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Views from the Choir Loft

Beware Of Microphones!

Jeff Ostrowski · July 8, 2015

531 microphone image N THE PAST, I mentioned how choir directors must have the integrity to record their choirs “live” and carefully listen to the results. On the CCW Facebook page, someone made a very intelligent comment. He said the microphone will never give an accurate representation. Nevertheless, a few weeks ago, we placed a cheap microphone at the very front of the Church, behind a pillar. I wanted to see how our choir sounded to the congregation so we could make improvements.

The recording came out decent, but not stupendous … let me explain why.

The balance and tone as presented by the cheap microphone struck me as incorrect—and I was confused. Was I not present during this Mass? Did I not hear our choir with my own ears?

Somebody might respond, “Jeff, that just proves your ears aren’t very good; the microphone doesn’t lie.” However, my mother was present during that Mass and recorded brief snippets on her iPhone. Her recordings proved that my memory was correct—for instance, about the balance of voices. 1

HERE’S THE BOTTOM LINE: the guy on Facebook was correct. Microphones sometimes provide an inaccurate record. 2

I don’t have the clips from my mother’s cell phone, but I do have several clips captured by the cheap microphone (the one hidden behind a pillar). Feel free to listen to these clips, but please remember our choir sounds much nicer in real life!

    * *  Excerpt • ALLELUIA

    * *  Excerpt • COMMUNION

    * *  Excerpt • HOSANNA

    * *  Excerpt • GLORIA

    * *  Excerpt • CREDO

The final clip (“Credo”) really told me something was wrong with the recording because—as you can hear—the organ is almost too loud for the soloist. I can assure that was NOT the case!  But I would undoubtedly still be second-guessing myself if I hadn’t listened to my mother’s cell phone recording, which was located at the center of the nave.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I am sensitive to the balance between organ and voice. During the recording session for an audio CD back in 2003, the microphone was placed too close to the organ, so I had to reassemble the entire schola—including the organist—to redo the whole session. During my college years, I attended a local parish and the organist played so loudly throughout Mass my head hurt for a week.

2   Please note: I’m not here concerned with poor quality recordings per se. After all, I’m someone who grew up listening to scratchy, awful, distorted records of the Golden Age Pianists, and no one has a greater love for such things or spent more time enjoying them than I. One eventually learns to focus on the music beneath all the surface noise.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“The chapter secretary is authorized to write a letter beseeching a royal pardon for Caspar de Cuevas, cathedral sackbut player, who is imprisoned on a murder charge.” [From “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]

— Sevilla: Chapter Resolution (23 March 1566)

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  • Boston Auxiliary Bishop: “In offering the Traditional Mass for the first time, after removing the vestments, I knelt in the back pew and wept.”

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