Recording (Easter)

Recording for the Easter CD has been an amazing experience.

Here are some quick things to know.

• The music is recorded live (everything). Nothing is pre-recorded.
• The choir is standing when singing. There are long moments of standing.
• Musical pieces are recorded in small sections and later stitched together.
• It is a long and intensive process. It took 3+ nights to record six songs.
• Everyone has a great attitude in the loft and it is pleasant to be there.
• Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphyt are really amazing musicians and extremely gifted. (When I say this I really mean that when you watch them work you realize how much more amazing they are than you thought).
• Recording in the Tabernacle also requires a lot of blankets.

It is an amazing process to go through a recording however everything is orderly and efficient.

In order to avoid a lot of reverb and echo choir members bring blankets and place them over the benches and pews in the Tabernacle. It's so interested how different the sound can be when people are in the Tabernacle and when it is empty. I can see why the Thursday rehearsal is open to the public. 

We stood a lot during the recording. We stood off and on during the entire recording process. Of course the conductors stood more than we did. I did notice that the standing had an effect on some choir members. It's a long time to stand, focus and sing but everyone is always in good spirits.

When Mack is conducting the choir, Ryan is in the booth listening and vice versa. They both quality check the sound of the orchestra and the choir and anything else in the hall. What is interesting is observing how well attuned they are to every part and every sound. Both of them can hear discrepancies I don't think 99% of humans can hear.  They are also keenly aware of how the microphones pick up the sounds. 

As I had mentioned before the goal of a choir is to BLEND. So while everyone in the choir all have great voices individually it does not matter if one voice is sticking out. There was one section we had to record multiple times because there was a soprano sticking out through the microphones. When you are dealing with 300+ people it may be hard to find that one person however Mack can hear where it is coming from and give a specific area in the choir that needs to adjust. During the practice one of the basses told me that Mack can actually pick out the specific person and that it has happened in the past. I'm really not surprised. His hearing is unreal and it's really something that you would have to see to believe.

While recording specific sections of the music they are looking for a light, highly placed vowel, sound where dynamics can be changed at a whim. It really is quite incredible. So the choir sang some pieces with a lighter vibrato and the Messiah piece with no vibrato. The conductor decides what is needed for each piece, asks the choir to adjust and we do. Quite miraculous.

I should note that one of the songs we are singing is new to me but a song I absolutely love. It's entitled, In the Garden. I have never heard of it before but during this week of recording is has become one of my favorites. It's a simple hymn and apparently other Christian faiths are very familiar with it. It speaks of those who saw the Savior after the resurrection. Beautiful. If I pass away I want this song sung at my funeral for sure. Here is a video of it. Enjoy!

We took breaks off and on to keep our energy up but it was an amazing experience I will never forget. The Easter CD will be available in the near future. I'm so excited!