In 1992, when the chateau was in danger of falling into ruin, the current owners undertook a massive restoration campaign to restore Rivau to its former glory. This also included the magnificent gardens and the legendary stables where medieval warhorses were bred and raised, and where Joan of Arc herself came to fetch horses in 1429, and which later became the Royal Stables of Francois I. One of the finishing touches of the restoration was to install a high quality yet physically discreet distributed sound system from APG throughout the chateau in order to bring the interior to life.
Benjamin Rosier of La Puce a l'Oreille, an organisation described as a "collective" of experienced sound engineers, sound editors, musicians and sound mixers, and who managed the audio project at the Chateau du Rivau, explained that the brief was straightforward: to bring the chateau to life by recreating the sound palette of life in a medieval castle - tournaments, feasts, musician, the ring of hooves in the courtyard etc.
Working with project designer Nicolas Soulabail to create the soundtracks, the next question was how best to distribute the audio. Rosier opted for a system based on a total of 14 MX1 compact 6.5" coaxial cabinets from APG, all with custom paint finishes (pink, brown, orange and white) in order to blend seamlessly into the environment.
"As the rooms in the chateau are very big, we needed constant controlled directivity to create the impression for visitors of coherent, realistic sound throughout and to get away from the room acoustics as much as possible," explained Rosier. "Furthermore, the owners wanted as discreet an installation as possible that would "disappear" into the environment. The size and shape of the MX1s, plus the fact that they are coaxial loudspeakers, matched the specifications perfectly. As we have large distances to cover between the amplifier and the speakers, the option to have the speakers in 110V versions was ideal.
"The final touch was the custom colour option which enabled us to have the loudspeakers painted exactly the same colour as the wall on which it was mounted. I'm also pleased with the Lab.gruppen C10:8 amplifier that APG's Mathieu Delquignies recommended to drive the loudspeakers. It's a really nice installation that does exactly what the chateau owners required of it - excellent quality sound throughout and as visually unobtrusive as humanly possible."
(Jim Evans)
