RECORDS

seaman

Four volumes prove Dyer-Bennet
right in making own recordings

iN 1955, after years of unsat-

isfactory recordings, Rich-
ard Dyer-Bennet went into
the record business himself.
In his notes on the first re-
lease, he said:

“During the past 15 years I
have sung some 250 concerts,
done about 150 weeks of night
club work, ‘and recorded 13
albums of songs... (In this
recording) I have been free
for the first time not only to
sing ‘what I wish, but also to
accept or reject the master
record, choose the finest av-
ailable pressing material, and
have a say about the design
and printed material on the
jacket.”

Now, two years and four
pressings later, one can | say
that these have. indeed been
Dyer-Bennet’s best. It is hard
to understand, though, why
‘he has been so skimpy on
program time on all but Vol-
ume 1. (Volume .1 runs 51
minutes; Volume 2, 35 min-
utes; Volume 3, 35% minutes;
Volume 4, 40 minutes.)

The recordings, as a com-
prehensive coverage of his
style, reveal him as a profes-
sional minstrel rather than a

folk singer, a _ distinction
Dyer-Bennet is always care-
ful to make. He means by it
that his carefully rehearsed
and arranged songs are closer
to art song than to traditional
singing little influenced by
academic considerations.
Dyer-Bennet .has a_ care-
fully trained, pure voice with
impeccable diction; combined
with a masterful guitar tech-
nique. His repertoire, as rep-
resented on these _ records,
ranges over seven centuries,
art and folk songs and four
languages; from Europe,
North America and Australia.
Their content covers humor
(Phyllis And Her Mother,
Eggs And Marrowbone, The
Three Tailors, Woman Go
Home); tragedy (The Lass
From The Low Country, The
Three Ra’ens); satire (The
Vicar of Bray, Kerry Re-
ruit); social struggle (Rising
of the Moon, Bonnie Dundee,
Bold Fenian Men, Earl of
Morey) and affairs of the
heart (Two Maidens Went A-
Milking, Blow The Candles
Out, Searching for Lambs).
Being representative, these
recordings also demonstrate

Dyer - Bennet’s weaknesses
which migth be summed up
as a tendency towards aca-
demicism cut off from the
warmth of folk contact. Thus
his Go Down. Moses is labored
instead of the tragic hymn of
struggle it should be; while
sentimentality is all too often
present (Three Fishers and So
We'll Go No More A-Roving).

This failing is more gener-
ally revealed as affectations
in the course of a number;
exaggerated conclusions, for
example, or a general ten-
dency to slow down and pret-
tify. On the other hand, his
calculated mannerisms often
greatly increase the depth
and appeal of a song.

Taken as a whole, these are
recordings of a fine singer
whose heart is in the right
place, even if his imagina-
tion ‘occasionally falls short,
Volumes 4 and 1 are recom-
mended in that order, well
ahead of Volumes 2 and 3.
All four volumes are available
at the People’s Co-op Book-
stores, 337 West Pender
Street, Vancouver, price $5.98
a volume.

N. E. STORY

Peking Man discoverer believes

‘Abominable Snowman’ ts bear

DEOL ‘Pei Wen-chung, noted

Chinese paleontologist and
discoverer of Peking Man, be-
lieves that the supposed “Ab-
ominable Snowman” is most
likely a Himalayan black bear,
although he concedes that from
a  palanteological viewpoint,
‘St is not impossible that a
special kind of high primate
might live on the Himalayan
mountains.”

In an article published in the
Kwangming Daily, Pei Wen-
chung supports the view of a
Soviet scientist, A. Letavet, on
the “Abominable Snowman.”

“The high mountains of the
Himalaya and ‘the plateau of
the Pamirs are more than 15,-
000 feet above sea level,” Pei
said in the article. “It seems
impossible, in view of the pres-
ent geographical distribution
of the primates that an animal
more approaching man than the,
gorilla or the chimpanzee could
exist there.”

Pei pointed out that consid-

* the

Pei

eration must be given to what
higher primates could
feed on in the ice and snow,
since plants and small animals
are rarely found there. It
would be very difficult for the
higher primates to live in such

_conditions.

On the other hand the Him-
alayan black bear, with great
vitality and more extensive
scope of activity, could survive
by hunting other animals look-
ing for food there.

Legendary descriptions of
the “snow man” walking, stan-
ding on two legs, and so on,
said, would also des-
cribe the Himalayan bear.

He commented on the state-
ment by the Soviet scientist
Pronin who said that the
“snow man” had stolen a rub-
ber boat, and of the Chinese
film director Pai Hsin that the
“snowman” stole their beef at
night. These actions were in

e nature of a bear and not
necessarily of “human” nature,

He said that footprints and
shadows could not prove the
existence of the “snowman.”
The footprints of the hind
paws of the Himalayan black
bear were very much like a
man’s.

When a bear stands on its
hind legs, especially when it is
going to catch food or prepar-
ing to fight, it looks like man
from a great distance or in bad
light.

“On the other hand, from the
paleontological standpoint, it is
not impossible that a special
kind of high primate might live
on the Himalayan mountains,”
Pei said.

He referred to the “giant
ape” and the “ape of antiquity”
and said it was not beyond
possibility that the successors
of a branch of such primates
retreated to live above “the
Himalayan snow line, and de-
veloped into the “snowman”
after living for a long period in
the ice and snow.

+ One of the most controversial of recent films, BabY

1s NOw showing in this province.

Carroll Baker and Eli Wallach.

Spring film progra™
announced by AUU ¢

HE Association of United
Ukrainian Canadians has
announced the following pro-
gram of films for the spring
season. Except as indicated,
all are in Russian with Eng-
lish titles, They will be shown
Sundays, 8:00 p.m., at the Uk-
ranian Hall, 805 East Pender
Street.
March 16—Yy, J, Lenin.
March 30—Story of Marina:
A “triangle” in which a
newly graduated agrono-
mist gets big ideas. Light
comedy, singing.
April 6—U.S.S.R. Ch

ampions:
This color documentary
(with English commentary)

reveals the “secret” of So-
viet victories in the Olym-
pics.

April 13—Tiger Trainer.

April 27—River Lights: A
little boy vacations in his
uncle’s lighthouse.

May 4—Tale of The Siberian
Land: (Also known as Sym-
phony Of Life). A love
story about a young musi-
clan wounded in the ‘war

and his problems of re-
adjustment.

May 18—New China:
documentary of
new: life, ranging from
the - modern Opera, The
White Haired Girl. Another
featurette will complete the
program,

May 25—Bride With A Dow-
ry: Songs, dances, love and
socialist competition on a
collective farm. :

June 1—Three Hundred

A color
China’s

March 7, 1958 —

poll,

Thi scene *

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Years Ago: Ukrainia® ps
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June 8—Battleship Pot e
Kisenstein’s great an if
the most celebrated : jul
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Originally released 1 ef?

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this version has 4 niko!
music score bY
Kriukov.

1130 K&

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Tue. Mar. 25 — 7:09 ee
Thu. Mar, 27. — 7:05 #

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Mon. Mar. 10 — 17:20?
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Thu. Mar. 27 — 7:20 pa

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Every Sunday—10:10 ?

1070 K.G

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