Recording day
The morning of the day I became a recording artist sucked: beautiful sun triggering the release of pollen and other miscreant spores into the air making my throat sore. Then I felt like weeping with frustration as my computer, with its spanking new hard drive, failed again. Managed to start it and restore it to an earlier version (i.e. sometime yesterday) and it has been working since then, but I trust it as far as I can throw it, which will next be out of the window.
To St Michael and All Angels for 3:30. Dr Simon Scardanelli our engineer already busy with a nest of wires and microphones. Matt seething as the priests told him that we would have to interrupt our recording for them to say prayers, something which nobody had mentioned until we arrived. This being England, we all had a cup of tea first, and there were quite a few nerves flying around, although there was a very supportive atmosphere. Simon really nice guy, who was veru reassuring to me.
Adam and Tom assembling vibraphone and marimba, Cem playing dazzling violin runs, and Glen loosening up on the piano. Sometimes all playing different things at once. I rigged up a lectern and paced about trying to focus and get in character. Took a while to get everything in place, and Simon set himself up a little table with his equipment out of the way, and the rest of us were all clustered in semicircle around Matt.
We were behind schedule when we began recording. A few nerves first off, and mistakes by everyone. But once we got into it we picked up pace and began working swiftly, naturally there were retakes and parts of the music replayed. Matt rolling his eyes as cars passed, or seagulls cried in the skies above. The ensemble sounded beautiful, and their playing was fantastic. Overall I was very pleased with my own work on this piece too. I had a quick listen once or twice through Simon's headphones, and the vintage microphone he used, plus my slightly sore throat helped give my voice a pleasing richness. After an enforced prayer break, the choir arrived and we recorded the last few variations with them. They sounded great on this, and were as confident and clear today as they had been uncertain and wavering a few nights ago. Felt drained after the final emotional denouement at the end of the piece, which we recorded twice, and then one chord recorded about five times till it was perfect.
This done, Matt tirelessly led the choir through recordings of Found and Clameur. After a cup of tea, Glen and I worked on Minotaur which was a piece that Matt had completed a couple of hours before coming to the recording. It is based on a poem of mine of the same title, and the music is an intense wall of crunching piano chords, which Glen bashed out on the practice piano. When it was time to record Minotaur it was nine and everyone was ready for the pub. Amazingly Glen and I did it one take, with a kind of explosive energy. A really exhilarating end to what had been an amazing experience for me.
From there all of us, and many of the choir, repaired to the nearby Crescent pub. Lorraine, Rosie, Betty and Mark were there too and had ordered some food. Several beers were drunk, and everyone well pleased with the day's work.
Below Matt (avoiding being photographed) and Simon, Adam and Tom, Glen and Cem, my score on the deckchair-like mini lectern, and the vintage mic over it. Members of the choir.
The morning of the day I became a recording artist sucked: beautiful sun triggering the release of pollen and other miscreant spores into the air making my throat sore. Then I felt like weeping with frustration as my computer, with its spanking new hard drive, failed again. Managed to start it and restore it to an earlier version (i.e. sometime yesterday) and it has been working since then, but I trust it as far as I can throw it, which will next be out of the window.
To St Michael and All Angels for 3:30. Dr Simon Scardanelli our engineer already busy with a nest of wires and microphones. Matt seething as the priests told him that we would have to interrupt our recording for them to say prayers, something which nobody had mentioned until we arrived. This being England, we all had a cup of tea first, and there were quite a few nerves flying around, although there was a very supportive atmosphere. Simon really nice guy, who was veru reassuring to me.
Adam and Tom assembling vibraphone and marimba, Cem playing dazzling violin runs, and Glen loosening up on the piano. Sometimes all playing different things at once. I rigged up a lectern and paced about trying to focus and get in character. Took a while to get everything in place, and Simon set himself up a little table with his equipment out of the way, and the rest of us were all clustered in semicircle around Matt.
We were behind schedule when we began recording. A few nerves first off, and mistakes by everyone. But once we got into it we picked up pace and began working swiftly, naturally there were retakes and parts of the music replayed. Matt rolling his eyes as cars passed, or seagulls cried in the skies above. The ensemble sounded beautiful, and their playing was fantastic. Overall I was very pleased with my own work on this piece too. I had a quick listen once or twice through Simon's headphones, and the vintage microphone he used, plus my slightly sore throat helped give my voice a pleasing richness. After an enforced prayer break, the choir arrived and we recorded the last few variations with them. They sounded great on this, and were as confident and clear today as they had been uncertain and wavering a few nights ago. Felt drained after the final emotional denouement at the end of the piece, which we recorded twice, and then one chord recorded about five times till it was perfect.
This done, Matt tirelessly led the choir through recordings of Found and Clameur. After a cup of tea, Glen and I worked on Minotaur which was a piece that Matt had completed a couple of hours before coming to the recording. It is based on a poem of mine of the same title, and the music is an intense wall of crunching piano chords, which Glen bashed out on the practice piano. When it was time to record Minotaur it was nine and everyone was ready for the pub. Amazingly Glen and I did it one take, with a kind of explosive energy. A really exhilarating end to what had been an amazing experience for me.
From there all of us, and many of the choir, repaired to the nearby Crescent pub. Lorraine, Rosie, Betty and Mark were there too and had ordered some food. Several beers were drunk, and everyone well pleased with the day's work.
Below Matt (avoiding being photographed) and Simon, Adam and Tom, Glen and Cem, my score on the deckchair-like mini lectern, and the vintage mic over it. Members of the choir.
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