Added: 3 years ago
From: blakebritton1976
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  • It sucks that they couldn't stay in tune because of the weather so they had to play pre-recording. Great musicians all around though.

  • it was indeed prerecorded in the studio, which is common knowledge.

  • @AslolAtlol505 did your band do the key poulan or Aaron copland arrangement?

  • i played this song in my band but it sounde different

  • It's spelled Aaron Copland.

  • Wow! This is truly amazing. It's tough enough to play this piece live, but to try to recreate it on a terrible cold day, is simply breathtaking. As a professional cellist, I can't imagine trying to play this under the circumstances. And to play to a track? Wow. Stop hating, support the arts and get over yourselves. You try it. With a kazoo!

  • It's pathetic, they could have just played inside a room through a video stream, problem solved!

  • 100 years from now no one will really give a crap if this was a "fake" performance or not it'll be that stupid little side note that your music teacher will tell you about as he talks about the great music pieces of John Williams. What will really be important will be the music itself and the moment it was written for.

  • Everyone needs to calm down about the pre-recording. It is a beautiful piece, played by people who are simply amazing at the instruments they play, enjoy it, and know that they were still ACTUALLY playing that day so it really doesn't matter and was done for the greater good of the million plus people standing out in the crowd!

  • 1:21-1:50 is my fav part

  • The one instrument that would have the worst trouble in the cold would be that clarinet. But would be an awful strain on them all.

  • it sounds a lot like Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring

  • @WelcomeToZomboCom probably because Copland's Appalachian also includes variations on the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts"

  • staged performance? too cold? bull crap! infact the low temprature is exactly why Yo Yo Ma did not use his usual cello

  • A violin and cello are a perfect combination.

  • Beautiful

  • Let's cut to the chase and remember the words of this song: 'tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be, and when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'twill be in the valley of love and delight". This is what these great musicians had in mind by making the best of a situation beyond their control.

  • Let's cut to the chase and remember the words of this song: 'tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be true, 'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be, and when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'twill be in the valley of love and delight". This is what these great musicians had in mind by making the best of a situation beyond their control.

  • Let's cut to the chase and remember the words of this song: 'tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be, and when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'twill be in the valley of love and delight". This is what these great musicians had in mind by making the best of a situation beyond their control.

  • @jm113825 ..So this is all pre-recorded? It's not live?

  • @chrissline77 it was below freezing and they weren't using their good instruments, cold weather can damage and crack instruments.

  • Staged or not, this is a beautiful arrangement.

    John Williams is a genius when it comes to adding drama to music. And It must have been beautiful for Yo Yo Ma and Pearlman to work with him again.

  • I want to know what kind of instruments they're using in the cold though... I think the bows are carbon fiber but I don't know about the instruments

  • @hippiechickie18 Stradivari. Yo-Yo Ma has a Stradivarius Cello and Perlman has Stradivarius violin. These are some of the most expensive instruments in the world and as such I am surprised they are even exposing them to the outdoors. You may have heard about the rather recent snatching of one: a Stradivarius violin while its keeper was getting coffee(?).

  • @RedTailedDuck No way... they wouldn't expose their Stradivarius instruments to the cold. I thought they were using some cheap instrument... String instruments will form cracks when exposed to those temperatures.

  • Goddamn I love the cello in this piece... it also helps that it's Yoyo Ma playing it...

  • Cromwell just wants to rant about his idea that everyone realizes is wrong. I dont know what Name the the Pianist and Violinist are using but Anthony McGill's Clarinet whether its a Buffet Crampon or a LeBlanc, is about 5k i would say then another $150+ for the barrel and $250+ for the bell. Unless Ma is playing on his Davydov Stradivarius, He's playing on a 277 year old Domenico Montagnana valued at $2.5M. How that beautiful Cello is still alive we'll never know. superior 1733 crafting i'd say.

  • First off great name blakebritton1976. Secondly thank you for posting this. Yes it may have been "staged" but it is still a beautiful piece of music. I sing and well I know even the human voice does not perform well under these type of conditions. Can't imagine what it does to these priceless one of a kind instruments.

  • I think that outdoor gas heaters are probably being used. The musicians wouldn't be asked to play in the cold. Anyone can buy or rent them for outdoor performing or for use on a porch. Do you play in the cold?

  • Stop trolling and just listen to the masterpiece...

  • i love them! but someone explain to me how a pianist/violist/ or cellist fake?? i mean arent they playing them????

