- Christine Balfa on her CD cover
Dieu Donné Montoucet
Bill Youhass left his Fall Creek keyboard percussion shop near Rochester, New York and drove north to Toronto for a short vacation and to celebrate a Baltimore Super Bowl victory. Bill’s a true sports fan and my wife and I were looking forward to cheering on the Ravens. (The Ravens should be the Colts, but that is a story too painful to write. Anyway, the Ravens won.) A few hours before the game Bill and I wandered along King Street West and on the way home stopped in Zoe’s Cafe. We ordered lattes, found a comfortable place to sit and began talking about percussion instruments. The conversation drifted around to our experiences exploring instruments while students.
Bill mentioned a triangle he discovered as a youngster. It had a slight chip on one side which if struck exactly, produced an amazing sound. During an orchestra rehearsal he played on that spot and his world changed. The sound of that triangle went throughout the orchestra lighting up all the other sounds, setting him on a percussionist’s path. Prior to his tuning career, Bill played with The Percussion Group Cincinatti.
Bill’s story reminded me of a triangle I had purchased via telephone after reading a Sunday New York Times article about a triangle maker in rural Louisiana (30 April, 2006). For years Dieu Donné Montoucet (Don) had been combing the countryside in ever-growing circles, harvesting antique tines from old farm machinery. Properly tempered, these tines were durable, rang true and had a penetrating sound much admired by Cajun afficionados.
The Times article contained a photograph of Don in his workshop with triangles hanging on a cord behind him. As Don’s business grew, he had to search farther and farther afield to find the proper metal. Antique tines were becoming scarce. The future of these Stradivarius or Montoucet triangles looked grim. The Savoy Music Center in Eunice, LA sold Don’s triangles, so first thing Monday morning I telephoned Louisiana information and asked for the Savoy’s phone number. I was soon talking to a woman I took to be one of the owners. I had called just in time.
When I told her I wished to buy three triangles, one of each size, she said it wasn’t possible. She too, as well as many other people, had read the Times article and now she had only 3 left. One had already been sold and one had to be kept in the store for display. That pretty much narrowed it down, so I took the only triangle left, an 8 inch model. I sent her a check and not long after, the instrument so prized by Cajun musicians everywhere, was in hand. Now, what to do with it?
The first time I used that beautiful instrument was in a piece of contemporary music written for Nexus by Linda Smith. Linda lives in Toronto with her husband and fellow composer and percussionist Rick Sacks. Linda wrote a wonderful, delicately spacey work wherein, among other things, each member of Nexus needed a triangle.
In 2008, I purchased a CD by Christine Balfa (b.1968), a musician and daughter of Dewey Balfa, founder of the Balfa Brothers Band, now an iconic group in Cajun country. Christine learned the music as a child and played triangle in her dad’s band. When Dewey died in 1992, Christine put together Toujours Balfa in Basile, Louisiana. She sings vocals and plays rhythm guitar.
Her CD, Christine Balfa Plays the Triangle (2008. VAL-CD-0006 – Valcour Records) contains 13 selections, each a triangle solo. At the time I didn’t know the idea behind this project, but its audacity impressed me. For her solo triangle CD, Christine used and credited a “Vintage 1986 Don Montoucet triangle. To see Christine play and hear her comments about this CD, go to <www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi0BNXmzRis>
Alas, my Dieu Donné Montoucet triangle is of recent vintage, 2006. I’m cogitating on what to do with this treasured instrument since I’m no longer playing. But for now, I keep it close and every now and again, play a note or two, or three, or . . .
My Cajun Triangle
Christine jamming with friends
- Angelika Kauffmann, L’Allegra.
Robin Engelman 
ZULU
Recreation of Rorke’s Drift
Prelude:
Islanwana was the first battle in the very brief Anglo-Zulu War. It was a stunning Zulu victory and represents the blackest of pages in British military history. A Zulu army attacked and annihilated a heavily armed, encamped, but unprepared British force of 1,800 on 22 e 1879. Although an exact count of Zulu combatants may never be known, their number has been roughly calculated at 20,000. The next day four Zulu regiments, 3,000 to 4,000 men, moved against Rorke’s Drift, six miles away.
