polka, waltz, march, blues, ragtime, jazz, swing, bassanova, sambo, disco, rock.

4. Musical instruments: (string group): violin, viola, celo, bass, harp; (wind group): flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon; (brass group): trumpet, French horn, tuba; percussion, piano, accor�dion, guitar, saxophone, synthesizer, acoustic, electronique, electric instruments.

5. Music makers: composer, conductor, musician, soloist, virtuoso, minstreller group, team, band, orchestra.

6. Music making: to write authentically Russian, Afro-American, etc. music, to compose, to arrange, to transcribe, to make music, to perform, to improvise, to interpret, to accompany, to complete.

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7. Musical equipment: tape-recorder, video cassette-recorder, tuner, amplifier, player, equalizer, (loud) speaker, turn-table.

8. Musical events: (made up) concert, recital, jam session, festival, competition.

9. Miscellany: major, flat, baton, bow, drum sticks, under the baton, single, album, track, record jacket (sleeve), score, spiritual, beat, video-clip, syncopation, harmony.

Names of Notes

Russian	��	��	��	��	��	��	��
English	�	D	E	F	G	A	�

Understanding Music

If we were asked to explain the purpose of music, our im�mediate reply night be "to give pleasure". That would not be far from the truth, but there are other considerations.

We might also define music as "expression in sound", or "the expression of thought and feeling in an aesthetic form", and still not arrive at an understanding of its true purpose. We do know, however, even if we are not fully conscious of it, that music is a part of living, that it has the power to awaken in us sensations and emotions of a spiritual kind.

Listening to music can be an emotional experience or an in�tellectual exercise. If we succeed in blending the two, without excess in either case, we are on the road to gaining the ulti�mate pleasure from music. Having mastered the gift of listen�ing to, say, a Haydn symphony, the ear and mind should be ready to admit Mozart, then to absorb Beethoven, then Brahms. After that, the pathway to the works of later composers will be found to be less bramblestrewn than we at first imagined.

Music, like language, is a living, moving thing. In early times organised music belonged to the church; later it became the property of the privileged few. Noble families took the best composers and the most talented performers into their service.

While the status of professional musicians advanced, amateur musicians found in music a satisfying means of self-expression, and that form of expression broadened in scope to embrace forms and>

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It is noteworthy that operas at first were performed private�ly; that the first "commercial" operatic venture took place early in the seventeenth century, this leading to the opening of opera houses for the general public in many cities.

By the middle of the nineteenth century, composers were finding more and more inspiration of their heritage. The time had come to emancipate the music of their country from the domination of "foreign" concepts and conventions.

One of the first countries to raise the banner was Russia, which had various sources of material as bases of an indepen�dent musical repertory, Russian folk songs and the music of the old Russian Church.

The composer to champion this cause was Glinka, who sub�merged Western-European influences by establishing a new national school.

Glinka's immediate successor was Dargomizhsky, then Ba�lakirev. His own creative output was comparatively small; he is best remembered as the driving force in establishing "The Mogutschaya Kuchka", a group which included Borodin, Cui, Moussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) worked independently and was the first Russian composer to win widespread international re�cognition.

It is a narrow line that divides Operetta from Musical Com�edy, both blending music and the spoken word. When we think of operetta, such titles come to mind as The Gipsy Baron (Johann Strauss), The Merry Widow and The Count of Luxem�bourg (Lehar). Of recent years these have been replaced in popular favour by "Musicals"~which placed more emphasis on unity and theatrical realism, such as Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and West Side Story.

In early times instrumental music broke away from occa�sions associated with sacred worship into secular channels. In succeeding generations instrumental players were engaged to provide music for various public functions. Humble bands of players developed into small orchestras, these in time to sym�phony orchestras. Later, orchestras of the cafe type assumed in�creased numerical strength and more artistic responsibility, while "giving the public what it wants".

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For many generations Band Music � music played by military bands, brass bands, and pipe bands on the march, in public parks, and in concert halls � has held its place in public favour, especially in Great Britain.

