Last night's Oscars marked the end of an era. The end of the "there's the exit" music, which used to swell up so rudely the moment an award recipient droned on just a bit too long. Last night, in its place, the music director had the strings begin a gentle (less obnoxious) tremolo, which, if the speaker failed to take his/her cue was joined only by a bit of non-descript noodling on the piano.
This is a huge shift and a most welcome one.
Because whereas in past years the orchestra would start playing "exit music," here there was not music but rather sound, the distinction being that music contains melody in relation to harmony and rhythm, all of which combine to pull our focus in a big way from the words being spoken into the microphone. By replacing this with sound in the form of the string section all holding a gentle tremolo on one chord, the effect was more akin to slightly dimming the lights. Far less jarring. And far less rude.
Bravo! Here's hoping this is the beginning of a new era at the Oscars.
P.S. Who was this year's music director? I missed it!
