Opinion: Half of the reason to listen to choral works is the acoustics in the recording


As I was listening to KCSM ( I always want to call it KFC)  this morning I got a big dose of choral music and I thought to myself that for this particular type of music, the recording venue is at least half as important as the music if not more so.  Perhaps no other type of recorded music has so much of an implicit dependence on the original room acoustics, and therefore, demands our own listening environment be more receptive than average.


erik_squires

Showing 2 responses by newbee

Something only an audiophile would say. For myself, I listen because I love the music. The acoustic of the recording venue can be additive or subtractive but is not, for me anyway,  a motivating factor. Like most other large scale music it pales in comparison to the real thing. You just have to be in the hall to appreciate it. Perhaps the acoustics in the recording can stimulate your imagination.

If your system is set up to handle large scale music in the first place why would an audiophile need to enhance a good recording by adjusting his room acoustic for choral music? Dammed if I know.
twoleftears, We can agree and I do. The most anticipated venue would have been a church I think. Maybe not so much for Mahler though. :-)

FWIW, Faure's requiem, the original version performed by the Ensemble Musique Oblique and conducted by Herreweghe in the La Chapelle Royal (Harmonia Mundi 901292) would be a great example of something done right. Lovely, contemplative music.