# Recording a Symphony Orchestra



## geoffrey terry

Recording a Symphony Orchestra.

With heat generated by the orchestra itself there is a current of rising air immediately above the orchestra. 
Since sound is carried by moving air, it is simply a question of locating the optimum position above the orchestra to locate just TWO (i) microphones. NOT forward of the orchestra, as is generally the case in what is called stereo pair technique, such a choice disregards the rising air phenomenon.
I was privileged to have the opportunity to travel with orchestras from Eastern Europe and, being a recording engineer by profession, (ii) was delighted when I was granted permission to record a full symphony orchestra for the first time in 1966. The venue was the Royal Festival Hall.
It took the best part of a day to pinpoint the positions where the best balance and stereo image were represented. I had the advantage that I was working alone, there was no debate, it was my decision.
During rehearsal I felt that the microphone positions were in fact correct. The only task that remained was to set the recording level to the maximum position on maximum sound. That having been achieved the process during the concert was very simple. 
It is the task of the conductor to control dynamics and tonal quality during a performance, not the recording engineer, therefore, all I had to do was to select record and sit back and enjoy the concert, (from my position in a commentators box on the side of the stage).
The tapes of the many recordings I accumulated have entertained me for 40 years (iii) and now, with my age, I have begun to become concerned that the historic performances will be lost forever with my demise.
I founded Orchestral Concert CDs at the end of 2008 and have begun the process of releasing CDs of the recordings (iv) in the hope and belief that music lovers will enjoy the wonderful music that has been the centre of my life.
No reverberation has been added, the ambient sound is that of the venue itself. No spot microphone was used, in the case of a soloist that would only encourage the need to modify the balance created by the conductor, a definite NO.
The only electronic modifications that I permit myself are the removal of extraneous noises, providing that can be achieved without affecting the natural sound.
Certified, natural, sound, technique recording is the description applied to the recording technique described above. All the CDs I publish will carry the logo CNSTR to reassure the purchaser that the recordings were undertaken using this process. 
I have used the same technique for: an enlarged symphony orchestra, standard symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, many combinations of instruments, even the organ at the Royal Festival Hall (v) and for the purpose of recording Grande Opera. 
I recorded at the Cheltenham Festival, in Rochester Cathedral, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Albert Hall Nottingham, the Camden Centre. Also in Halls in the Czech Republic. In each situation and with all combinations of performers I utilized the same technique and achieved what I consider to be the best results possible for each circumstance.

(i)	Only two microphones are required because we only have two ears and with correct loudspeaker location on playback the resultant recorded sound can be replicated.
(ii)	I left the recording industry having become disenchanted with the methods employed by senior engineers.
(iii)	The age of the recordings might suggest inferior quality. That is not the case the Agfa PE36 tape I chose to record on has stood the test of time and the recordings play today as if they were recorded yesterday.
(iv)	I hope to issue approximately 40 CDs over the next 2 years; a catalogue of the recordings can be seen on www.orchestralconcertcds.com click 'recordings' on the left side of the opening page.
(v)	I invite you to judge the sound of this wonderful instrument a sample can be heard by clicking on 'Samples' and scrolling to the foot of the page.


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## Leogoldseed

What about adding microphones to each section, as this article suggests?
http://www.auralize.com/how-to-record-a-symphony-band-do-you-need-sixty-microphones


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## geoffrey terry

Leogoldseed said:


> What about adding microphones to each section, as this article suggests?
> http://www.auralize.com/how-to-record-a-symphony-band-do-you-need-sixty-microphones


In response to your comment:

Unfortunately, should more than two microphones be used to record a symphony orchestra additional technical actions would be necessitated to 'format' the resultant sound to stereo (1) as part of the overall process.

Permit me to elucidate:

In 1957 the old, Great Northern Hotel on 57th and Madison in New York City was made available to recording engineer Robert Fine so that he might undertake some of the most important recordings in history. 
In addition to creating the series of orchestral recordings known as, 'Mercury Living Presence', his brief was: 
To finally determine if it were possible to record a full symphony orchestra with just two microphones. He was provided with unlimited resources, in the form of:
1. Some of the leading engineers and technicians of the day 
2. A full armoury of the most sophisticated and advanced recording equipment 
3. Even a Symphony Orchestra. 
Should he achieve his goal one of the major problems of the recording process would be eliminated!

