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Music must be seen and heard through the gestures of the musicians.
— Gilbert Rouget, "Entretien", in De bouche à oreille,
Geneva, 1988, p. 184, translation.
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Sport involves training the body for competition
and putting on a performance to capture the interest of the spectators.
Music is the product of an activity
executed by the body that involves a form of production, contact with the
public and communication. These elements of performance are present when
national anthems are played after athletes receive their medals. A symbol
of the sovereign power of a state, the national anthem is part of the production
of the event: it reaches out to the public, communicates a message, and is
theatrical in the sense that it is played. The theatrical aspect of such an
event is apparent in other musical traditions when the public's presence is
essential to the performance of the music. The public is in fact indispensable
to the dramatization of the performance.
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