Word: scherlis
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Compression and Restraint. The show was organized by Brown University's Medievalist Stephen K. Scher. The most distinctive characteristic of Romanesque and Gothic sculpture, he points out, derives from the fact that it was designed to be incorporated into a church. "Whether it be the pyramid of a capital," says Scher, "or the perpendicular wall planes of the portal, the sculpture is forced to obey the laws of the structural mass. The resulting compression and restraint resemble a collected horse in dressage; the energy returns upon itself and becomes totally contained within the basic form...
With the sculptures at the top of columns, they demonstrate Scher's point about contained energy. But, mercifully, the columns are much shorter than the originals. The sculpture's modeling is calligraphic rather than realistic, and they take on new power to modern eyes conditioned to depreciate the technical skills of representation in favor of the purer visions of stylization. Samson grappling with the lion, an llth century capital from Avignon's Notre Dame des Doms, contains within its stylized forms both the violence of the struggle and the authority of an abstraction. Its companion piece, representing...
Above all this floats the music, most of which displays Handel's more fluid, graceful style--the finest example being the superb duet of Arsemene and Romilda. The singers carry out their tasks well; John Leonard and Vivian Thomas produce especially beautiful sounds. Robert Scher deserves special mention for his performance (in a voice which suggests the weight and power of an articulated locomotive) of a song about wine that begins, "This persuasive potable makes your thoughts more quotable...
...Guild will present "Xerxes," an opera by Handel, on May 7 and 8, as part of the group's spring workshop, which aims at "discovering talent." Kennedy will produce the show, while Brown will handle the direction. Benjamin Cox '61, Robert Scher '59, and Vivian M. Thomas '60 will play the lead parts...
John Jones and Steven Klass as Eileen's suitors gave spirited, humorous performances; Jones at times almost stealing the action with his ludicrous mannerisms. Carola Kitteridge's caricature of the sister's landlady was one of the delights of the evening. Robert Scher, as the eventual recipient of Ruth's long repressed affections, made up for an adequate voice with his ease and natural stage manner. The roles of the Village lovers, the Wreck and his Helen, were capably filled by Oscar Anderson and Jill Kneerim...