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In Reply to: RE: PlayClassics TRT v2.0 master file giveaway for AA members posted by fmak on September 08, 2016 at 00:57:30
Hi fmak,Thanks a lot for the feedback.
We use a documentary approach. We do not use any mixing or mastering. The piano and the singer are recorded together by two microphones placed outside of the stage area.
Most recordings are not made this way. They are made using close miking techniques. Usually, the singer and the instruments are miked separately. The sound you hear on the CD is built on the mixing and mastering table. We are used to hearing recordings were the singer stands completely in front while the accompaniment is pushed to the background. If you listen closely to these type of recordings you will hear that the singer and the accompaniment seem to be in different acoustic environments. As if they had been recorded in different venues. Usually the voice is extremely clear (close miked and eq to achieve a desired fantasy sound) while the accompaniment sounds completely different.
On our recordings both instruments are acoustically on the same venue, and you are listening to them both from the same distance. The piano and the voice both have the same amount of reflexions from the stage and the hall. What you hear on these recordings is what you would hear on a live performance.
That may be the reason for you to perceive the voice as "not so clear" because we are not using close miking plus we are not applying any makeup (mixing mastering) on it.
Mario Martinez
PlayClassics, the art of true music
Musicstry Studios, discover the Truthful Recording Technology
Edits: 09/08/16Follow Ups:
I downloaded the 24/96 incarnation of the Polish Songs too, and I wonder if what Mr. fmak hears as a "lack of purity" is just the natural vocal production of an Eastern European singer. He complains that Ms. Sobotka's voice isn't captured with the "purity" of [Kathleen] Battle's recordings (? - if I'm reading his post correctly), but, again, that's just a difference in vocal production (e.g., different rates and widths of vibrato, etc.), and different tastes will respond accordingly. I wouldn't think it would have anything to do with the engineering set-up per se. In any case, I kind of like her voice myself, and I'm happy to have a complete performance of the Chopin songs (which are still fairly rarely encountered, compared with the rest of his output or with other song/Lied/Romance/Melodie composers) at this high level of accomplishment.
BTW, thanks again for your generosity in allowing so many of us to download these fine recordings - I'll post my reactions to the Albeniz disc in a separate post.
''I wonder if what Mr. fmak hears as a "lack of purity" is just the natural vocal production of an Eastern European singer''
This comment makes no sense to me. Like you, I am giving my feedback as requested. I have to admit though, that not understanding the language could have affected my subjective impressions.
Basically, what I was trying to convey is that vocal training and traditions in Eastern Europe used to be quite different from those in Western Europe. These differences are often apprehended by listeners via such elements of vocal technique as the width and speed of the vibrato, or the "ingolata" vocal production, whereby all the vowels are produced from the back of the throat, Russian-style, without much of the more Western forwardness of diction, such as one would hear in a voice like Kathleen Battle's. These differences seemed to be the result of taste and audience preferences in the various countries. These days, we're hearing less and less of this difference as more and more Russian and Eastern European singers are free to leave their countries and study in the West, e.g., Anna Netrebko (aka "La Trebs" - LOL!) who had an Italian mentor in Renata Scotto. Even in the case of La Trebs though, I still hear evidence of her Slavic roots sometimes, despite her slice of Italian training.
In any case Iwona Sobotka sings with a type of sound that you may not like if voices like Kathleen Battle's are your ideal. And you may indeed conclude that Sobotka somehow sounds less "pure" than Battle does. But, as I hear it, it's really just a matter of personal vocal preference, rather than the way each singer has been recorded.
Thank you very much Chris, I really appreciate your kind words.
It is my pleasure to be able to share these recordings with all of you :)
Mario Martinez
PlayClassics, the art of true music
Musicstry Studios, discover the Truthful Recording Technology
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