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18 November 2008

 

Luisa Tetrazzini - Caro Nome 1911

The ability to record music and reproduce images is a bit of a double-edged sword - well, one side is a sharp blade, the other is more of a letter opener, actually. There's nothing better than live music, live theatre, real paintings, but the masterful works of the past and present would not be available to the masses without reproduction. But then, they are diminished to a degree (paintings are diminished a LOT but people don't seem to figure that in).

It means we hang onto things* instead of letting go and moving along with the flow of new artwork. It means young artists have to compete with long-dead artists. It means local artists and musicians compete with everyone, anywhere, from any time since technology enabled reasonalbe fidelity. It means you have already listened to the greatest tenor's greatest recorded achievement before you go to your local operahouse, and it colors your experience; that tenor probably had a wide range in his performance quality over the length of his career, but you have the recording of his best effort. The tenor you hear live will probably not meet that standard.

But live - live is everything. Once an artist has died should all his work go on a bonfire? It would be awful, and I'd never want that, yet go back just a short time and some (not all) artistic disciplines were in the moment, ephemeral, like singing, and others required the viewer to make the journey to be in front of its product (painting). Is hoarding these golden moments good for the human race? Is taking a golden rare moment and reproducing it ad infinitum good for the human race or is stagnation the result?

What's the point, anyway? Is there a greater reason for people to listen to music or look at paintings than just being made joyous? Some of the artwork I see come out of SL looks suspiciously like what someone might find in the frame aisle at a 5&10. Does that matter? Has all the endless reproduction enlightened people to a great degree as they can encounter the best of the best, or has it reduced their joy in what is actually in front of them as they can't help but compare it to the work of some long-dead artist of the past? Things now are recorded for posterity; singers in the past sang knowing their voice faded when they closed their mouths. What is the real difference** for the human race?

* Is there going to be a bitter rivalry forever now between Callas fans and fans?
**I suppose it has something to do with our longing for immortality, and our willingness to freeze time to attain it. For immortality, there needs to be no time.



Bella figlia dell'amore from Verdi's Rigoletto. Recorded 1912.

Gilda: Luisa Tetrazzini
Maddalena: Josephine Jacoby
Duke: Enrico Caruso
Rigoletto: Pasquale Amato

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posted by - 11:58 AM

Comments:
I'd argue that live performance leaves much more to be desired than a recording, especially for a weird person like me. Say I go to a concert - I enjoy it while it lasts, but I can't go back and replay my favorite parts or anything. It annoys me. Similarly pictures - I was in Vienna on Monday to have a look at the Van Gogh exhibition in Albertina museum and it was so crowded there (imagine Russians at an all you can eat buffet) that my enjoyment of those pics was pretty much zero.
 
Being able to go back and replay things is a fundamental change in how the world works. It seems to go along with not feeling it necessary to apply one's full attention at the time, as the replay possibilities are unlimited. I'm from a generation that, for instance, saw a film once and just remembered it forever (or didn't if it lacked meaning).
Although one may see paintings in reproduction they are diminished to a great degree - otherwise the exhibition would not've been crowded.
 
I have seen Black Orpheus at LEAST 16 times, and never tire of seeing it (well no more than once a year though).
 
Who said that how the world works now is the right way though?

And anyway, that exhibition had a huge medial push (heck, even *I* knew about it), and no matter how lovely those picture were, having 3 seconds to look at each of them while other people elbow you away is just pointless.
 
I think the only film I've played over and over again is Losey's Don Giovanni. It was a year of death and Don Giovanni helped me through it. Without that - well, I'd've read more, probably.

Makes me think - without recording we'd be much less familiar with opera scores. Going to the opera would change the world for a few hours.
 
"...having 3 seconds to look at each of them while other people elbow you away is just pointless."

Agreed - but those aren't the only paintings in the world. Reproduction enables the media hype which creates the throng.

"Who said that how the world works now is the right way though?"

I'm just enjoying thinking about it - I don't have any answers.
 
It all ties into the Cult of Celebrity, obviously. And the desire for immortality.

Since my upbringing was largely indistinguishable from that of 50 years ealier (even longer in some ways), I'm not very well rooted in time. I don't watch television and I have no clue who 90% of celebrities are (which isn't necessarily a good thing). I don't like charm (manipulative in my experience) and I don't like fashion's slavery (I like style, but that's timeless). All that makes me out of step.
 

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