Music of Magnificence

Yesterday Duncan Lowe from Infidel Studios and I headed to the Music of Magnificence concert at the High Court of Australia to do a recording of the performance. The concert is part of the High Court’s Free Sunday Concert Series.

Duncan Lowe getting set up for recording in the High Court foyer
Duncan Lowe getting set up for recording in the High Court foyer

We set up eight channels for recording: a blumlein pair using Audio Technica 4050’s, a 4 channel ambisonic option using an Oktava 4D, and an A-B pair using Oktava MK-012’s with omni capsules.

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The microphone configuration: 4050’s at the front (left), 4D in the centre, and spaced pair at the rear.

We only had a very short window to set up in, no sound check, and limited places we could set up in without getting in the way of the audience. There was a great audience for the concert, with the High Court running out of seats. The cool thing about the concert was that it used the space to create a 3D performance space, with performers being stationed at various places in front, behind, above and below the audience. The challenge for us was to try to capture the whole space effectively.

Recording Rig
Our recording rig comprising a pair of Classic API VP28’s (I only just made them and they sound amazing), a pair of Neve 8801’s, a Prism Orpheus and MacBook Pro. The conductor can be seen just behind the rig, with the Polifemy vocal ensemble seen above.

We have only done a quick listen back so far. The blumlein pair sounds quite nice and present. The omnis are a little more washy, but with a little EQ might turn out quite nicely, and we haven’t given the ambisonic option a decoding yet.

 

 

 

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