{"id":67440,"date":"2023-08-30T01:20:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T01:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/likecelebwn.com\/?p=67440"},"modified":"2023-08-30T01:20:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T01:20:06","slug":"lizzo-has-been-invited-to-perform-at-james-madisons-house-in-virginia-after-she-played-his-flute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/likecelebwn.com\/lifestyle\/lizzo-has-been-invited-to-perform-at-james-madisons-house-in-virginia-after-she-played-his-flute\/","title":{"rendered":"Lizzo Has Been Invited To Perform At James Madisons House In Virginia After She Played His Flute"},"content":{"rendered":"
American singer and rapper Lizzo <\/span>visited the Library of Congress for a tour of its flute collection. The collection includes a crystal flute once owned by the fourth president, which the library permitted Lizzo to play there and again during a concert last week.<\/span><\/p>\n The “About Damn Time” singer made history last month when she played a few notes on a historic crystal flute that once belonged to President James Madison.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, the fourth president’s estate, Montpelier, has extended an invitation to the 34-year-old star to come perform on the sprawling Virginia property he called home for 76 years, PEOPLE confirms. The invite was first reported by <\/span>TMZ<\/span> and <\/span>Billboard<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n To say that Lizzo played the flute during the concert is generous: She barely fluttered through a couple of notes before shaking her derriere like she just didn\u2019t care.<\/span><\/p>\n When <\/span>video<\/span> of this performance circulated, some prominent conservatives saw it as a demonstration of the left\u2019s disrespect for the American founding. \u201cThey degrade our history,\u201d one wrote. Another claimed: \u201cThis is about humiliating white people, about desecrating American history and heritage.\u201d While there were unfortunate elements to Lizzo\u2019s performance, this was an overreaction; there was actually a lot to admire about the moment, according to the <\/span>Wall Street Journal<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n RELATED: <\/b>Lizzo Gifts Planned Parenthood $1M After Roe V. Wade Overturned<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n “The incredibly talented Lizzo brought history to life when she played Madison’s flute at a packed concert in Washington, DC last week,” a Montpelier spokesperson tells <\/span>PEOPLE <\/span><\/i>in a statement. “We are overjoyed that Lizzo shared the now-famous instrument’s beautiful music with the world as her songs are an example of how music is a universal language that brings people together. This is exactly what Montpelier strives for: bringing Americans closer by telling a more complete American story rooted in whole truth history. Recognizing how busy Lizzo’s schedule is, both James Madison’s Montpelier and the Montpelier Descendants Committee enthusiastically welcome the superstar to bring her music to Montpelier, where we are committed to honoring the legacies of President James Madison, the U.S. Constitution, and generations of enslaved Americans,\u201d according to <\/span>PEOPLE<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n True, Lizzo\u2019s suggestive dancing detracted from the historical significance of her playing an instrument that once belonged to the Father of the Constitution. So did her swearing (she really likes to swear) and her outfit, which looked like something Liberace would have designed for Richard Simmons.<\/span><\/p>\n Yet it\u2019s unfair to dwell on these details without noting that she told the audience the history of the flute and also raved, \u201cHistory is cool, you guys\u201d\u2014not exactly Thucydides, but closer to him than anything I\u2019ve ever heard at a concert. In these ways, she showed real respect for the instrument, which makes it hard to imagine the moment as a deliberate attempt to disparage America\u2019s past. Rather, it was a clumsy attempt to celebrate it.<\/span><\/p>\n A better measure of Lizzo\u2019s attitude toward the flute and what it represents is a much more subdued <\/span>video<\/span> that circulated later. If the first emphasized Lizzo the Rump Shaker, the second showcased Lizzo the Flautist. Recorded at the Library of Congress, it shows Lizzo dressed more appropriately and playing the flute for longer and with more skill. She also evinces sincere joy and appreciation for the opportunity to play the instrument in one of the country\u2019s most beautiful buildings. And although she again spoils the moment with her Rump Shaker shtick, that routine is overshadowed by the length and skill of the flute playing.<\/span><\/p>\n There is poignant symbolism in seeing one of the nation\u2019s most famous performers\u2014and a black woman\u2014demonstrate some reverence for an instrument that once belonged to one of our nation\u2019s most important founding figures\u2014and a slave owner. The moment signals both America\u2019s imperfect progress and a healthy, though flawed, appreciation of our past.<\/span><\/p>\n Another important detail that\u2019s getting lost in all this: It\u2019s remarkable that a pop star like Lizzo works the flute into her stage show. In a 2019 interview with <\/span>CBS<\/span><\/i>, Lizzo explained the work she put into flute practice: \u201cI remember in the fifth grade, I just wanted to be really good. I was, like, \u2018I want to be really good at the flute. Everybody else is so bad.\u2019 And it was so hard to be good at it. It\u2019s a very difficult instrument. I became, like, obsessed with being good.\u201d This is an impressive work ethic, directed toward an admirable end. It\u2019s unfortunate that she almost always diminishes these solos by twerking or cursing, perhaps because she feels pretentious, elitist or simply incongruous when she plays the instrument.<\/span><\/p>\n With any luck, Lizzo will incorporate the flute into her singles. There\u2019s precedent, albeit only slightly newer than Madison\u2019s flute: Bands from the Beatles to Beastie Boys recorded great songs with a flute, and Jethro Tull based its entire sound around the instrument. Lizzo could inspire more young fans to take up the instrument and develop their own musical abilities.<\/span><\/p>\n In the meantime, we should see that despite the shortcomings of Lizzo\u2019s concert performance, she demonstrated some reverence for American history\u2014and this was even more clear in her performance at the Library of Congress. Let\u2019s praise her for those positive moments and be glad she encouraged, albeit imperfectly, her millions of fans to share her awe.<\/span><\/p>\n The flute was made for Madison ahead of his second inauguration in March 1813 by French craftsman Claude Laurent, according to the <\/span>Library of Congress<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The instrument was saved from the White House by First Lady Dolley Madison in April 1814 as the British entered Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812. Madison’s name is engraved on the flute’s silver joint, as well as the year it was made.<\/span><\/p>\n Madison’s flute was apparently passed down to John Payne Todd, Dolley Madison’s son from her first marriage, sometime in the 1800s and was eventually sold to Dayton C. Miller, an Ohio physicist and instrument collector in the early 20th century. He sold his instrument collection to the Library of Congress in 1941, the LoC’s website reads.<\/span><\/p>\n The Library also made sure to note that Lizzo’s performance would have no negative effects on the instrument.<\/span><\/p>\n “For those concerned about the flute: Music Division curators made sure it could be played without damage,” it said in a blog post. “This sort of thing is not all that unusual, in fact. Some of the Library’s priceless instruments were donated with the stipulation that they remain functional & be played.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n READ NEXT: <\/b>Herschel Walker Adamantly Denies Allegations That He Paid For An Abortion<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Sources: <\/span>TMZ<\/span>, <\/span>Billboard<\/span>, <\/span>PEOPLE<\/span>, <\/span>The Wall Street Journal<\/span>, <\/span>CBS<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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