"Nicknamed Symphony of a Thousand because of the sheer size of the cast: eight soloists - including one angel singing from 'heaven' - a full orchestra and choirs, this would give any soundman a difficult task in an auditorium," explains RTE's senior producer engineer Anton Timoney. "Added to that, it was being performed in a basketball arena. So my first task was to go see the arena with the orchestra manager and a representative from our OB department.
"I figured we'd need around 50 mics, depending on the final layout of the venue. My colleagues and I in RTE radio sound have been using DPA mics for all our classical recordings and broadcasts over the last decade, not just because of the sonic quality of the mics but also the compact size which makes them very easy to sling over stages. The days of putting a large mic stand with mic balanced on top in the middle of an aisle are well and truly gone, thanks to modern health and safety requirements."
Six slings holding 27 mics were rigged in the venue, and Timoney's anticipated positioning problems became a reality. Fortunately the DPA mount arrived on the morning of 24th. "We rigged it in time for that evening's rehearsal," he says. "I was using three 4052 compact omnis in a Decca tree configuration, so we mounted them on the S5 with two 4022 compact cardioids on the rear for the surround. It worked very well; the mics faced the right way and once we'd tweaked it because of the choir numbers decreasing it stayed in position."
Seven DPA 4023 compact cardioids - six on flamingo stands - were used for the soloists, with one 4052 for the angel in heaven, or in this case the commentary gantry high above the basketball court. Orchestra spot mics included eight 4006 omnis, three 4036 compact omnis, four 4028 compact wide cardioids, two 4052s, four 4023s, while the choir was miked two 4028s, four 4022s, six 4052 and eight 4036s.
(Jim Evans)