  • Bow-syncing is not a good idea lol

  • Wow, this is so beautiful . . . it's amazing, really.

  • Great music for a great day in American history.

  • 0:50

    Yo-Yo Ma plays the long A with vibrato on screen, but plays it without vibrato in the recording! Oops!

  • they all have great tone (at least in the rocording) but the song is completely butchered. Kinda like the whole administration come to think of it.

  • A  beautiful song A beautiful time I still rejoice.. Have faith

  • why is gibbs just standing there like a goon?

  • This is beautiful by John Williams. It's so embarassing that they faked this performance though.

  • @wilsondylanmccartney I prefer that they "faked" this then being out of tune and it sounding horrible. BTW i would like you to show me some solid proof that this was "faked".

  • Whether or not you like Obama, we can all agree that John Williams is the man!

  • @newcombstrohschein definitely!! John Williams is just genius, I hope that at least is universal ..

  • Love this arrangement, they did so well for playing in cold weather, bravo.

    I wish I could play this well in cold weather.

  • This performance still gives me goosebumps. I think it's beautiful that they have the masters playing this arrangement and they each bring their own gifts to the table. This song is joyful and dignified, hopeful and passionate all at the same time. As nickdrummer said, these are the best players of our age and this performance is indeed one for the ages.

  • Some countries use violence to change governments...we do it with beautiful music and tremendous class

  • @chuckyvee70 one thing that a cnn comentator said while it was going on really stuck to me. He said, "While in other countries the transfer of power is through guns, tanks, and death, in the United States of America it happens with a handshake." I think that what he said couldn't be more true and that's what makes me proud to be an American. Regardless of all the political rubbish that is happening, we have to agree that this is the best place on Earth.

  • It's my understanding that the tune was written by an American Shaker elder called Joseph Bracket in 1848 and was called "Simple Gifts". Aaron Copeland then incorporated it into his ballet "Appalachian Springs" which popularised it. Words were later added and it became known as "Lord of the Dance" for Michael Flatley. This version by John Williams is a further arrangement.

  • probably the best performers of our age right there

  • were playing simple gifts in my school band and i remember watching this last year, if only i knew thats was one of the songs they played at the time

  • It reminds me of the movie WAG THE DOG..

  • are you a musician by any chance? no you're not. because if you were, then you would know that because of the temperature that day, it would have ben physically impossible to get those intruments in tune. i have heard all of them play live, and let me assure you, they are all of great skill.

  • You're such a dumbass. Get a life Kid.

  • @amrascarpathia HALLELUJAH! Someone else gets it. 

  • @amrascarpathia

    hahahhahahaha

    i left my violin in my car for a week,wait-make that two weeks, took it out to play at class(thank god teacher wasnt there)and,eeeeeehhhhaaaaaaaaaa­.bad news took me an hour to tune not really more like 25 minutes.

  • @iceburry17 What kind of musician are you, leaving your instrument in an automobile for two weeks! You have a lot of nerve commenting on musicianship. I am indeed an amateur, but your comments indicate that you are not a professional.

  • @hfsaadiq i know im no pro ive been playing for 3 years and i was gone those 2 weeks and i cae back and i was like holy crap i left my violin in the car.so thats it.

  • @amrascarpathia It makes me soo jealous to read your comment.

    Why? Because it sounds fine to me...I don't hear things out of tune and out of whackk it sounds pretty great if you ask me :) I wish I had the talent you musicians have to hear that stuff in such detail the way you do.

  • @amrascarpathia I am a musician (i play about 8 different instruments) and i know that no matter how cold it was you can always get the instruments in tune, its just harder. Played in New York outside with snow falling on the ground and our band was FINE. there is no excuse for the cold here. The only reason was because of the size of the crowd that is it.

  • @TogeNoBara I'm sorry bud... i'd get more information about intruments and the effect that temperature has on them... specifically string instruments, woodwinds, and the piano...

  • @amrascarpathia Not to mention the cracking that would have ensued on the clarinetist's instrument.

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  • only GREAT/FANTASTIC/AMAZING part of the entire inauguration!!!!!

  • LOL the only reason i knew this was prerecorded (before i read some of the comments) was because yo yo ma's eyes were open O: normally when he plays they're closed and he makes this kind of funny face. (:

  • yeah. It's why he's so much fun to watch!

  • whether or not it is so-called fake or for-real is not the issue. this piece is simply amazing! i love 'simple gifts' and this arrgmt is stunning... john williams is a band god!

