The long history of puppetry Essay Example

The long history of puppetry Paper Prehistoric miniature stone figures have been excavated in many places. We can only guess what they may have been used for. Scholars try to attach cultural or mystical significance to these finds. Storytelling and play acting with dolls are invented spontaneously by children the world over. The making of miniature figures is basic to human nature. It is a fair guess that the main use is simply entertainment. In the fifth century BC Herodotus writes about ancient figures operated by strings. Xenophon of Athens refers to a travelling Greek showman putting on a puppet show. These men did not discover something new, they were just early-published writers, and they wrote about what was happening. A 12th century woodcut shows two youngsters playing with figures of armed knights on strings. In a 14th century illuminated manuscript we see three girls watching a puppet show. It looks a lot like Punch and Judy. Theatrical scripts have often made fun of authority and the injustices of life. In societies where the authorities had more power than we nowadays give them they often reacted angrily to deserved ridicule. The Commedia dellarte was an improvised popular comedy in Italian theatres of the 16th to 18th century. It was frequently banned and was often performed on the streets. The characters Harlequin, Columbine and Pulcinella originated here. Italian performers exported their art throughout Europe and further afield. In the French language Pulcinella became Polichinelle, in Russian Petroushka, and in English Punch. They also invented the slapstick, a stick that has two small paddles at the end of it or is divided at one or both ends to make a noise when it hits anything. We will write a custom essay sample on The long history of puppetry specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The long history of puppetry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The long history of puppetry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This is where we get the term slapstick comedy. Polichinelle was playing in France by 1630. Samuel Pepys was a civil servant who kept a diary. He wrote it for himself in his own private code but it was published after his death. It gives a fascinating personal view of 17th century England. In 1662 this diary records the first English mention of open-air puppet performances. Pepys writes that he watched the puppets a few times, once he stopped for a show in Hyde Park and it made him late for an appointment with the king. First known as Punch and Joan, the puppets became a popular diversion on beaches and in parks. The performers were often itinerants and were often mentioned in literature. As readers of Dickens the Old Curiosity Shop will know they were sometimes of not too respectable personality. Henry Fielding wrote his brilliantly satirical novel Tom Jones in the 18th century. There were concerns about violence in puppetry then as now. Tom Jones meets a travelling Punch and Judy man who claims to have cleaned up his show and made it into a moral and refined spectacle. The entertainer enjoys a couple of mugs of beer with the patrons of a wayside tavern and then physically assaults his assistant. Fielding has his hero comment that he much preferred the show in its old form. George Cruikshank, who made a name for himself by illustrating the writings of Charles Dickens was involved in the production of a book that preserved a street performance of a Punch and Judy show. Cruikshank and publisher John Payne Collier hired an Italian performer, Signor Piccini, to put on a private show in the Kings Arms, a tavern in Drury Lane, London. The show was stopped frequently so that Cruikshank could make drawings and Collier could record the dialogue. Both of these illustrations are by Cruikshank. Piccini may or may not have been an Italian. Then, as now, entertainers sometimes invented exotic names and backgrounds for themselves. He was a great puppeteer. He could have one of his puppets take off his hat with one hand, throw it to the other hand, and put it back on his head. Punch and Judy proliferated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Shows were seen everywhere and some of the performers became prosperous.