The Film:
Zulu recounts the nine hour Battle of Rork’s Drift and is one of my all-time favorite films. Zulu is Michael Caine’s first starring role and his portrayal of Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, a public school fop whose mannerisms, not to mention his name, make him a target for people who love to hate the British upper class. Caine’s nemesis is Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers,who appears to be from more common stock. Chard is played by Stanley Baker who also produced the film. Nigel Green portrays Sgt. Bourne, a quintessential career Sergeant Major who is as imperturbable as a British marble lion. His moustache alone seems to soothe the troops and control any situation. It is doubtful anyone at Rorke’s Drift, except the Boar who delivers the news of Islanwana and stays to fight, knew who or what they were up against. They had much to fear, more than they could ever have imagined.
Michael Caine as Gonville Bromhead
Stanley Baker
Nigel Green
The progenitor of their unease was Shaka. Considered to be a military genius, Shaka (b.1787-d.1828) was born in Kwa-zulu Natal. His skill as an administrator, diplomat and politician are still disputed, but he gathered disparate local tribes under his banner and made them into an army that was feared throughout Africa. Shaka developed unique battlefield tactics and a level of discipline among his troops which years after his death, served to propelled the Zulu to stunning victories against the Dutch Boars and the British at Islanwana. Shaka’s legacy resonates today in military schools around the world.
Though filmed primarily from the perspective of the British, Zulu manages to portray both protagonists with respect and historic accuracy. Zulu was filmed mainly on location in South Africa just 100 miles south of Rorke’s Drift in a very similar landscape. In scene after scene, details in dress, weaponry, music, conduct, speech, landscape and battle tactics confirm the production staff’s dedication to authenticity. Cetshwayo kaMpande
In one of Zulu’s early scenes, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, played by his great grandson Chief Burthelezi, oversees a traditional mass wedding ceremony in his Kraal or fortified village. Here we meet the Swedish Reverend Otto Witt played by Jack Hawkins who has brought his innocent 20 something daughter to East Africa. Witt tells his daughter the Zulu are a great people, but she appears more embarrassed and titillated at the same time, as hundreds of bare breasted brides-to-be, match step for provocative step, the sensually aggressive dance of their warrior grooms.
Zulu Kraal
Jack Hawkins
The remainder of the film sets the scene and portrays
the Zulu assaults upon Rorke’s Drift mission station. Bromhead and Chard, both Lieutenants, must work out which of them is in charge. This leads to my favorite line, spoken by Caine, but I won’t give it away. You can’t miss it. It takes Sgt. Major Bourne some time to adapt to an unfamiliar chain of command. But of course he soldiers on and prior to the first Zulu assault, his slow walk behind the men on the firing line, is a scene of pure dramatic genius.
The Boar draws the infamous Zulu “Bull Horns” battle formation in the sand for Chard and Bromhead and patiently explains how this now famous formation accounts for Zulu military victories.
The moment Rorke’s Drift defenders realize something sinister is afoot, the hairs on my neck raised and almost 50 years later that moment still works its magic.
The Zulu appear
Zulu chsrge & stabbing spears
There are more subtle moments too, but most of them will be missed by all but avid military buffs. The depictions of British volley tactics are accurate as are the brief moments showing Zulu warrior’s inexperience with Martini Henry breech loading rifles. British officers wore only a side arm, a mark of courage and rank. There is a desperate moment when Caine, an officer, has a rifle thrust into his hand. The look of bemusement on Caine’s face takes only a nano second, but is priceless. Richard Burton provides the opening and closing voice over.
Postlude:
Because of apartheid, the Zulu could not be paid for their services. Director Cy Endfield gave them all the cattle used in the film, payment much more highly prized than money.
11 defenders of Rorke’s Drift were awarded theVictoria Cross, the highest number ever bestowed for one engagement. This largesse has been explained by some to be an attempt to expunge the stain of Islanwana.
Posted by robinengelman on January 16, 2013 in Commentaries & Critiques, History, Unassigned
Tags: ANGLO ZULU WAR, BOARS, KRAAL, MICHAEL CAINE, RORKE'S DRIFT, SHAKA, STANLEY BAKER. NIGEL GREEN, ZULU ARMY