Cold Air and Not-So-Simple Gift of Music

The plot thickens on inauguration day...I wondered about the temperature that day--the cold fingers of the musicians--

Maybe selection should have been called "Cold Air and Not-So-Simple Gifts."

My Monday morning reading is through the Arts Journal, a news feed that summarizes the highlights of media, issues, music, dance, visual art and architecture. Imagine my surprise where there were four very different entries talking about the musical offering on Tuesday at high noon.

My greater sense of surprise came from the opinions and information from each of the four writers. Technology weighs in in a couple of cases:

First, some praise of John Williams' composition, focusing on the fact that President Obama has an affinity for Aaron Copland.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/a-new-williams-work-for-a-momentous-occasion/
I myself enjoyed the setting and thought it appropriate because most people on the Mall would recognize the tune, especially the WVU fans who think this was a Morgantown invention.

Alternatively, a Washington Post writer went in the opposition direct, criticizing Williams' composition/arrangement and I quote, "Rather than write what he is good at [a great movie score, etc.], he corseted himself in a straitjacket of what he thought he was supposed to be doing." You can check out the opposition at this link.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012003560.html

Now, common sense weighs in and the answer to the question that was plaguing musicians as they watched their peers in the cold. Headlined "The Frigid Fingers Were Live, but the Music Wasn’t" reveals that a recording was actually used as the players made a back-up recording two days before. The actual decision to use the recording was made at the last minute.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/arts/music/23band.html

Yes, it makes sense. Stringed and wooden instruments don't usually take well to extreme temperature, but the final article discusses the technology involved and why you really did see many of the musicians actually playing in the cold.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/arts/music/19carb.html