Truly heaven sometimes sends us those who represent not only humanity but also divinity itself.
 -Leonard DaVinci

Technical Description

Messiah was recorded in the Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, in February 1995.

One might expect that the logistics and planning for a recording event of this magnitude would be daunting.  Such expectations were generously fulfilled!  Bringing together a 325 voice choir, a 90 piece orchestra, the conductor and four soloists from England, a harpsichordist and various other personnel is not a task to be taken lightly.  Combine that with the need for extensive pre-session choir rehearsals, meticulously planned recording sessions, etc., then throw in needs for housing, feeding and caring for the non-Utah-resident portion of the artists, and you’ll soon be approaching the level of planning necessary to produce a major event.

The technical aspects of this recording alone comprise a story worth the telling.  The Messiah recording was made on unique custom equipment designed by NTI and the well-known recording engineer John Mosely. Night Technologies of Provo, Utah, built and manufactured all of the custom portions of the recording system.

Part of the uniqueness of the system is that it is totally self-contained.  Designed to be flown anywhere in the world and set up in only a few hours, the system can operate on virtually any standard power system worldwide. The NTI custom recording system employs the latest in both analog and digital technology.  It uses 20 Bit digital convertors with noise shaping for signal processing, made by Prism Sound of Cambridge, England.  The resulting signals are captured on Tascam DA-88 recorders.  The control console uses NTI patented and proprietary circuitry throughout, which produces sound quality seldom if ever before heard.  The microphone preamplifiers are of particular interest since they incorporate the EQ³ Equalizers which includes the NTI “Air Band” circuitry that has gained prominent attention by the recording industry. The microphone compliment equipment list).  Another unique aspect of the recording console is the ability to change the directional patterns of the microphones and microphone arrays from the console.  This flexibility aids greatly in fine-tuning the recording set-up.

Of particular note is that this innovative system records in three separate and distinct formats simultaneously:

1-24 channel multi-track.

2-8 track 70mm motion picture and HDTV Surround Sound.

3-2 track stereo for CD records.

The microprocessor controlled monitoring system provides the required format at the correct level into eight matched Tannory 15 DMT II Studio Monitoring Loudspeakers.

The entire compliment of equipment is controlled for all recording and editing functions by computer with specially adapted SoundMaster 7 Software from Toronto, Canada.

Any recordist will confirm that the selection of microphones, and especially their placement, is one of the most critical “arts” in the technical world of recording. Mr. John Mosely’s expertise in this area for classical recording has few peers.

The microphones were selected for their particular quality, frequency response, and directional characteristics.  Using a combination of M-S and X-Y directional microphones, as well as a compliment of omnidirectional elements for room ambiance, very precise placement followed the concepts of minimizing acoustic and electric phase interference.

The net result is a very smooth clean recording which has an unrivaled realism and “presence”. Listening to the finished recording it is as if one were not only in the Tabernacle itself, but standing on the director’s platform.  While all of the orchestral voices are distinct yet seamlessly blended, the choir is also clear, well-blended, and the words are clearly understood (a tribute to the Tabernacle Choir itself as well as to the recording technique).  And with all of the orchestral and vocal clarity, there is still a wonderful sense of the magnificent acoustics of this world famous room, the Mormon Tabernacle.

An interesting side-note to the placement of the microphones is that, due to other commitments for use of the Tabernacle, it was necessary to completely dismantle the microphone equipment setup in the middle of the recording sessions, and then set it up again.

Not only did the microphones come down, but the actual orchestra risers and platforms had to be removed and then reconstructed.

Since the precise relationship of all the acoustic elements is critical to the recorded sound, it was necessary to mark the location of all the orchestra members’ chairs and music stands (also the height) along with the exact positions in three-dimensional space of all the microphones, so that these relationships could be exactly recreated after the downtime.

The bringing together of so many elements of new technology and technology applications seemed to some to be an invitation to problems.

However, the meticulous planning and careful precision design and testing allowed the recordings to proceed without a major hitch or problem.

The result of this extraordinary combination of talented musicians, technicians and unique equipment must be heard to be understood.

Enjoy!

© 2001 NightPro Inc.