Music and Recording Features

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There Lies the Disc, the making of the new Cantus CD

Wes Phillips, John Atkinson Nov 12, 2006 First Published: Dec 12, 2006 0 comments

Wes Phillips on the Sessions

One of the enduring myths of audiophilia is that of the recording as a true and honest picture of a musical event—a sonic "snapshot" that captures a unique moment of time the way a photograph captures the light of a day long since past.

Music and Recording Features Art Dudley Listening

Listening #45

Art Dudley Oct 01, 2006 First Published: Sep 01, 2006 0 comments

"The public will put up with anything except boredom."—Giuseppe Verdi

Music and Recording Features Interviews

Willie Nile: Places He Has Never Been

Robert Baird Nov 02, 2007 First Published: May 02, 2006 0 comments

Before I even turn on the recorder, Willie Nile is telling me his theory of how the granite under Manhattan Island conducts electricity, which accounts for the perceptible charge that many people feel makes New York City so special. It's also what draws artists like flies, none more passionate than singer-songwriter Nile, who's personally contributed a few volts during his years in NYC.

Music and Recording Features

Beethoven's Diabelli Variations: the Finest Hour of Piano Music in the World

John Atkinson Oct 01, 2006 First Published: May 01, 2006 0 comments

John Atkinson on the Recording

"This will fix it!" Kimber Kable's Ray Kimber placed some acoustic baffles around the table on which sat my Apple TiBook. We were recording Robert">http://www.robert-silverman.com">Robert Silverman performing one of Beethoven's masterworks for piano, the Diabelli Variations, Op.120, and I had been bothered by a faint whistle underlying the music. It turned out to be the sound of my laptop's fan, an unforeseen drawback of my decision to dispense with tape and record straight to hard drive for the August 2004 sessions. We had already had a problem with a slight slapback echo from the balcony of the Austad Auditorium at Weber State University in Utah, which Ray had fixed with drapes, and a problem with low-frequency rumble from airplanes overflying the college campus during one session had been solved by Ray phoning the air traffic control tower. However, even Ray couldn't deal with thunder, so that was the one session we decided to finish early.

The Fifth Element Music and Recording Features

The Fifth Element #34

John Marks Feb 19, 2006 First Published: Feb 19, 2006 0 comments

Mark Wilder, senior mastering engineer for Sony Music Studios, looked expectantly from John Atkinson to Bob Saglio to me and asked, "Are you ready?" As it had been my inquiry that had resulted in this mind-boggling, once-in-a-lifetime, peak-experience get-together, and as no one else was speaking up, I replied, "As ready as we'll ever be."

Music and Recording Features

Comfort and Joy: the making of Cantus' Christmas CDs

John Atkinson Oct 23, 2005 First Published: Nov 23, 2005 0 comments

"I can't make out the words."

Music and Recording Features Art Dudley Listening

Listening #34

Art Dudley Oct 30, 2005 First Published: Oct 30, 2005 0 comments

What is best in music is not to be found in the notes.—Gustav Mahler

Features Music and Recording Features

Book Review: A Love Supreme

John Marks Aug 28, 2005 First Published: Aug 28, 2005 0 comments

A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album
by Ashley Kahn; Foreword by Elvin Jones. New York, Viking Books, 2002; hardcover, 260 pages, 9" by 8". $27.95.

The Fifth Element Music and Recording Features Headphone Reviews

The Fifth Element #30

John Marks Jun 26, 2005 First Published: Jun 26, 2005 0 comments

Morten Lauridsen's magisterial work for chorus and orchestra, Lux aeterna, appears in a fresh new recording, in truly excellent sound, on England's Hyperion label. The vocal ensemble Polyphony is accompanied by the Britten Sinfonia; both are led by Stephen Layton. Better yet, in addition to the CD-only version, there is a separate SACD/CD hybrid release (Hyperion SACDA67449), meaning that it is backwardly-compatible with CD players. Furthermore, the SACD layer contains a surround-sound program in addition to the stereo one.

Music and Recording Features Music in the Round

Music in the Round #8

Kalman Rubinson Nov 29, 2004 First Published: Nov 27, 2004 0 comments

For months now, I've been beating the drum for full-range center-channel speakers, to reproduce recordings with a true center-channel signal. There are many reasons for this.