Klarinet Archive - Posting 000471.txt from 1999/10

From: "Michael Whight" <michael@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: [kl] Funny Nielsen recording
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 16:48:46 -0400

>
>
> Once again, I feel compelled to make another response. We are discussing
> splicing and poor performances. Listen to what everybody here has been
> saying about Benny Goodman's Nielsen recording. Not many people like it.
> Why? Because the poor technique is getting in the way of people's
enjoyment
> of the music.
>
> This is exactly why there is extensive splicing in music CDs today.
People
> do not associate a recording with anything less than perfection. Splicing
> has been an integral part of recording pretty much since analog tape was
> invented. Today, even most "live recordings" are edited to fix
> "imperfections," be it coughing or a missed note. Glen Gould stopped
> playing in public because of the pressure of a perfect performance. He
said
> "Why should I play in public when I can get just what I want in the
studio?
> If I make a mistake, I can fix it."
>

Having said this I think you would agree that Gould used the studio in a far
more creative way than 99% of the recordings sound from the 1980's and 90's.
The process of editing to look for a definative performance actually kills
the creative process because it naturally breaks the flow of expectation
between one note and the next no matter how sensitively it is done.

> As a musician and recording engineer, I am a firm believer in editing.
> However, when I run a session, I like to take complete takes and use that
> for most of the final edits. Anything not covered in complete takes gets
> fixed, but usually in chunks large enough to keep musical continuity.

Good policy if you want a flawless product but how much better would the
result be with a fine performance with a few blips. What is your view of
recording? Is it to try to capture the performance or produce a flawless
product?
>
> One last bit of editing lore... M. Pollini's recording of the Chopin
> Etudes. Op. 10. #1 is rumored to have about 1,000 edits in it. For those
> of you who don't know the piece, it equates to one edit every 3 notes.
With
> today's digital technologies, it is not only possible, but standard and
> you'd never know...

Bet you I would!
>
> --Ben
>
> Benjamin Maas
> Freelance Clarinetist and Recording Engineer
> Los Angeles, CA
> benmaas@-----.com
> http://www.fifthcircle.com
>
>
>
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