At the turn of the present century American popular music was still clinging to established European forms and conven�tions. Then a new stimulus arrived by way of the Afro-Ameri�cans who injected into their music-making African chants and rhythms which were the bases of their spirituals and work songs.

One of the first widespread Afro-American influences was Ragtime, essentially a>

In the early twenties America became caught up in a whirl of post-war gaiety. The hectic period would later be known as the Jazz Era. Soon jazz had begun its insistent migration across the world. While Black musicians of America were recognised as the true experts in the jazz field, the idiom attracted white musicians, who found it stimulating and profitable to form bands to play in the jazz>

While many self-appointed prophets were condemning jazz as vulgar, and others smugly foretelling its early death, some notable European composers attempted to weave the jazz idiom into their musical works. These included Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Shostakovich.

(Here one is reminded that several composers, including Debussy, Ravel, Liszt, Bizet and Richard Strauss, befriended the much-maligned saxophone, invented about the middle of the nineteenth century, and introduced it into the concert-hall.)

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Before we leave George Gershwin, we should mention his Porgy and Bess which brought something daringly different to opera: the music, Gershwin's own, sounds so authentically Afro-American, that it is surprising that this rich score was written by a white American.

We are forced to contemplate the fact, that notwithstanding the achievements of Debussy, Stravinsky and many others, the experience of music in the western art tradition remains essen�tially unchanged. It's still composed by highly trained special�ists and played by professional musicians in concert halls.

There was a time in the sixties when it looked as if the situation was about to be broken up by a new and revolution�ary popular music of unprecedented and unexpected power. The so-called "Rock Revolution" began in fact in the mid-fif�ties, and was based firmly on the discontent of the younger generation who were in revolt against the values of their elders; naturally they espoused new musical values, and equally natu�rally these values represented a negation of everything in the musical world their elders inhabited � the virtual elimination of harmony, or at least its reduction to the few conventional progressions of the blues, an emphasis on the beat, new type of voice production owing much to sophisticated use of amplifica�tion and simplification of instrumental technique.

There followed rapidly an extraordinary musical eruption based on the percussive sound of the electric guitar, the rock'n'roll beat and blues harmony.

We should remember that the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and many other leading groups and individual performers from the early sixties onward based their music on the sound of electric guitars and percussion.

Now what? In this technological age it is not surprising that electronics should have invaded the field of music. This new phase has brought experiments intended to give music of the popular genre a new sound. Though many may be alarmed at such explorative tampering with sound, it must be admitted that the possibilities of electronically-produced music are immense.

Never before has music � all kinds of music � been so popular. Never before has the world had greater need of its stimulation and comfort. We find the ultimate satisfaction in music, be it "classical" or "popular", when we have learnt how to reject the spurious and accept the genuine; when we have learnt how to listen.

1. As you read the text a) look for the answers to these questions:

1. What is the purpose of music in your opinion? Can music be defined in only one way? 2. In what genres did the music de�velop? 3. What was the Russian contribution to the art of music? 125

4. In what way did instrumental music become engaged for various functions? 5. What created the development of jazz and who facilitated the development? 6. How did the youth of the 60-s respond to the highly trained specialist and professional music? 7. In your opinion should musicians have musical train�ing? 8. What do you know about the Beatles and their contri�bution to the pop-music world? 9, In your opinion how will the technological age through radio, television and video influence the world of music?

b) Find in the text the facts the author gives to illustrate the following:

1. Music like language is a living moving thing. 2. Music may be used as the lines of communication between people. 3. Jazz does not cling to dance rhythms any longer, as the 20th century European music reflects African rhythms.

c) Summarize the text in five paragraphs specifying the development of 1) opera, 2) operetta and musicals, 3) instrumental music, 4) jazz and 5) rock.

