4-30-05 Verdi’s Requiem
Equipment List
Audio Samples
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thoughts
This piece of work is really big and really small. I chose to use the M150 as mains after a long and careful debate. I felt the quality of strings are lost on other professional recordings because of their consideration for the brass. Unfortunately, this approach was not perfectly suited for this orchestra, because of the excessive tambre the trumpets and brass threw into the mics. So two omni outriggers and two hall omnis were hung to both diffuse those instruments and give a larger sound during the bigger passages. In the final mix, the main sound will come from the rears, while during the quiet solo passages the closer mics will be relied on. Also, the M150's were spaced and then turned straight down so the brass were placed in the slight hole in the middle which increased as frequency increase (and taking out the excessive high end of the brass). This was ok in the end because the soloists were miked well, along with the chorus, and because other hi-lite mics were used the 2-spaced omni effects were minimal.
As for the soloist's microphones, they were chosen based on previous experience. However I did a preliminary test with the soprano, Melanie Helton, between a few different microphones. Though the ribbon was my first choice, putting a delicate microphone out next to one of the loudest base drum sections in a live concert setting, I had to be sure it was worth it.
Hi-lite microphones were minimal compared to the usual. Because I'm a percussionist, I like definition, so the timpani got a mic. Using a mic on the base violin is also a must. The chorus microphones were hung by The Wharton Center.
—Blair—
location...
The Wharton Center, Great Hall
