600 voices

[5flagsaudio]

A couple of weeks ago, I had the fun job of recording a 600 voice choir in a church. The church was a large, fan-shaped building with balcony and floor seating that seems to be the going style with the Southern Baptists. The choir entirely filled the choir loft, 12 rows of the left and rightmost pews, the steps leading up into the balcony and part of the balcony. The strings sat on the pulpit area, and the winds sat in the floor area, between the pews and pulpit. I miked it with a Neuman USM-69 in blumlein and a pair of Earthworks QTC-40s flanking the the 69. The mics had to be placed in the aisle, so I kept the right at the conductor's back. In a session, I would have liked to have them farther away from the orchestra, but since this was with audience, I opted for the safety of my equipment over the best mic placement.

I wish I had some pictures, but I didn't have a camera with me. The TV people promised a screen shot, but have yet to follow through.

Here's a sample:

[tenor39]

A pretty good result, considering the limitations you had to work with. My only caveat would be to use the USM69 in X/Y cardioid instead of Blumlein. I hear a hole in the middle that you don't get with X/Y. The omni's will capture the room ambience just fine. Nicely done.

[phil.]

The exact 90 degrees recording angle you get when using the Blumlein technique is always a great challenge! It must be tough with a 600 piece choir the way it was set-up for your recording.

Tough Task, well done!!! thumbsup

Phil.