2. Use the topical vocabulary in answering the following questions:1

1. What musical genres do you know and what role does folk music play in all of them? 2. What is meant by the terms classical or serious music, pop, rock, jazz and contemporary music? 3. Do you think the different musical genres named above are strictly separated or do they overlap in some ways? In what ways? What genre do you prefer? 4. What role does music play in your life? Do you want music just to make you happy or does the music that you prefer vary with your mood? How does it vary? 5. Do you think that at school music should be given the same emphasis as subjects such as maths, literature, etc.? 6. Of which instruments does a symphony/chamber orchestra consist? What are the most popular instruments of pop groups, jazz or rock? 7. Why has the guitar become a very popular instrument in recent years? Do you prefer V. Vysotsky's performances with an entire orchestra or simply with a guitar? Why? 8. What is your favourite instrument? Can you play it? Does it help you to

1 You may wish to bring in record jackets (sleeves), tapes, and advertise�ments for concerts or programmes, which depict current popular or >

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understand music? 9. The human voice is regarded as a most refined instrument the proper use of which requires a great deal of training. How do you feel about this characterization? Who are your favourite singers? 10. Do you like opera? Do you agree with the opinion that operas are hard to follow while musicals are more up-to-date and easier to understand? What other forms have appeared of late? 11. How can you account for the large scale popularity of rock? Is it only an entertainment to young people or does rock music represent their values? What values? 12. Why are some rock fans less interested in the music of the past? Can you think of any similar examples when people attracted by a new>

3. Give your impressions of a concert (recital) you have recently attended. Use the topical vocabulary. Outline for giving impressions:

1. Type of event. 2. What orchestra, group performed? 3. Pro�gramme. Were the musical pieces well-known, popular, new, avant-guard, etc.? 4. Who was the conductor? 5. Was the event interesting and enjoyable in your opinion? 6. Name the soloists. 7. What did critics say about the event? Do you share their points of view? 8. What impression did the event make on you? Did you take a solemn oath never to attend one again?

4. Pair work. Make up and act out a dialogue. (Use the chiches of agree�ment, disagreement and reacting to opinion or persuasion (pp. 287, 290, 291):

1. You are at a concert of contemporary music, about which you are not very knowledgeable. Your friend tries to initiate you in it. 2. Your father/mother cannot stand rock music and he/she never listens to it. You try to convince him/her that rock music is important in your life. 3. You are talking on the telephone with your friend who wants you to accompany her to a piano recital. You are reluctant to join her. 4. You are an ac�complished jazz musician. But you never participated in jazz sessions. Your friend urges you to be more daring and try your

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hand at it. 5. Your sister has just come back from the Bolshoi Theatre where she heard Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmila. She tries to describe how much she enjoyed the opera, but you, being no great lover of opera music, turn a deaf ear. 6. You are fond of Tchaikovsky's music and always ready to talk about it. Your friend asks you to tell him/her more.

5. Below are opinions on the development of music.

a) Spend a few minutes individually thinking of further arguments you win use to back up one of the opinions:

1. The line between serious music and jazz grows less and less clear.

2. A certain amount of so-called avant-guard music in our modern art tries to shock and be original for originality's sake.

3. In any age the advanced of today in music may become the commonplace of tomorrow.

4. Soviet composers have contributed as much as Russian composers to the World of Music.

5. Radio, television, cinema and video bring "new sounds" into our homes.

b) Now discuss the opinions with your partner. One of the students is supposed to play the role of a student who is not knowledgeable in music. The other � to present a student whose hobby is music. Keep interrupting each other with questions. Use the topical vocabulary.

6. Group work. Split into buzz groups of 3�4 students each.

Discuss the following, using the expressions of agreement or disagreement (p. 290):

1. "Some people prefer only>

Which side do you agree?

Composer A. Ribnikov says: "Ours is an age of great technological progress and accompanying emotional stress, which requires new forms of expression in music."

Can his opinion help you formulate your answer?

2. As you know composers sometimes arrange (transcribe) music which is written for one group of instruments and apply it to another.

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One brilliant transcription is R. Schedrin's approach to G. Bizet Carmen in which he uses only string and percussion groups, thus adding to the music the incomparable colour range and bringing the 19th century music into the present day.

