The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
by Karl Jenkins
Performed by
THE SALT LAKE CHORAL ARTISTS
Recorded by me - Oct. 15, 2011
There can be so much confusion with a recording engineer whose name is Mike. And by the way when talking about placing a microphone on a performer, do you say "Let's mike the trombone or "mic?" It seems like there should be some formalization of audio tech. grammar.
Anyways, this concert was a great way to jump into all things new for me. I have worked at the University of Utah School of Music with Mike Cottle recording all the concerts and recitals and I was very familiar with the systems and equipment. But since I left to pursue a graduate degree in Sound Recording Technology at UMass Lowell, some things have changed.
When I was working in Libby Gardner Concert Hall before, there were 3 Neumann 184 to cover the choir loft. There was always the Crown SASS baffled stereo pair hanging actually in various positions over the stage for different ensembles. Since I've been gone, the center 184 remains over the loft and the other two are near the Crown in XY position. The Crown is about 10 feet above the stage at just about the edge of the stage.
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| View from the back wall of Libby |
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| Crown SASS and Neumann 184's |
The University of Utah recently acquired a pair of Schoeps CMC6 - MK5 microphones. The MK5 capsules are switchable between Omni and Cardioid and for this concert I used them on the choir, in cardioid, one for each half of the choir. It's always fun to try to place the microphones far enough away to capture a blend of the section of choir and balance that with the horns or percussion directly below the mics.
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| Left side Schoeps CMC6-MK5 |
Aside from the Crown and Neumann 184's, we had a soloist, Holly Sorenson whom I recorded with an AKG 414. The 414 has been my choice for all soloists that I've recorded on stage in the past.
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| AKG 414 on left and Beyer Dynamic on right for soloists |
An interesting part of this concert was that someone had once created a slideshow to accompany the live music. Another slideshow of WWII footage, more current footage and pictures was created to accompany each movement. I was asked to run the slideshow as well as record and I was amazed by the incredible emotional power the visual added to the music. Additionally, I was asked to work out playback which is a little tricky in Libby Gardner. If you are familiar with Karl Jenkin's work, he likes to record live music and incorporate it into composed material. The second movement Call to Prayers was recorded from a street in the Middle East.
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| Video setup for sync with live music |
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| My station. |
This is where I work in Libby. It is center hall and usually center stage. My laptop is turned around so I that we could stream the concert. This is the rehearsal but I tried streaming and it worked pretty well. Some bugs still but hopefully we can reach a larger audience in the States and abroad. And yes the box the right of the laptop is the Schoeps CMC6 box. Want one of my own...
STAY TUNED - AUDIO EXAMPLES ARE TO FOLLOW.
The stereo pairs behind Brady's head in picture 2 are the Crown SASS and the Neumann 184's. In the past I've really liked the sound of the Crown but I've leaned toward the overall sound of the Neumann and I have yet to determine if that is because of their XY positioning or their location. They are great for a stereo pair on the orchestra and pick up the string sections really well. They are also great if you are only using them and have a singer soloist on stage since the soloist is typically directly under the pair. The Crown I feel has a "warmer" sound to it with more emphasis in the mid to upper low range as compared to the Neumanns.
