Classical Recording

Caroline Haigh grew up with equal love for music, maths, and physics and combined study of all of them on the Tonmeister course at the University of Surrey. She began her career in classical post-production working for Decca during her final year at University, and stayed there for several years before moving around the corner to Abbey Road Studios (EMI) in 1996. At both Decca and EMI, she gained experience with countless major classical artists and became a sought-after and skilful editor, working on several Grammy award-winning albums, including Les Troyens (Decca – OSM/Dutoit) Best Opera 1995. Having enjoyed giving guest seminars at the University of Surrey during her time at Abbey Road, Caroline was recruited to teach on the Tonmeister course on a permanent basis from 2009. She currently teaches recording techniques, production/post-production skills and electro-acoustics (microphones), and she continues to work as a freelance classical editor. John Dunkerley is one of the world’s most highly respected and emulated classical recording engineers. Throughout a long career at Decca and then as a freelancer, his recordings have been renowned for their ravishingly beautiful sound and attention to detail. He has worked with almost all the major artists of the last 40 years, has made over a thousand CDs, and his recordings have earned over 15 Grammy awards. John is one of the last engineers alive to have learnt his craft from the great Kenneth Wilkinson, the inventor of many of the techniques that underpin the classical recording art. John teaches workshops at the University of Surrey, at the Banff Centre, and at the Abbey Road Institute. Mark Rogers studied on the Tonmeister course at the University of Surrey. He began his career working with John Dunkerley at Decca, and then spent nine years around the corner at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios, where he was the chief technical engineer for Studio One, famous for its orchestral and film score recordings. Here he worked with hundreds of different producers and engineers and gained a unique insight into the huge variety of techniques used in classical recording. In 2000 he moved to a management role at Warner Music, and after four years left to become a freelance recording producer, engineer, and musician. Since then he has worked for a wide variety of clients, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and back where he started at Decca, and his recordings have won many accolades, including a Grammy award in 2009. Mark is a visiting lecturer at the University of Surrey.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Glossary of Terms, Acronyms, and Abbreviations

PART I – Before Recording






Acoustics and The Recording Venue



Studio Techniques and Working On Location
PART II – Recording




Basic Two-Microphone Stereo Techniques



Solo Instruments



The Piano



Voice: Solo and Accompanied



Solo Instruments and Piano



The Decca Tree



Ancillary Microphones



Surround Sound Techniques



Solo Instruments and Orchestra



Chamber Ensembles



Wind, Brass, and Percussion Bands



Organ



Choirs



Solo Voice, Orchestra and Choir


PART III – After The Recording Session




Mixing



Editing and Post-Production



Mastering

Appendices

Bibliography and Further Reading

Index