Recording Notes for Majestus

On Monday, we told you about our fantastic new album "Majestus: The Great Organ of the Washington National Cathedral" and let it out that this could be the last recording of the instrument. Because of that, we thought you might be interested in some recording notes from Roger Sherman. Enjoy:

Recording the Great Organ of Washington National Cathedral presents immense challenges to a recording engineer. The organ occupies a significant amount of physical space and it has a tremendous dynamic range. Viewed from the crossing of the Cathedral, the organ divisions are situated one behind the other, in the direction of the altar, on either side of the chancel. The sound in the Nave however, is reasonably present and blended—even from the divisions that are farthest away. We experimented with several microphone setups, including microphones in the crossing (capturing the blended sound in the room) combined with mics in the chancel (for closer, more equidistant placement for the divisions). In the end, we decided on just two microphones in the chancel, placed slightly below the impost level. This configuration captured the blended symphonic character of the organ as heard in the Nave, but with just enough un-muddled detail and clarity. This was the best overall placement—not just for the organ—but for the music being performed.

Because this may be the last recording of the instrument, every effort was made to create the best possible document of its current sound. We used our proprietary 24-bit technology, which has no transformers in the signal path—allowing the true fundamental of the deepest bass notes to be recorded without upper-bass ‘boom’. The dynamic range of the instrument is also preserved in this recording, which may present some challenges to inferior playback systems. On a high-resolution playback system however, the listener will experience the full spectrum of this organ’s symphonic color and dynamic range.

— Roger W. Sherman