daveb@rtech.UUCP (Dave Brower) (06/23/85)
> ...hall ambience) is precluded. Even more difficult for me to understand > was the use of separate mikes, each no more than a foot away from the > singer, for soloists of the likes of Te Kanawa and Carreras who are > trained to project over large orchestras in the world's largest opera > houses. > > As the show proceeds, one reason for this becomes apparent. At one > point, Bernstein can't hear the lower voices and the trombones. Since > they have been miked for maximum isolation, the technicians in the control > room can "take care of it" by raising the level of that individual line > rather than having them play it again. I think that here is ultimately > the crux of the matter of why a 1956 Reiner or Dorati recording sounds > so much better than a number of CD's produced in the last year... > > It was interesting that this recording was being made by DGG and that > they used Andrew Kazdin as a producer. Is it mere coincidence that > it has been years since DGG produced a recording that had any sense of > space or ambience, and that Kazdin has been responsible for a number > of CBS multi-mike monstrosities? For argument's sake, leave aside the qualitative aspect of multi-miking and consider the economics of having an orchestra sitting around for take after take after take following lengthy rehearsals elsewhere. Then consider having a few short rehearsals outside and recording the whole orshestral track in a few sessions with balance problems "fixed in the mix." Perhaps Mr. Kazdin's chief qualification (to CBS and DGG) is his ability to finish a project on time and under budget. -- {amdahl|dual|sun|zehntel}\ {ucbvax|decvax}!mtxinu---->!rtech!daveb ihnp4!{phoenix|amdahl}___/