Historical past and music collided at Lizzo’s live performance when the singer performed an extremely uncommon, 200-year-old crystal flute made for President James Madison.
All of it started when Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden took to Twitter to ask the 34-year-old, who has performed the flute since childhood, to check out a number of the Library’s in depth assortment of flutes.
“Like your tune,” Hayden tweeted, “they’re ‘Good as hell.’ ”
Lizzo responded the next day, writing in all caps, “I am coming Carla! And I am taking part in that crystal flute!”
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Lizzo was given a grand tour of the Library’s flute vault Monday, the place she was in a position to follow on a number of flutes earlier than the live performance and blew a number of notes within the Nice Corridor and Fundamental Studying Room, the Library shared.
The crystal flute Lizzo performed at her live performance in Washington, D.C. is one in all about 1,700 flutes within the Library’s huge assortment, the largest flute assortment on the earth, in response to Hayden.
Whereas onstage on the Capital One Enviornment, Lizzo set down her personal flute, named Sasha Flute, earlier than Library curator Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford very delicately walked the crystal flute over for Lizzo to play.
“I’m scared,” Lizzo informed the gang. “It’s crystal, it’s like taking part in out of a wine glass!”
Lizzo performed only a few notes after which twerked for the gang.
“No person has ever heard this well-known crystal flute earlier than,” Lizzo tweeted after the present, once more in all caps. “Now you might have.”
The flute has been performed very not often, doubtless for a public Madison occasion, in accordance Ward-Bamford. It was doubtless performed extra in Madison’s lifetime.
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What’s the crystal flute?
Claude Laurent — a French craftsman who patented the leaded glass flute in 1806 — despatched a crystal flute to President James Madison for his second inauguration on the peak of the glass instrument’s recognition. Madison’s identify, title and the yr of its manufactureare engraved on it.
Laurent’s invention got here at a time when most flutes had been fabricated from wooden or ivory. Glass flutes held a greater pitch and tone throughout temperature modifications however ultimately turned out of date with the invention of metallic flutes within the mid-Nineteenth century.
There are solely 185 of Laurent’s glass flutes recognized to outlive immediately and the Library holds 17 of them.
The flute was deemed secure to play with out the chance of harm, the Library added. In actual fact, many flutes within the assortment had been donated to be performed.
“This kind of factor is just not all that uncommon,” the Library tweeted.
Camille Superb is a trending visible producer on USA TODAY’s NOW crew.