Robert had already established his credentials with his single-microphone, monophonic recordings of symphony orchestras. They were renowned for their natural sound and good standard of balance. 
The proposed investigation would be very important because, should it prove feasible to capture the full symphony orchestra with just two microphones, the conductors work could then remain unadulterated; whereas if more than two microphones were found to be essential to achieve perfect balance, the resultant multi-channel signals would need to be 'mixed down', albeit by a highly skilled balance engineer; the implication of which would be that the work of the conductor would be compromised; a most unsatisfactory effect. 
To move directly to the result. 
Following exhaustive trials, with all imaginable combinations, Robert concluded that the minimum number of microphones required for such a task was three. With only two, regardless of where they were positioned, left and right channels were clearly evident but there was a 'hole in the middle', created by the dominance of left and right. Therefore, for optimum results three microphones would need to be positioned left, right and centre of the orchestra. 
Furthermore, as a result of Robert's findings, it became necessary to construct a three, track recording machine. The drawback was that, following completion of the live recording process, a balance engineer, in this case Robert or his wife to be Wilma Cozart, were obliged to mix the three channels, down to two-track stereo. The resultant tape becoming the 'master' recording. 
Should there be too much signal from the centre microphone, during the mixing process, the stereo balance became unclear and the orchestra seemed to move. In fact, depending on how the signals were adjusted, there could be too much or too little left channel, too much or too little right channel - a tricky process indeed. 
Despite the slightly disappointing result with the new, three channel recording process Robert and his wife went on to make some of the most successful recordings in history; even today their work is considered to be a benchmark by which others are judged. 
The extraordinary technical advances of the subsequent forty-plus years have resulted in considerable changes to the recording process. Generally speaking, contemporary recordings are undertaken employing what is known as 'multi microphone' technique. 
In the first stage as many as sixty-four microphones are scattered amongst the instruments of the orchestra; on occasions even that number is exaggerated. The conductor then provides his highly skilled directions in the three fundamentals:
1. Balancing the instruments.
2. Setting the tempo.
3. Controlling the dynamics. 
Unfortunately, all his work is then overridden by a balance engineer, who constantly adjusts the signals to what HE believes to be the correct balance.
In the preparation of the digital Master, engineers replace fluffed notes, thereby suggesting that the orchestra is super human, and make yet more adjustments to the recorded signals to arrive at a final 'balance'; by now a long way from the conductors' original direction. Reverberation is added, to give the impression that the recording was undertaken in a huge concert hall or cathedral. Even the playing-time length is varied to suit the capacity of the CD. The resultant sound is technically satisfying but lacks the natural sound of a live performance. 
The 'development', or 'progress', of the techniques involved in recording a symphony orchestra have, in effect, been retrograde and today the majority of CDs sound like 'CDs'. They do not truly reflect the original sound of the orchestra, chamber ensemble, soloist; or, in the case of an opera recording, the soloists, chorus and orchestra. The decline, even 'death' of the classical music, recording industry is in no small way attributable to the industry itself, which has become more and more technical, when it should have become more and more musical. 
Returning for a moment to the 1950s/1960s. At the same time that Robert Fine was so heavily engrossed in his endeavour, I was putting into practice a passion I had held from when I was a small boy. 
Previously, on each occasion that I had the joy of attending a symphony concert, I was convinced that it was possible to record the event to a very high standard, near to the actual sound that I had enjoyed during the performance. 
In 1953, following a five-year stint in the RAF, I joined the staff of the Philips recording studio in the West End of London, but quickly became disillusioned with the methods employed by the senior engineers and moved on; working as a sound engineer in film radio and TV studios. With each recording session I was able to see the errors of the studio managers, although, since I was a junior member of the team, there was no question of commenting and finally I could no longer continue with work that was so unsatisfying and I left the industry to set up a Hi Fi business in the south of London. 
Until a couple of years ago (2010) I was completely unaware of the work of Robert Fine, and had given no thought to there being a potential problem in recording a symphony orchestra with two microphones, I had always had in my mind the dream of one day having the opportunity to put into practice a technique I had envisaged for as long as I could remember. 
In 1966, through my passion for music, I began to work part time, with the orchestral impresario Adolf Borsdorf who, initially, negotiated terms, then accompanied the orchestras from Eastern Europe during their tours of the UK. I received no payment for very long hours and considerable stress but the joy of living and working with an orchestra for a couple of weeks was ample recompense and one day, following my continued persistence, I was granted permission to record a live concert in the Royal Festival Hall London. The concert was to to be given by the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Janos Ferencsik - an historic occasion indeed.
In the early morning, on the day of the concert, I stood at the back of the RFH and studied the stage upon which the orchestra would be assembled. Instinctively I knew exactly where the two microphones must be positioned so as to capture every instrument, from pp to ff. A commentators box, on the side of the stage, was made available to me and from there I would have an uninterrupted view of the orchestra and conductor. 
The next task was to suspend the two microphones and to achieve that end I was obliged to clamber over the ceiling of the hall from where I then lowered the omni-directional microphones to their predetermined positions. That having been achieved I decided to confirm the original placement selection during the rehearsal by making small adjustments to the microphone positions, however, it quickly became evident that the first choice provided the most satisfactory results. 
Following the concert maestro Ferencsik and Adolf Borsdorf joined me in the commentators box to listen to the results of the recording. The general consensus was that the sound was a true, acoustic, mirror image of the concert. All three of us were amazed, we had never heard anything to compare with what we were then listening to. I would go so far as to say we were shocked.
The following evening there was a concert in another city and so it went on until the tour was completed. Thoughts of the recording faded until the same process was repeated during the tours of other orchestras and when the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, with their conductor Witold Rowicki and soloist Wanda Wilkomirska, gave a concert in the Royal Festival Hall, I positioned the two microphones in the identical positions as on all previous occasions; those that had, by then, been fully tried and tested. 
Forty seven years later a CD I mastered from the recording of the Warsaw Philharmonic concert was submitted to the German Record Critics' Association and, on the 5th November 2012, just a few days before my 77th birthday, much to my great delight, I received notification that the CD had won the prestigious prize for 'Best Historical Recording'. The jury spokesman, Wolfgang Wendel, wrote: "Wanda Wilkomirska presents herself as one of the great storytellers on the violin. She plays one of the most important concertos of the 20th Century, and the recording technique is sensational. An unrepeatable constellation. (For the jury: Wolfgang Wendel). His words confirmed my belief that I had achieved my dream of making perfect recordings of a symphony orchestra using just two microphones. 
Here is the link to the website of the German Record Critics' Association: 
http://www.schallplattenkritik.de/bestenlisten/562-bestenliste-4-2012 
From 1963 to 1974, I accumulated a small library of live concert recordings and during the following forty plus years derived great pleasure from being able to listen to the concerts and relive the experiences of the tours that had occurred so long ago. 
In 2008, at the age of 73, I began to become concerned that the recordings would be lost forever upon my demise and I set about the process of publishing them on CD at my own expense. 
The accolade of the prize has given me the courage to declare the existence of a collection of recordings I have published entitled the 'Virtual Concert Hall Series' - on the Orchestral Concert CDs, (OCCDs), label. Each of the CDs has the acronym CNSTR, or 'Certified Natural Sound Technique Recording', prominently displayed, in the form of a logo. It is a nomenclature intended to describe, in expressive terms, the individual process employed in the production. 
Maybe there are others, it is not possible for me to state categorically, but if there are they should be brought into the limelight to help highlight the difference between naturally-recorded two-microphone CDs and those with more technical interference.