  • Robert Gibbs appears to have been Gabriela's page turner.

  • Everyone needs to calm down. I usually just close my eyes when i listen to this kind of music anyways, all that fast hands stuff just gets me all distratcted, or like  that guys hair is really puffy, or hey look that asian mans hair go crazy in the air, or the black man has no hair. just enjoy the music.....

  • CromwellClassical, sure the performance is staged, but you should know that you cannot escape the laws of physics. These are professional players, and they have very expensive professional instruments that are very sensitive to humidity and temperature. I am a musician and I KNOW that this is true. Pitch, tone color, and just quality are sacrificed in cold weather.

  • a bad performance is not better than a 'fake' one. I would rather hear the musicians playing at their best under ideal circumstances, even pre-recorded and fake played that hearing a performance that is out of tune. There is nothing worse than hearing an out of tune performance. And yes, while performances may have been recorded in eastern europe in cold weather... the instruments were probably played regularly in cold weather and thus seasoned and tuned.

  • The instruments that are played by YoYo Ma, Itzak Perlman and the clarinet and piano players... are NOT played normally in cold weather. ANY musician would know about the dynamics of temperature on instruments.

    And cut it out with your 'defeatist' talk. So the performance was prerecorded, at least it wasn't a Milli Vanilli thing and performed by other artists. The pre-recording was done by the people 'acting' during the inauguration. Get a life and enjoy the moment.

  • @blakebritton1976 they only prerecorded it so that the instrument did nto have any technical difficultites during the performance. in my opinion though, it still is amazing that they played it with the recording, and it still sounded absolutely amazing

  • Your don't make any sense.

  • @CromwellClassical a real musician plays for two things:themselves and the audience. I personally get a little sick when I hear out of tune instruments, especially strings. You're making it sound like they are just as bad as Major League Baseball for canceling games for a little drizzle. plus, a money smart string player would be playing on the crappiest instrument possible so as to not ruin their investment (a Stradivarius violin costs about as much as the tumbler from batman begins)

  • @CromwellClassical :

    Turns out that Obama's entire Presidency is a fake one; just like this performance!

  • @blakebritton1976 Tell em how it is Blake, I'm with you but Some people just don't understand.

  • @CromwellClassical also remember, they are musicians. @blakebritton1976 is right. although i believe that they played it live, but they used a recording for the television broadcast. they are very very great esteemed musicians. regardless, they did play this.

  • @CromwellClassical U R Wrong!

  • @CromwellClassical When Gabriella Montero was practicing, 12 piano keys were stuck because they were too cold.

  • @CromwellClassical It's not an excuse, it's a legitimate issue. This would have sounded horrible in the cold weather they had there. I play Clarinet, it's NOT a pretty sound when the reed doesn't warm up because it's too cold. Not to mention the cork shrinking and making the instrument go out of tune. That's just clarinet.... the materials on these instruments expand and contract like your doorways in the heat and cold, the difference is, you're not trying to stay in tune with your door.

  • yo yo ma is the man

  • omg they play so good i play cello and i performed this for my strings class but i wosent as this good

  • This old lady says, I wish I could play such beautiful music. Thank goodness for the Arts and for our new leader of these United States of America. Bless this first family and keep them safe and in your most glorious hands.

  • Wow good job, it's tough to play in the cold. The arrangement, I don't care for.

  • Man, I wish I was as good as Anthony McGill. :< Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time in the practice rooms before school this year.

  • haha join the club

  • Great piece.

    Actually, it reminded me a little bit of "The Patriot."

  • Does anyone besides me hear the song, "the Lord of the Dance" in here? I like the song a lot; is it available on Amazon MP3?

  • uhh yeah.. because it's the "SIMPLE GIFTS" part of "Air and Simple Gifts"

  • Absolutley Beautiful...

  • I love how yo yo ma is smiling the whole time XD Having Fun With Music :D

    I also love john williams music, he is my inspiration to hopefully be able to play and write music like this :)

    John Williams Forever

  • Yo yo Ma. Sorry, a little national pride here.

    YE China!

  • I agree aarzack. You people know (not to sound racist at all) people chose obama mainly becuase he is the first african american president not becuase of his ideas.

  • Not really.... Only 16% of the population consists of African Americans and even 6/7 of them voted for Obama. Get your facts straight woman

  • i see where you are coming from, but maybe blacks chose Obama b/c they felt that a fellow African American felt their struggles and identified w/ their aspirations and backgrounds?? Just a thought =)

  • Go to hell with your conspiracy theories. I'm tired of assholes like you spewing your shit all over the place. If you don't like Obama, then shut the fuck up dumb ass. Fucking annoying ass prick.

