Is it real or is it Memorex®

This post was written by Charles Jonah, and posted on April 10, 2008 | Filed Under other, music | Double-click any word for more info | View other posts by Charles Jonah | | For info on this author, visit http://www.sdgmusic.org/voices/2007/07/31/introduction/

In the last couple of weeks, we have talked about the ease of recording a concert. But the question comes: “is one willing to accept the recording of a performance?” We are so used to listening to studio recording that are made up from selections from multiple recordings. I had the privilege to listen to a recording session of John Nelson’s orchestra. They played the movement twice completely plus several recordings of specific selections from the movement. This leads to precision that is unavailable in a live performance recording. In addition, if one is recording a live performance of a work, there is always the problem of an audience noises. A cough is almost unavoidable in the recording. While in a live performance, you take it as one of the “things how they are.” However, after second time you listen to a recording you start to expect it and finally, you almost focus on this noise – “is it time for the guy that coughed to get up and leave the audience?” About the fourth time one is about ready, to paraphrase the Mikado, “the coughers, none of them will be missed, no, none of them will be missed”.

A second characteristic of a live performance is the life that seems to be present that isn’t in the studio recording. – for a live recording, one emphasizes not being boring; for a studio recording one emphasizes not making mistakes. I did a CD of a soprano soloist in our church. She had thought to record a performance of a fundraiser, but I prevailed on her to record in advance. She was a very good amateur soloist and most selections I had at least 3 tries. The CD came out very well. I recorded the concert also, and when I gave her the CD, I commented that I was thankful I had the real multiple cuts. While at the time of the performance, I enjoyed it immensely; however, while listening to the recording of the performance; I could hear all sorts of pitch problems that the life of the live performance had concealed from me.

When we listen to a CD, we are less tolerant of extraneous noises and dynamic range problems. In many ways, it reminds me of the problems in photography. For example, you look out and see a beautiful landscape of gorgeous fall trees. The picture is taken, and when you look at, you realize that there are power lines that your eye was able to ignore and see the underlying beauty. Or you see a person under a tree outside and your eye will automatically cancel out the green from the reflected from the trees. Take a picture of someone under a tree and they will look green. Of course, this is far from new; this is what impressionists noticed and how they made light “real.” It seems the mind, will correct the sound and light in real life but not in reproductions.

So, in getting a recording of a live performance, one must look beyond the minor imperfections to the music that is being conveyed. So returning to where we stared about two weeks ago, when one listens to music, either real or recorded, one must go beyond what has been recording and go to what should have been heard.

Comments

One Response to “Is it real or is it Memorex®”

Joel Buursma on April 14th, 2008 9:12 pm

Charles, you talked about the problems of hearing a concert live & then hearing a recorded version of same. (As an aside, your comments about the coughs in the audience reminded me of the issue of clinking bar glasses in many live jazz recordings!) I hope you don’t mind some tangential comments of my own.

I think the precision in which we do recordings spoils us for live performances to some extent as well. Not entirely, of course, but as a listener, I have to remind myself to avoid unreasonably high expectations when I go into a concert. As compensation for that lack of recording precision, you have the special privilege of having real musicians make the music right in front of you!

As an aside, I have also read somewhere that in pop music, they have machines that can make automatic pitch corrections. At least, I HOPE it is only in pop music!

And, although you’re focusing on new music here, there’s also a danger with “old” music. You might fall in love with a certain recording of a piece and then be disappointed that a conductor in a live performance (or another recording for that matter) took the liberty to do it differently! As an example, when you’re doing a Bach Passion, how much sentimentality do you allow? In a recent performance I attended, I heard an audience member in back of me say he wished the conductor had lingered more on the words of Jesus. And here I had been thinking I would have preferred more lingering on certain beloved arias. We fans have to be a bit mature, though, don’t we?

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