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I'm sure many (if not all) of you watched at least part of the inauguration. I was sitting in a waiting room at the local car repair shop waiting for an hour-and-a-half to get an oil change. Yeah, it was ridiculous, but I don't believe I would have watched (ok, partly watched- I did have Megan and Miranda with me) any of it if I hadn't been there. Not that I'm not patriotic, but television watching for me is best done in the evening when I don't have to worry about Miranda unpacking all the wipes, or Megan making potions in the bathroom.
The other evening at a friend's house we were discussing the amazing quartet piece that was "played" during the inauguration. I use quotes because apparently it was actually a recording we heard, even though we saw the amazing artists moving their fingers and arms. We were talking about the amazing piece, the talent of the artists, and how truly cold it was. Travis mentioned it was probably dubbed and they were "lip synching". Turns out he was right.
Personally, I think it's just fine that they used a recording. Who wants to screw up at such a major event with so many people watching? Even worse, what would've been done if a string broke in the middle of the performance? We're on a tight schedule here, and waiting for a replacement couldn't happen, and how sad it would have been to not be able to hear the absolutely stunning music!
The NYTimes article had the obligatory reference to Milli Vanilli lip sync debacle*, and even to the famous Pavarotti's lip sync. However, I'm in agreement with Yo-Yo Ma:
“I really wanted to do something that was absolutely physically and emotionally and, timing-wise, genuine,” Mr. Ma said. “We also knew we couldn’t have any technical or instrumental malfunction on that occasion. A broken string was not an option. It was wicked cold."
“What we were there for,” he said, “was to really serve the moment.”
*This was a comment on the NYTimes blog:
Milli Vinilli weren't lip-synchers because they weren't even singing; they were frauds. Reporters and editors need to get their facts straight if they are going to try to make analogies. This is a non-story as these talented musicians certainly can't be compared to Ashlee Simpson, whose lip-synching was busted on SNL.
— Daniel M., CA
Friday, January 23, 2009
"It was Wicked Cold"
Posted by Irish Cream at 1/23/2009 10:25:00 AM
Labels: video
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4 comments:
So are they just pretending to play? Special coating over violin bows so you can't hear the actual?
Sorry, I am not informed on how this works.......
Sarah--They were really playing, they just didn't have microphones.
I am so irritated with everyone who thinks it's outrageous that they pre-recorded it. As someone who plays the violin (though not terribly well), I can attest to cold temperatures wreaking havoc on your instrument. Not only do you risk breaking a string, but your instrument goes out of tune very quickly in extreme temperatures. That would have been a nightmare.
Oh, and have you ever tried to play the piano well in extreme cold? Not very easy...(and extreme for me was inside a room that was between 50-55 degrees).
They played to their OWN recording for crying out loud. People who are making something of this are so ill informed about true musicians and their instruments. The stuff on this is unbelievable. It is unbelievable what news sources think is important...Well written Nadine and Buffy.
But then if they are playing at the same time a recording is playing doesn't it sound horrible if you can actually hear them playing (up close enough to hear?) or do they just play so perfectly they can stay right on? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just so intrigued (and on the verge of doing my own milli vanilli album)
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