Expert: Pat G - 8/7/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi -

I would like to know what the name of the duet playing in the background of this video clip is.  Also, is it German?

Clip from 5:49 - 9:15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny10opKl8QM

Thank you in advance.

Charles



ANSWER: Hello, Charles,

I can't give you an ironclad answer. I was torn between listening to the dialog and the words in the duet. But you can use the name of the movie/series plus the search terms "music credits" to get more information. I'm guessing it's from a Johann Strauss opera, so you might go to Amazon.com and listen to clips from his operas. They have lots of them as a general rule. Sounded like German to us.

I couldn't decide if the dialog was in Korean or Japanese. Japanese has only two tones, but I heard at least three. And the vocabulary wasn't super-familiar to me. Some of the actors must be Korean, judging by their names. But Japanese actors are also listed. I have a limited Japanese vocabulary.

But if you do a search to come up with a web site that has music credits, it may tell you. I was only able to come up with credits for the first twelve episodes without a lot of searching, and this is episode 13. They do seem to flit from one excerpt to another. In the part you gave me, the earlier music sounded Italian to me, though it's not an opera I'm familiar with, at least not that part. In the next part, I first heard a symphony that is very familiar, but the name didn't pop into my head, and then it goes to a violin concerto. Mendelssohn?

Wish I could be more help.

PS This has been driving me nutz! The music is so familiar but I just can't put a name to it! The next thought that occurred was Offenbach, because of the 3/4 time and the rhythmic impression. Think of some of his other music. So I looked at German opera duets. No luck at Amazon. I tried again searching for music credits. Without going to a lot of trouble looking through all the hits, I drew a blank. The fact it seems to be German limits what it might be, because most of the operas of that era were composed in Italian. So I wrote a note to the person who posted the YouTube video. I'll see if I get an answer. Let me know if you find out anything. Thanks!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:
Thanks for your research. To answer some questions, the video is in fact Korean and from a recently finished 16 episode show called "The Man Who Can't Get Married."  Korean shows do not credit classical pieces, similar to American sitcoms, while they do for movies.  The actor is Ji Jin Hee and the actress is Korean pop singer Uhm Jung Hwa.

Throughout the series they play assorted classical and opera pieces.  The piece preceding the one in question sounds like Rossini.  

The search continues...

Answer
Hi, Charles,

Thank you for the additional information. Listening to the dialog, I only heard one word that might be Japanese, so I'm real comfortable with the idea it's Korean. And I'm comfortable with the idea that the earlier music is Rossini.

What I found out is that there ARE music credits for the first twelve episodes. Here is the link: http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Kekkon_Dekinai_Otoko . If unsure, one can watch other episodes and see if the music corresponds. I wouldn't have any difficulty recognizing some of these other pieces, so I might take a listen when I have more time.

I am assuming that the name is Korean for the same show, but that may not be correct. If this is the case, there should be more music credits eventually. And who knows? It might pop into my head, and I just might ask someone at the classical music station! They probably won't have any trouble identifying it. The station I listen to is by streaming audio: theclassicalstation.org . Good place if you're not familiar with it.

Anyway, we'll see what we uncover when we turn over the rocks, eh? Hey, I'm just a natural-born sleuth! :)