Australian Sound Artist
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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sacred Heart Cathedral Surround Recording

 

: Day three/four of the Live Arts Incubator :
 
Finally have some images to show of the Cathedral and of the setup I used to gather the recordings. As a last minute decision I moved the DPA omni's further out at either end, so as to adequately capture the natural effects within the chamber. Rode's were then positioned behind the DPA's.

The main downfall of the recordings is the traffic noise........

Sacred Heart Cathedral is positioned alongside of the main road Bendigo (it is one block back by definition but you'd never guess from the traffic level). Despite the fact that Monsignor Frank Marriott was generous enough as to allow me after hours access to the space, I was still unable to avoid the relentless hum that plagues cities, towns, and even countryside worldwide. All I could do was work with it as best as possible and hope that I am able to execute some kind of damage control in post editing.

Gathered sounds included creaking pews and doors, footsteps and a wood carved recorder. Despite the underlying constant of car engines I am very happy with the spatialised outcome. The use of the recorder was a last minute carefree decision made in the spirit of the artists 'let's hear what happens' - one that resulted in the discovery of a key sound for the planned composition. The tones and decay of the instrument in the space were audibly astounding and became the primary sound in the formation of the cathedrals identity.