Carmen in the mountains
Marcel Babazadeh
Musikalischer Aufnahmeleiter Audio/Video, Tonmeister, Konzertfilmer, Raumakustik
Coming home from the snowy mountains always creates a special feeling of yearning and wanting to go back. I just returned from an artist residency with a wonderful group of people - performers and musicians from "moved by the motions" - an artist collective with director Wu Tsang that invited two Flamenco specialists from Sevilla to work on a theme from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet - and yes.... I want to go back.
Here are some insights of my work as their sound engineer:
While getting familiar with the room itself it quickly turned out that the reverberant acoustics would only allow very subtle amplification in order to maintain a natural feel of the instruments. In the same time musicians would have to hear each other well to enable reactive interplay. Especially with the grand piano being located in a sort of "echo chamber" that has no visual connection, musicians had to sharpen their ears in order to maintain some kind of synchronicity. I decided to work with several active studio loudspeakers (Neumann KH 310, KH 110) to create a sense of natural location that blends well with the sound of the original instruments and also serves as a monitor for the players.
The end of the residency was marked by a 60 minute performance for a selected audience of press people and museum curators - apart from the sound for the audience we wanted to also capture the amazing sonic feel of the hall and the inspired music-making that took place since the first moment of unpacking the instruments. Therefore the selection of microphones had to fit both needs. A pair of Schoeps MK4 for the Cello in conjunction with REMIC C5300 combines the full-body sound of the instrument with a crisp sound profile just close to the bridge. The REMIC produces a clean signal for the cello with hardly any bleed from the saxophones which have a large dynamic range and ambitus. The Neumann TLM 170 was the choice for the wind instruments - it allows an adjustment of the directivity according to the needs without changing the overall sound quality dramatically.
The singer and the guitar player came straight from Seville/ Spain and are deeply rooted in flamenco traditions. The guitarist brought a wireless mic system called XVIVE U8 which I heard for the first time - apart from its noise floor it really produces a nice close-miked sound - great for amplification - in addition with another Neumann TLM 170 I could rebuild the rich and dynamic flamenco sound that I heard in front of the acoustic guitar.
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For the vocals I used a wireless dpa headset 4066 and a handheld d:facto vocal mic. This allowed the singer maximum flexibility and interaction with the two performers. The amount of dynamic that Rocio Marquez produces with her voice ranges from extremely soft whispers to wide and open cries that exceed tonality. Finally a stereo pair of Schoeps MK 21 for the ambiance and another pair of MK 4 for the "piano echo chamber" and the recording could begin.
It was so cool to see the social media buzz that was created on the same night. The major museums of the wider region and photographers from several media outlets filled their Insta stories with footage from the performance.
The Klanghaus in Toggenburg (CH) promises to be a very exciting place for musicians and sound enthusiasts alike. It's been a huge pleasure to work and record there even before the official opening in May 2025.
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