Middle eastern music final question examples Essay Example

Middle eastern music final question examples Essay Example Middle eastern music final question examples Paper Middle eastern music final question examples Paper Essay Topic: Poetry The Egyptians and the Arab audiences in general felt connected to Kulthum because they heard their own stories in her songs and she represented and supported the Arab world through her performances One learns that her old fashioned ways included a preference to be interviewed without the means of recording t/f true Kulthum insisted that her band musicians had to learn new songs aurally she was against the use of music scores t/f true Kulthums roots were within the egyptian countryside; she was from a poor religious family She began her singing career as a child, along her fathers side, singing at religious celebrations (mulids) When she moved to Cairo in the 1920s, the city was thriving and cosmopolitan, but under British rule The technology that mostly promoted her career was radio Kulthum supported the 1952 revolution and Nasser. True or False? True Kulthum supported King Farouk and the British. True or False? False Kulthum financially supported the Egyptian government in the 1960s. True or False? True The Egyptians compared Kulthum with pyramids Kulthums stage presence: Which TWO of the following statements are true? 1. She encouraged people to dance along with her on the stage. 2. She used to hold a handkerchief as her personal trademark. 3. She looked very formal. 2 and 3 Some of the interviewees seemed eager to sing their personal Kulthum favorite song in front of the camera Kulthum was praised for her strong sense of nationalism. true Kulthums improvisational / embellishment skills are associated with: the concept and manifestation of tarab Which of the following is not a characteristic of classical music genres (consider both western and Arab classical music genres)? old, historical, large ensembles, formal context (all of the above) During the late 19th century, this music was performed in all but one of the following venues: Village/Rural weddings One of the following musical instruments is not included in the core takht ensemble: tabla The nay has a characteristic _______________ timbre. breathy The only zither chordophone in the takht ensemble is the: qanun One of the following musical genres is not part of the wasla form: shabi The highly expressive Layali (featured in track 14) is an improvisatory genre. true Track 14 is non-metrical. true Track 12 uses the __________ iqa. samai The iqa in the taqtuqa Il bahr nayim is played by the: riqq Which of the following is not an example of the expressions shouted out by the audience when experiencing tarab (refer to What makes Arab music unique on the content tab)? oh my eye what did we do to you to do this? are you trying to make us die today? (all of them) Is Music Haram? Which one of the following is true? the issue is contentious In an effort to address the issue of permissibility of music, Islamic scholars primarily look into: the quran and the hadith One of the following types of music has suffered much less from censorship that the rest: chanted poetry The following aspect is taken in consideration when examining the permissibility of a piece of music: context and content of lyrics In Turkey under Kemal Ataturk (see the related video Be Happy, its an Order on the content tab), the villagers were forced to listen to: western classical music Sufis (followers of Sufism, which is the mystical branch of Islam): embrace music as part of their rituals According to the hadith reviewed in the textbook, frame drums: are halal The interpolation of religious lyrics in a pop song is generally considered: blasphemous In Pop music; singing of a beloved homeland (see content tab), we learn that Islamic extremists banned rai claiming that: it embraced Western ways and featured sexually explicit lyrics Right after the Islamic revolution of 1979: Several Iranian singers left the country since music was banned Sherry Bijan and 3P (see their related music videos on the content tab), contemporary Iranian female singers, dont show their faces on their music videos because: if caught, they may be sentenced Iranian rap is: thriving but mostly underground Amr Diab is a singer of: shababi The song Albi ikhtarak: has similarities w/ Santanas smooth and has Latin/Spanish influences Tamally maak: is a shababi song and features a guitar The lyrics of Is salamu alaykum are more poetic that those of Tamally maak true or false false The Egyptian authorities frowned upon Hakim because of his use of the expression is-salamu alaykum shabi songs are upbeat and feature memorable choruses and have their roots in folk music Shabi emerged in the 1970s because the times were prosperous. true of false false Shabi emerged in the 1970s at a time when the Egyptians were looking for an alternative sound to that of Umm Kulthum and the old masters of tarab music. true of false true The sound of early shabi (listen to Ahmed Adawiyyas Bent El Sultan located on the content tab) sounds closer to classical Arab music with its use of a large firqa orchestra. true or false false Shabi music keeps the following musical elements of past musical traditions (tip: read textbook carefully; see close to the end of the chapter): iqa and maqam and call and response The lyrics of Hakims Il-kalam da kabir (textbook CD track 26) talk about a fathers agony in search of his lost son. true or false false Il-kalam da kabir (textbook CD track 26) features the ___________ iqa. saidi Contemporary shabi music (listen to Egypt 3 Cairo underground on the content tab): incorporates DJs and samples The shabi song Youll go to hell (listen to Egypt 3 Cairo underground on the content tab) targets singers who appear on sexually provocative music videos