Massed strings and large choral groups

I absolutely agree with this. I would also suggest that large choral groups are harder than massed strings. I think some of this is due to how the recording sessions are miked, but you I have heard big differences using different amps in my system. I have recently enjoyed some hips using 1 or 2 voices per part vs a huge chorus. Much more enjoyable for me.

I can't say, one way or the other, if large choral groups are harder to record than other types but when I hear a really good one, it grabs my attention and refuses to let go. There's something inherently right when one hears well recorded human voices. It's hard to ignore (some Eric Whitacre samples recently had me gobsmacked at just how beautiful it can all sound).

When anything other than human voices are recorded, we can take for granted that it was the way it's supposed to sound, or at least very close. With human voices, it's something we can all immediately identify with and critique.

All the best,
Nonoise

Hello,

Yes, generally, I would agree.
A critical proviso, as articulated earlier, is the recording!

Regards,

Sam

Yes. applies to any type large group. Chamber much easier than a full orchestra etc.... In fact, that's why many 'great' classsical recordings are those where all the different instruments are clearly captured. Carlos Kleiber's CD of Beethoven's 5 & 7 is a good example.

Absolutely some of the most difficult sounds to get right. But not because they are strings or voices, but because they are massed. An average major orchestra can have more than sixty string players depending on the work being performed. One of the things that gives a great string section it's beautiful sound is the fact that you have that many different players, each with his/her own individual sound, playing together to create a "blend" where no one player sticks out (unless the music calls for it) and, as musicians like to describe it, "getting inside each other's sound". The result, in audio-speak, is an incredible amount of low-level information that the recording process, and the playback process, can only hope to get close to capturing fully. Sixty flutes, or banjos playing together would probably tax one's stereo (and recording mics) just as much. Luckily, not too many works written for sixty banjos.