  • That's stupid, it is fundamentally American for us to question our government and the people who manage it.

    It would be extremely un-American to just "shut up" if someone questioned our President. It seems to me that you would be the ignorant one for blindly accepting whatever is spoon fed to you by government officials.

    Whether its Barack Obama, or George Bush, its never right to just "shut up".

  • These comments are off-topic. How can you debate about politics when listening to something amazing like this?

  • HAHAHAHAHA *ass prick* LOL

  • I love the probably purposful diversity in the players. A white man, a black man, a chinese man, and a woman. Goes well with the times of change and tolerance.

  • Comment removed

  • Yo Yo Ma's Chinese.

  • hey, in my book that black guy is now the only person in the world allowed to play clarinet

  • @DireWolf716 Maybe it's just a coincidence? I mean, you really can't find a better cellist than Yo-Yo Ma.

  • @DireWolf716 Actually that would be a Jew, a Chinese man, a black man, and a woman. So even more diverse than you thought :)

  • They were not playing this live. Thats okay, its not a bad thing. The cold weather would have prevented the instruments from staying in proper tune. Its not that these artists could not manage to "play it for real". It is not like lipsynching. It is just what was required in this situation. It was readily acknowledged during the broadcast.

  • This video its on live!! they are really playing!! dont you know about Ithzak Perlman and YoYo Ma? they never do playbacks like britney or ashley simpson, they are so much talented and professional people.

  • they actually were playing its just they had a recording over it due to weather issues and wind

  • they didnt play it for real if they did play the instruments sound off pitch

  • ya know, this makes me proud to be a wvu mountaineer, even more so a part of the Pride of West, because we play Simple Gifts for one of our selections during our pre-game show =)

  • obama is a big fan of yo yo

  • The cello is over 200 years old.

  • its pre recorded, they WOULD NOT TAKE those instruments into such cold, or be able to play in tune to say the least.....

  • yes, HOW DARE YOU SCUM AHHHHHHH!!!! for real though what is your problem???

  • so is the Country ; }

  • yitzhak is just awesome, hope he will perform more.

  • Comment removed

  • if its out of sync thats youtubes fault

  • you know nothing about perlman

  • 3:37 all throughout 4:12 made me tear up..it was soooo beautiful!!

    here we have random people talking about insturments that are cheap..who the heck cares...try pulling off a performance like this!!!

    i dont care if the cello was $1.00, it was the highlight of my year.....there isnt a word in the dictionary to explain my feeling on that day

  • :) I feel exactly the same

  • this song is so good!!

    i luv it

  • "A broken string was not an option" -Yo-Yo Ma-

    They brought their cheaper instruments to the inauguration.

    The cold temperature would have killed those instruments if they had been playing all out.

  • ummm.... the song was previously recorded, and those are carbon fiber instruments......

    when our orchestra teacher told us, we were all very depressed

  • Yes, I know that it was previously recorded. Yo-Yo Ma said that knowing quite well what the cold could do to the instruments.

    My orchestra teacher didn't know till her students told her. -_-'

  • im confused...how could it b previously recorded

  • pretty simple(or at least im pretty sure it is.) they recorded it in a studio, so even though they rly are playing here, they have the recorded version overlapping their playing in case of a mistake and for better sound quality.

  • Please view the video under DMS, he is a 3 year old whom was very inspired and played his piano from home while watching Yo-Yo MA and the other musicians during the inauguration. You can see them on his tv as he is playing his piano - it is sooo cute!

  • While I was sitting in my Public Policy class and we turned on the inauguration and they said that a person named "Yo-yo Ma" was going to perform a piece I was like "Oh god not a rapper at a presidential inauguration". Man was I wrong, it was beautiful

  • that's exactly what i thought

  • Actually they are playing in a way

    it was previously recorded 2 days ago in a studio

    chek wikipedia

    they are playing but nothing is comiing out

    they soaped the strings of the cello and the violin to be silent

    they were concerned about the weather as it was freezing cold and would've effected the instruments. The strings on the violin would've become loose making the sound lower

    :D:D

    sorry but its true

  • Did you seriously ****ing cite wikipedia?

