BBC Documentary - The Golden Ring ?

[hollywood_steve]

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/...71153dvda.html

I'm sure plenty of you guys have seen this, or at least the prior VHS version. The reviews all make it sound like the greatest recording related film footage ever shot. How about some comments from some actual recording engineers?

And how painful would it be for a non-recording geek to watch? Or should I plan on solo viewing?

Thanks

Steve
lex125@pacbell.net
www.lexington125.com

[Remoteness]

Thanks for the link Steve.

Just saw the website.

I want to view this DVD real soon.

Solo or with a crowd, it's sounds very inviting for an audio nut like myself.

Has anyone seen it yet?

[BevvyB]

F***!

i've never heard of that doc

...buying it

[Plush]

The video is great and the dvd even better because of the extra film footage and interviews included. This BBC documentary details the last few weeks of recording of the final installment of Wagner's "Ring Cycle,"--Gotterdammerung.

How about the outrage of the Decca engineers soldering in the mic cables to the electronics. How about the guts to cut the master tape right there in the session to check if a certain edit works?

The care and major sweating of the details during the set-up and recording are fun to watch. Remember that this was the biggest and most expensive recording project ever undertaken up until that time.

If the engineers screw up they have every big name of the era cooling their heels waiting for the problem to be fixed. The end result speaks for itself. Mindblowing!

[hollywood_steve]

How about the outrage of the Decca engineers soldering in the mic cables to the electronics. How about the guts to cut the master tape right there in the session to check if a certain edit works?
*************************

ok, I'm still waiting for my copy, so I'll bite.....why the heck were they soldering the cables in place? where the connectors worn out and the cables kept falling loose? (this really doesn't happen with XLR connectors, at least not in my life) other reason?

steve
lex125@pacbell.net
www.lexington125.com

[Plush]

During the era of the Ring recording, mic connectors were not standardized. Europe used several different connectors, the US others and the UK others still. Check the movie for the outrage of the soldering. They wanted to make sure nothing came loose.

Now, we have it easy compared to the era of custom built and designed gear that required an on site ee to supervise the whole techincal set-up.

[hollywood_steve]

Finally got my copy and had a chance to watch it last night. For anyone with even the slightest interest in audio recording, this documentary should be required viewing. The only downside is that the program brings on a powerful case of nostalgia for the way things used to be.

Some of the biggest surprises concerned the equipment. The microphones were the obvious choices, with M49s (or M50s?) being the most numerous. But I would not have guessed that they would have had as many as 24 open mics at one time on this "straight to stereo" recording! And that required a console much larger than anything I had seen in any photos from that era (except for a couple of monsters at the big Hollywood movie studios). The console used by the Decca team dwarfed anything I have seen in photos from Abbey Road from that period. Was it a custom "in-house" creation by the Decca engineers?

Recording 20+ open mics straight to 2 track required an amazing choreagraphy of musicians, engineers and stagehands; a remarkable number of people were in motion at any time. And I don't understand how they could maintain that energy level for the length of the production. (in the days before recreational chemistry)

I think Amazon sells the DVD for around $26. Even if you have absolutely no interest in opera, (I didn't), you will be impressed by what this team achieved.

steve

[fifthcircle]

I got my copy of this DVD the other day and finally had time to watch it tonight...

What a fantastic disc to watch. Pretty amazing stuff. Thanks Steve for bringing this to my attention. I wouldn't have seen in otherwise...

--Ben

[Plush]

If anyone wants to delve deeper into the recording process and details get a copy of "The Ring Resounding" by John Culshaw.

This book is out of print but is available at music specialty book stores. Here the producer comments on many aspects fo the planning, recording and editing of the Ring project.

I too, never tire of seeing the dvd version of "The Ring Resounding." The dvd version has extra material on it compared to the standard VHS version.

Again, check the soldering!---and the cutting of the master.

[hollywood_steve]

I agree that the Ring Resounding book by Culshaw makes a great next step for anyone who has seen the DVD. It takes you through the whole 7 years of the Ring project. The only frustrating aspect to having watched the DVD and read the book was that I wanted to learn more about some of the main participants in the project; and unfortunately, both Culshaw and Solti have died. Has anyone read Culshaw's autobiography, published right after his death in '81?

steve

[Plush]

Culshaw's autobiography, "For the Record," is also out of print.
However, libraries and specialist music book shops might have it.

As far as the history of the Ring recording and Solti and the performers, there is a lot to read about! This information is not in short supply. Consult your library reader's guide.