Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I'm surprised by how ineffectual this is. I think poor miking/mixing has a lot to do with it. As an arrangement itself I thought it was superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indy4 155 Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I don't think we should be looking for something "different" in an arrangement of this piece. If we get too inventive then it goes away from being something respectful or celebratory and becomes something more of an artist trying to show off - kind of like what we see with vocalists at the Super Bowl year after year. The Star-Spangled Banner shouldn't be used as a personal artistic platform to that degree, lest we start alienating the people whom the anthem really matters to.Perhaps you're right, but as I said I think JW's version at the World Series in Boston a few years ago was far superior. largely because it tried something different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Andrade 1,263 Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I don't think we should be looking for something "different" in an arrangement of this piece. If we get too inventive then it goes away from being something respectful or celebratory and becomes something more of an artist trying to show off - kind of like what we see with vocalists at the Super Bowl year after year. The Star-Spangled Banner shouldn't be used as a personal artistic platform to that degree, lest we start alienating the people whom the anthem really matters to.Perhaps you're right, but as I said I think JW's version at the World Series in Boston a few years ago was far superior. largely because it tried something different.And then he was accused of using wrong notes... but yes, that was the best one I ever heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uni 306 Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Outstanding arrangement, great performance. Gave me goosebumps watching it. I particularly love seeing the Maestro singing along with passion.I don't think we should be looking for something "different" in an arrangement of this piece. If we get too inventive then it goes away from being something respectful or celebratory and becomes something more of an artist trying to show off - kind of like what we see with vocalists at the Super Bowl year after year. The Star-Spangled Banner shouldn't be used as a personal artistic platform to that degree, lest we start alienating the people whom the anthem really matters to.Agreed wholeheartedly. You just can't stray too far from the fundamental material with this—it would undermine the purpose of the whole enterprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,346 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Thanks for the video links!I actually "watched" this live, but unfortunately our HD antennae we now use to watch local television since cancelling cable does not pick up the Rhode Island PBS station all that well, so I basically just got an extremely choppy version of it, I could barely hear Williams' speech or the new arrangement.Now that I've seen it properly, I'm happy to say I like it a lot! Still a bit confused by the random battle footage that shows up 2/3rds of the way through, but whatever!This arrangement would be right at home on a new CD of JW concert/olympic pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,983 Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Actually this sounds like an extension/augmentation of the arrangement for wind orchestra he did for the Rose Parade in 2004, even though he stressed a bit less some harmonizations and amped up the overall tone: BTW, I like the quiet Lincoln-esque string passage of the B section that plays during JW speech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uni 306 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Now that I've seen it properly, I'm happy to say I like it a lot! Still a bit confused by the random battle footage that shows up 2/3rds of the way through, but whatever!Yeah, that was kinda weird, wasn't it? It might've helped if we knew where the footage came from. But, like you said . . . whatever.I also thought it was great that the host referred to Williams during the introduction as "America's greatest living composer." Nice to see him appreciated like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,346 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Yea, good call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Mark 3,631 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Now that I've seen it properly, I'm happy to say I like it a lot! Still a bit confused by the random battle footage that shows up 2/3rds of the way through, but whatever!Yeah, that was kinda weird, wasn't it? It might've helped if we knew where the footage came from. But, like you said . . . whatever.It's supposed to show the battle Williams is talking about in his intro , and the moment that inspired the anthem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,346 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Right, but was it shot just for this special or was it from some pre-existing PBS thing or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Mark 3,631 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 And what about the cannons? I saw the real ones, so were they used for the anthem or only the video canons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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