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Black Shirts

Nicholas Kitchen (080826)

I have one experience with and one reaction to black shirts.

The interesting experience was at the Spoleto Festival in Italy. It was when Ruggero was in the group, and I had a light type of suit and I thought it might work well with a black shirt. I mentioned it and Ruggero gradually objected, revealing how for so many Italians black shirts were the uniform of Facists. I did not wear the black shirt and have avoided ever wearing one in Italy.

The other thing I observe is the current trend towards string quartets wearing black shoes, black pants and a black shirt. It makes for a convenient travelling set and kind of goes with anything or any formality level, but I have to admit I dont really like it, for a couple of reasons. It has no personality whatsoever unless the person happens to buy an extraordinarily expensive or inexpensive version of the uniform, but most importantly it is the uniform of the stage hands, where there is a reason that they want to appear to have no personality. I have now seen a number of performances where people come out and set up the chairs in black shirt and pants and then people come and fill the chairs and play, dressed in black shirt and pants. It always reminds me a bit of the Chinese Communist Blue Uniform. Of course, in another sense it is just fine: tuxedo and tails have certainly been a uniform for a while, and music is not fundamentally about stage appearance. But we should consider that it is one of the few settings where the audience stares at the performers continuously for one, two or three hours.