| Listening to choirs
Hi,
I would find a cathedral in your area and listen to their choir chant, as in Gregorian (cantus planus), to learn what the human voice is capable of in a large reverberant space. Next, listen to any church choir singing motetti by GPPalestrina or Tomas Luis Vittoria, to get a feel for polyphony and a capella singing. Next, add instruments, and I don't mean organ but chamber orchestra with choral accompanyment - Handel, Hayden, Mozart, there's always something going on in bigger cities at Christmas or Easter.
After you can tell the difference, you're ready to talk to the choir director. Which choirs does she listen to for pleasure? if any. If she listens to Eurovision Song contest stuff, your search is done but if she listens to the Tallis Scholars and the Nederlands Kamerkoor, then you have challenging times ahead.
Some people use a soundfield microphone technique, others just use an omni spaced pair. If you use M/S:XY, put the women on either side of the group and the men in the middle for a starting balance: there's a reason there's only one piccolo in an orchestra. Choirs in Anglophone countries are commonly 70:30 pct, women to men, so if you're tempted to spot mic the men, favor the bass section and not the tenors. You'll discover why, later.
Choir is as difficult to get right as a grand piano and there are about as many techniques but as the previous poster said, first you have to know what the different periods are supposed to sound like live, not off a CD.
Good luck,
WT
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