  • I believe that it was pre-recorded, because it sounds too perfect to be an outdoor performance, also I was wondering why Yo Yo Ma's cello looked soooo cheapy orange like a chinese instrument. Now it make sense! It is a cheap cello!!

  • well how was it recorded if it was on live tv. Also the cello he uses might look cheap but it has a good sound. It actually looks like my cello and it has that same sound quality that mine does. It's not about how it looks it's all about how it sounds

  • Well apparently it was not "Live". mmm not sure your cello would sound the same, sounds is made by the player NOT by the instrument! Anyway type in "perlman obama pre recorded music" in google and you'll read all about it!

  • The truth is, it was performed live and at the same time the recorded version was playing for the massive crowds in the distance. The musicians were actually playing the instruments live and people in the VIP section were hearing the music live. But for the benefit of the large audience the recorded version was played on the loud speakers.

  • listen to the brillance of the music...

  • Being Fake.

  • MILLI VANILLI 2009

  • Joseph Brackett, Shaker elder at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, wrote the song 'Tis the Gift to be Simple in 1848. Over the years, it has been shortened to Simple Gifts.

    The song was recorded by Sister Mildred Barker in 1977 on Rounder Records 0078, as noted in my fiddle tune book, "New England Fiddlers Repertoire" (Fiddlecase Books, 3rd Ed. 2008).

  • This piece is just breath taking....do anyone know where I can find this on cd?

  • Perlman played for kennedy,reagan and bush.he stayed and they went.

  • Haha, it was taped because they were scared the strings on the instruments would snap from the cold.

    But very good none the less.

  • actually, they taped it because the qulity of the instrument weren't good enough for the cold weather outside

  • Um, no. They taped it because the cold would've destroyed their high-quality instruments, and you can't keep instruments in tune when it's that cold outside.

  • Bingo!

    For the recorded version, Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma are undoubtedly playing instruments that are worth tens of thousands of dollars if sold at auction as each of them owns a Stradivarius.

    You don't screw around with one of those instruments.

  • it's really cool cause it sounds like a movie soundtrack or something that john williams would conduct :D

  • A very visualitic piece that describes the work that is needed in his term:courage, understanding, patience, and wisdom. Great piece.

  • OMG... they are having so much fun playing that... YO YO MA is just smiling and enjoying himself.

  • This is a honor for obama that perlman is playing for him.

  • what a treat .

  • 1:59

    To bow, and to bend, we shan't be ashamed...

  • from about 1:10 to 3:25 its Lord of the Dance... its my moms favorite hymn so i recognized it haha

    an amazing performance i love this song!

  • It's actually originally known as "Simple Gifts." It's a Shaker hymn dating back to 1848. The "Lord of the Dance" lyrics were composed for the music in 1963. It's also used in Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring."

  • and i also love 3:35

  • i love this video they play so good. I like the part at 1:27

  • and 3:35 and3:12

  • 'Tis is really artistic! Go Barack Obama!

  • this arrangement is amazing. Copeland has always rocked my world and John Williams is so much more than a 'hollywood' composer(not that I don't dig JAWS and the emperor's theme from starwars). He eluded to this piece during a recent NPR interview. The work @ 1:30 ish was amazing. Snagging diads of the progression, and substituting diads. Layering them in seemingly random rhythms. Call and return with the clarinet. The piece is wonderfully short. Its all 'meat'. Every note is critical. Love it!

  • woulda been good with the intro chords... ;)

  • I heard this live, today. (well, yesterday, by now). I wasn't expecting to at all, and in the cold standing there like a sardine with the worst headache I've ever had in the world, to hear this from out of the blue was just the most incredible thing ever. I can't think of a more deserving person than President Obama

  • same for me. this was some nice icing.

  • Venezuelan pride!!! It was great to see our Gabriela performing in such an important stage and occasion. All of them did brilliantly, as usual. It was an inspiring day.

  • Gabriela Montero looks gorgeous !!!

  • wow. this was an amazing performance by all of them. it made my mood change from anxious to excited to peaceful it was beautiful. end of story. yo-yo ma looks like he's having a great time and they all sound amazing :-)

  • Beautiful. This was one of the many wonderful moments today. Four of the most accomplished and gifted musicians of our time.

  • The end was gorgeous.

  • Love it. Hopefully this will surface. Love me some Copeland! Nice to see it interwoven into a new piece for this occasion.

  • My God. Anthony McGill, sounds like a clarinet angel singing in heaven! His tone is just so clear, and beautiful, and round, and rich, and dark, and....just wonderful!