Ensure the context of your work is understood

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This video appeared on YouTube, presented by TFO a Canadian TV broadcasting company, bilingually entitled 'Le piano vivant / Living Piano'. Apparently translations into English do not merit the inclusion of the definite article. So far so not very informative. My friend Percy Veere, a man of almost superhuman persistence and relentlessness in pursuit of information—more like a dog with a bone really, come to think of it—followed the link and after much digging and rooting around discovered that: "TFO is the French-language public cultural and educational television network of the Canadian province of Ontario. TFO offers multiplatform media content for Francophone and Francophile audiences. TFO’s educational content is designed for children attending French schools and French immersion schools."

You may have thought mention of "definite article" was a weak attempt at nerdy humor. Think what you will. Howerever, the Macintosh OSX system dictionary says: "definite article: noun Grammar: a determiner (the in English) that introduces a noun phrase and implies that the thing mentioned has already been mentioned, or is common knowledge, or is about to be defined (as in the book on the table; the art of government; the famous poet and short story writer)." None of those qualifications is met by the TFO YouTube presentation.

The context of the movie is to be found on the Coloribus guide to those invaluable providers of truth and reliable information, the advertising agencies. Picture coverage at the Glossy agency for 'Mad Men' fans. The guide and the agency are more forthcoming about the context of the video (we suspect the promotion is some kind of trade secret):

In collaboration with the Festival d’Opéra de Québec, TFO brought opera to the people by inviting the public to engage with a new interactive and never-been-seen-before instrument. The Living Opera Organ is a 12-note, giant keyboard that you play with your feet, featuring opera singers who elegantly belt out their corresponding notes as the different keys are played. From children to seniors to the occasional dog, TFO allowed the public to play with and discover opera as they moved from note to note, making music every step of the way.

TFO is the only public television station in Ontario that features opera as a part of their weekly programming. Discover opera for yourself on CINETFO+ on Sundays at 8pm or visit TFO.org for a complete schedule.

Client: TFO
Agency: Lowe Roche
Production House: 1ONE
Music House: Apollo Studios

It was released in the Sep. 2013

Once you have plumbed the impenetrable depths of this advertising, done your research and ascertained you are in the TFO reception area, presumably you can pop along to its online program guide (or "horaire télé" as Francophones like to say). We were unable to decipher the last part—not so much a shortcoming of our rusty school French, we suspect, but more of those impenetrable advertising depths—so are unable to tell you what televisual riches might await your visit. We once had a mentor in our own days as promoters, salespersons, and shills, who often offered the educational guidance (or "ressources pédagogiques" as Francophones like to say): "Selling is about making it easy for people to make decisions." Not in Ontario apparently.

If any of this induces a little déjà vu (as we Anglophones like to say) then perhaps at some time in the past you watched the movie 'Big' with Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia:

…or you may have visited FAO Schwartz in NYC (established in 1862 it claims to be the oldest toy store in the USA and is now operated by Toys Я Us Inc.) where the 'Big' floor-piano dance scene was filmed:

Do you want your kids to grow up smart and talented, albeit they may one day fall into the clutches of Simon Cowell? Buy them a Monster Piano for fun and exercise! Perhaps before splashing out big bucks, you may prefer to start them off with one or other of the more modestly priced Fisher-Price [1] [2] alternatives. Keep dancing!

Please do not try the following at home: Athanasius Kircher (1601 or 1602-1680) invented the Katzenklavier (cat organ). In our own times—perhaps only window dressing given recent local reports of a cat-killing rampage in a nearby town—such absurdity has been deemed fit only for whacky T shirt humor and at politically correct uppercrust garden parties for the princes for whom the cruel musical entertainment was originally designed:

The Original Keyboard Cat 2004 l

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