NB Considering the comments of the judges, when awarding the 'Schallplattenkritik' prize, it is reasonable to assume that had there been a 'hole in the middle' it would have been impossible to achieve an even balance between the solo violin and Orchestra in the Britten concerto, a very difficult combination to balance perfectly, and some reference would have been made to the fact. 
Other reviews have confirmed that, as with all recordings in 'The Virtual Concert Hall Series', balance is a feature without fault; the collection of reviews on the www.occds.org website have been highly complimentary and sound is invariably a highlight of the review.
Last month I celebrated my eightieth birthday with great sadness.

OCCDs is a failure partly because I began my endeavour during the demise of the CD, as a medium for sound, and despite the very pleasing reviews from leading international critics, the fact that I had insufficient funds to establish a proper commercial, classical music, CD business, the results have been very disappointing.

In the middle of 2012 I began to feel that I was no longer capable of continuing to represent OCCDs in a manner necessary to bring the recordings to the attention of classical music lovers and, in a desperate move, I shipped the remaining stock of 4000 CDs to an international distributor in Holland, Theo Lapp, of T2 Entertainment, who gave exaggerated reassurances. The following two years made it clear that the CDs just sat on shelves, absolutely nothing was done to publicise the existence of the wonderful recordings.

Then the company went into receivership and I suffered a substantial physical and financial loss.I was obliged to pay solicitors fees and transport to have the remaining CDs returned to me and now they are stacked in an 'unfulfilled' manner.

There is an irony to this story. Mercury Living Presence CDs have sold in their hundreds of thousands, as they should. Orchestra Concert CDs, which succeeded where Mercury failed, are still a secret. Had they been introduced by Sony, or one of the other 'Bigs', they would have become a phenomenon and example to others, confirming, as they do, that there is only one way to record a symphony orchestra - WITH JUST TWO MICROPHONES.

FOOTNOTE: Here is an interesting point. When major record companies publish a new recording it is a matter of news and receives considerable attention in the media, regardless of the quality.
When an impoverished individual attempts to bring something of importance to the attention of potentially interested people it becomes advertising and must be paid for.

I have invested well beyond my means and lost a great deal in my desire to pass on my good fortune in being privileged by experiencing the ultimate sound.

I will make this last gesture to readers of Talk Classical:

50% off any of the titles listed on the OCCDS website.

Compliments of the season,
Geoffrey Terry


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