The audio system had to meet various requirements, as is explained by Marco Mazzon, founder of the company of the same name, based in Meolo (Venice), which installed the system. "The brief I got from the client was above all to ensure a considerable increase in intelligibility and flexible control of the various sectors - there are approximately thirty microphones used by officiates and singers in seven different zones of the church."
As he had detailed knowledge of the Basilica and its logistics, Mazzon designed the signal management system, whereas, for the actual acoustic design, he contacted RCF's dedicated in-house division, in the person of Francesco Venturi, who presented a detailed report and acoustic simulation documentation along with the definitive design.
Due to the building's architectural classification, each array had to have a colour that ensured it was almost invisible.
Mazzon adds, "The VSA systems provide the ideal solution to both these aspects, thanks to their remarkable sound pressure and precision and a 'custom' finish, which solved the aesthetic problems."
The 10 VSA 2050 arrays cover the "congregation" zone of the Basilica and are mounted on the church's impressive columns, forming a main sound front made up of six systems covering the front area of the naves and the transept, while the other four are mounted twenty metres further forward and appropriately delayed, to cover the rear portion of the naves. Two compact RCF MR 33WT enclosures installed below the ambos optimize the coverage of the first rows of worshippers.
Various other types of RCF enclosures were installed in the Basilica, both indoors and outside -17 two-way passive loudspeaker columns (versions CS 6940 and 6520) are installed in the other seven zones if the huge church, including the entire area of the presbytery and the Pala d'Oro (the high altar's splendid retable), the Baptistery, the chapel of St. Isidore and the narthex.
Three MR33T 'service' enclosures are positioned at the two organs (as monitors for the organists) and in the vestry. On particularly important occasions, six H6045 fibreglass multi-cell long-throw exponential horn speakers, each fitted with four D5076 drivers, are mounted outside the basilica with special fast-lock hardware and cover the entire square.
When installation work was completed, RCF technicians took a series of measurements to ensure that the system's performance perfectly achieved the acoustic objectives set by the client.
On Sunday, 8 May at the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, the Pope was scheduled to host the third Assembly of the Church of the Patriarchate of Venice arranged for the closure of the Pastoral Visit of the Patriarch and his main collaborators of the different parishes.
(Jim Evans)
