Keywords

audio engineering, recording choir and orchestra, assessment of engineering techniques

Abstract

From an audio engineer's perspective, producing a recording that features a choir and orchestra requires many careful considerations. It is reasonable to suggest that paramount to the final product is the intelligibility of the sung text. It is well known that the singer's formant, visible as a spectral peak around 3,000 Hz, assists a singer to be heard over an orchestra. Research indicates however that in choral singing this region is much lower in amplitude than in operatic singing. Because of many acoustic variables, the singing may well be masked and the text obscured. Critical listening analysis of recordings of choir and orchestra was performed. An assessment of engineering techniques of recording engineers with experience recording a cappella choir and choir with orchestra was also conducted. Analysis reveals that the role of the orchestra determines how the choir is treated in the final mix. When the orchestra has a more soloistic role, as in a masterwork, the choir is more distant on the sound stage and overall less intelligible; and when the orchestra is more accompanimental, the choir is more forward in the mix with greater transient detail, and direct sound and is therefore much more intelligible. Audio engineers do excellent work enhancing the choral sound but more detailed work on the part of performing musicians and engineers could greatly enhance textual intelligibility.