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Natural Classical Orchestral records...

hdsmile

Active Member
Hi all!
I wonder if there is a recording on youtube etc... of some natural orchestra recorded in great concert hall with excellent acoustics, but without processing any plugins such as compressors, expanders, exciters, etc...

thanks
 
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Decca recordings tend to be fairly accurate, I've seen statements by some of their engineers disavowing use of compressors, etc. If you're looking for how a Decca Tree recording should sound, that's where I'd start.
 
well, thank you, but I would like to hear some real records examples of orchestral sound, is there any links on youtube... etc.?
 
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Again, I just want to listen a few good examples of the sound of a natural classical orchestra and nothing more.
 
Interesting question. Great classical recordings should have very little to no processing at all. But it is very difficult to know for certain how a recording has been engineered. This might be of interest:

https://www.occds.org/info/cnstr.html

Also, I would assume that live broadcasts of concerts won't have any after effects (compressor etc.) applied. But again it's hard to know in each single case.
 
Also, I would assume that live broadcasts of concerts won't have any after effects (compressor etc.) applied. But again it's hard to know in each single case
that's true, thanks muk!
 
@bryla I know about it, thank you!

yes, it’s really hard to find reliable truthful records without any after processing effects, but if someone could share such information, I would be very grateful
 
I don't think we can generalize about certain record labels having a superior, or inferior, sound compared to the others. I have Decca recordings — Chailly's Beethoven cycle is alas a good example — which sound, to my ears, pretty bad (and certainly over-produced) and there are others which are fine. (Although Decca is certainly not the first name that comes to my mind when having to list as-a-rule-great-sounding-record-labels.) And the same goes for just about every other label. Today, even the budget labels can surprise you with a really good, natural sound, while some of the established audiophile labels let, on occasion, slip an average-sounding recording through their quality control net.

In answer to the OP though: a rather unique release, from a sonic/dynamic perspective that is, is Currentzis/MusicAeterna's recording of Stravinsky's Les Noces coupled with Tchaikovsky's violin concerto (with Kopatchinskaja as soloist), released on Sony Classical (which is another one of those music emporiums that sell audio-quality which can vary from the near unlistenable to the sublime).

The Currentzis, while definitely debatable from a performance perspective, is sonically genuinely interesting in that it is one of the very rare classical releases I know of where the production team appears to have attempted to preserve the natural dynamics of the orchestra. (One of the results being that, during all the ppp passages, particularly in the Tchaikovsky, you can barely hear the music at all, unless you pay really close attention or turn up the volume really loud.) You can find a few audio excerpts here, but if you prefer highres audio, let me know and I'll prepare you a fragment or two.

But that disc really is an exception, I believe. The sound and the dynamic range of an orchestra always needs to be tamed to some degree, if not for technical reasons — less an issue now than it used to be in the analog days —, then certainly for the sake of basic listening comfort.



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You know, before samples (and the digital revolution), when TV and film music was recorded live, music was orchestrated so skillfully that the engineer barely touched the faders. He (rarely she in those days) would know when solos were coming up, but otherwise the music basically mixed itself.

Reading the title of this thread, it occurs to me that you should be able to get close to that Platonic ideal when writing for sampled orchestra just by using EQ and the right reverb.

Never going to happen, of course, but you'd think it could.

I agree. Had the chance to see the desk of a recording session of a concert performance the other day. Had a little chat with the engineer and noticed that the only thing that he processed was indeed the singers. The orchestra is built in mind to take advantage of the full spectrum and simultaniously leave every instrument section its own space.

Mixing samples tough, is different.
 
Hi all!
I wonder if there is a recording on youtube etc... of some natural orchestra recorded in great concert hall with excellent acoustics, but without processing any plugins such as compressors, expanders, exciters, etc...

thanks

The Solti-conducted Ring Cycle, Karajan's magnificent recordings of LvB's symphonies in the 70s, Bartok's String Quartets by the Emerson Q...mostly older recordings. Check this out (there might be a little compression post-production, but mostly I hear the room):


 
Try this channel: it's from a Dutch broadcasting organization that organizes a concert every Saturday in the Concertgebouw, one of the finer venues, and broadcasts it live. There are also recordings in other venues, with some of the best ensembles and conductors. Here's a nice example:

 
Let me ask, could you go to a local theater and listen to an orchestra live?
I know is not the same but the sound of a symphonic orchestra in a good theater is incomparable....almost anything in my opinion.
 
No, unfortunately in my village are no theaters:) just kidding! the live performance is the best for this of course, but here obviously the question is a bit different.
 
The Solti-conducted Ring Cycle, Karajan's magnificent recordings of LvB's symphonies in the 70s, Bartok's String Quartets by the Emerson Q...mostly older recordings. Check this out (there might be a little compression post-production, but mostly I hear the room
Interesting you’d bring up the Solti Ring in this context since it was designed by Culshaw to be a studio recording using the capabilities of stereo recording technology and specifically not a transcription of a performance.

This brings up one of my bugaboos about samples instruments. We don’t really model live sound of the orchestra with sample libraries. We model the sound of recordings (and the conventions of recording) with our libraries. I mean insofar as we seek “realism” we’re seeking the “realism” as it has passed through the conventions of recording and hearing an orchestra live will only get you so far in that respect. You have to also spend time listening to recordings of the orchestra and understand the conventions of the recorded orchestra sound. (Again, if that is the sound you are after.)
 
:2thumbs: then I would sugest to listen to recordings that were made for live broadcasting as the last one, maybe they are not very polished but I don´t think they do much to the sound.
 
Interesting you’d bring up the Solti Ring in this context since it was designed by Culshaw to be a studio recording using the capabilities of stereo recording technology and specifically not a transcription of a performance.

Yes, but the sessions were recorded as an ensemble live (albeit in the studio with the orchestra and singers). If you haven't yet, check out "The Golden Ring" a wonderful documentary on those Decca sessions that also happens to be quite moving (especially whenever Birgitt Nilsson stretches out those priceless, hallowed lungs).

I don't hear (discern) outside reverb on those sessions, that's how good it is. It could pass for an auditorium, quite natural...perfect imo, especially the game-changing recording of Gotterdammerung.
 
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