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Views from the Choir Loft

Brave Director Posts “Live” Recording

Jeff Ostrowski · October 31, 2017

IF YOU PLACE A STRAW into a glass of water, it appears to bend because the light is refracted. One must learn to accept this reality, and not start believing one’s straw is bent. Something similar happens when we try to record choral voices. The microphone often distorts the sound, making it seem harsh and discordant.

This problem is not nearly as bad when it comes to piano recordings. I’ve spent a lifetime studying recordings by Gieseking, Rachmaninov, Horowitz, Friedman, Tiegerman, Hofmann, Schnabel, von Sauer, Godowski, Cortot, Lamond, Lhevinne, and many others—and I can say that the piano generally comes through much more satisfactorily than human voices.

I am not speaking here of recordings done by professional sound engineers. Over the last 100 years, some really clever sound engineers have found ways to reproduce choirs with reasonable success. I’m speaking of “home” recordings done by pocket recorders—such as the iPhone—or even expensive recording equipment operated by non-professionals.

I can now prove to you that what I say is true.

The following recording—made during a recent rehearsal—completely distorts, perverts, and corrupts the true choral sound. I know because I was there, and listened carefully. 1


The actual choral sound which I heard with my own ears was much nicer than what you hear: blended, not harsh, and sung with sensitivity.

This truth regarding microphones and choral sound is something I cannot emphasize enough.

By the way, photography can do something similar. I’ve seen photographs of people that do not represent their faces accurately; and sometimes it looks like a completely different person.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   When you’re listening, please ignore the part where my son walks in and says “Can I have a doughnut?” At another point, some of the children can be heard singing along. Please ignore this. (The children come to rehearsal with the mothers who sing.)

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

23 May 2022 • FEEDBACK

From a reader: “I wasn’t looking for it. But, I stumbled across your hand-dandy arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon. Jeff, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread! I had to play a wedding on Saturday. The bride requested the Canon. There were 11 bridesmaids! The organ loft is a football field away from the communion rail. It’s so difficult to play and keep checking the mirror. Your arrangement is absolutely genius. One can skip and choose which variations to use. The chord names are handy so that when my eyes are off the music, I always know where I am at. A thousand times thank you for sharing this arrangement!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Vatican II did not say anything about the direction of the celebrant. […] I love both directions of celebrating Mass. Both are full of meaning for me. Both help me to encounter Christ—and that is, after all, the purpose of the liturgy.”

— Christoph Cardinal Schönborn (February 2007)

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