# Survey/book of Concert Hall, Church and other concert venues' acoustics.



## Isivor (Sep 27, 2013)

Hi Talk Classical,

I hope one or more of you can help with this ....

In a not too distant future I hope to start recording e.g. classical and acoustical music in concert halls, churches, castles and possibly other fine music venues throughout the world.

To that end I'm looking for a survey of these venues' acoustics communicated in a way that is "accessible", i.e. with a balance between subjective and objective observations, yet with a leaning towards "referenced" subjective impressions so that a practical discernment between the different halls/churches' acoustics is possible. If such a survey also includes a subjective impression of the atmosphere of the venue that could be interesting as well ... 

May someone here know of such a survey/book? I'd appreciate any insights you may have 

Greetings,

Jesper


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

We can tell you what good listening halls are, but a possible problem is that the ambience enjoyed by a listener in any given venue is not necessarily the one that a microphone picks up. For instance, Boston's Symphony Hall is an acoustic marvel, but for years, RCA Victor found that the best sound for recording the Boston Symphony was recorded by removing all the audience seats on the floor, and seating the orchestra in front of the stage. Unfortunately, trial and error are often your best friends.


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## Isivor (Sep 27, 2013)

Hi GGluek,

Thanks for replying ... Although I have no doubt that I'll be going through a period of learning and adapting to the sound and polar patterns of different microphones as well as different acoustics' signatures I'd like to start finding the "gems" around the world that are nevertheless considered special when it comes to the acoustics. I reckon this may take some time - or if I was lucky there already was a book or some other source that had adressed this. 

So, might there be some more information on this - maybe about small(er) churches or halls with fine/special acoustics? I expect to mainly record smaller orchestras, choruses, and solo instruments.

Regards,

Jesper


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