What other examples of transcription do you know and what is your opinion of this art?

3. Many modern composers and performers change the sound of live instruments by making technical adjustment (for example "prepared piano"1, a) What other examples of chang�ing instruments do you know and do you find such change necessary? b) Will musicians have to sell their instruments in order to pay for tuition as engineers?

4. In the opinion of D. Kabalevski there are two kinds of beauty in the world. One is passed on from generation to generation, the other is temporary. The most important thing is to differentiate between them. In order to do this one needs to develop taste which is acquired first of all through the study of established>

7. When you criticize you normally try to find faults rather than virtues, but it certainly does not exclude the expressions of virtue. Read the following dia�logue where the characters make comments about themselves and others. Note down the expressions in bold type. Be ready to use them hi dialogues in>

Liz and Michael on the way home from a jazz concert.

Michael: Perhaps you might consider me a bit of a fanatic about jazz... but that was a fantastic concert, wasn't it?

Liz: I'm not exactly � how shall I say? I suppose I'm not crazy about jazz, and the melodies were hard to follow. Could you perhaps help me to understand it better?

Michael: I've tried to help many people... I've done my best to open a jazz club, so I've become quite good at interpreting jazz, though I had no one to rely on. Anyway, in the first place there are two elements in jazz. One is the playing of instru�ments so that they sound like the half-shouted, half-sung blues of Negro folksong. The other is the steady, unchanging 1-2-3-4

1 "prepared piano" involves stuffing the inside of the piano with a vari�ety of paraphernalia, including units and bolts in order to alter the normal Piano timbre.

�.�.��. 4 �� 129

beat initiated from the French military marching music the blacks heard in New Orleans where jazz was born around 1900.

Liz: Well, I'm an easy-going person really unless of course you start discussing jazz. Then I'm a bit vicious. Basically I'm receptive to any music that has harmony and melody. That's me. But I didn't even recognize any of the tunes, though I have heard some jazz music before.

Michael: Well, that's not surprising, since another important feature of jazz is "improvisation" or "making it up as you go along", therefore tunes can sound different each time you hear them.

Liz: Well, I think I've kept myself � yes, I've kept myself respectable � that's the word I'd use � respectable and dignified on my appreciation of jazz. The musicians played with great skill and speed. And when they improvised they played a completely new variation of the basic tune every time.

Michael: Absolutely. That's one of the greatest thrills of a jazz session. Tunes are not the most important feature of jazz. It's not the composer but the performer who makes a good piece of jazz. In fact it's almost impossible to write down much of a jazz in musical notes!

Liz: In that case jazz is rather elicit and separate from other kinds of misic, if only the performer knows what's being played. I say, get rid of these thugs who call themselves professional musicians � get rid of them.

Michael: Professional or not, you leave the musician out of it for a while. As for jazz, it has influenced many kinds of music, particularly pop which still borrows from jazz its beat, its singing >

Liz: You shouldn't be asking me what I think of jazz... But what I think of rock music... this music is a mess.

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>

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?

8. 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. Prac�tise 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 argu�ments. (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>

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.

5* 131

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:

There are world-wide complaints about the effect of rock. Psychologists say that listening to rock music results in "escap�ism" (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 anti�social and amoral behaviour on the part of young "music ad�dicts". How do you feel about this opinion?

10. 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 compa�nies, 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-Kor�sakov'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

132

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 charac�terized 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 ele�ment 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 move�ment � hand stretched towards the audience.

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-em�broided costumes, and � most important of all � boundless energy and infectious enthusiasm. The musicians, all extreme�ly accomplished, performed on zither and some remarkable va�rieties of shawm.

It all finished with the entire company lined up in front of the stage singing Auld Lang Syne � a characteristically warm�hearted gesture to end a programme that was irresistibly good-natured, impeccably presented, skilfully performed, entertain�ing 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. 104 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 chrysanthe�mums 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. 105 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 was his 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. 106 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.

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