Capturing the essence of the orchestra and Nils Petter Molvær

On February 21st and 22nd 2023, the acclaimed Norwegian artist Nils Petter Molvær and producer Jan Bang performed a remarkable project in collaboration with CreaTeME and Kilden Kulturhus.

 

Building on Molvær’s performance from 2021 with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra on national TV, which due to technical challenges was only close-miced, an innovative approach was devised to capture the essence of an orchestra’s sonic quality. The entire orchestra was reamped through a configuration of 64 individual speakers in the renowned concert hall of Kilden, celebrated for its impressive acoustics. Emulating the spatial arrangement of a classical orchestra, the speakers were strategically placed to replicate the experience of an orchestra in performance. Employing established mic-techniques for orchestras, the team was able to “capture the room,” and blend it with the original recordings in the mixing process. The result was astonishing, and Molvær’s album is soon to be released on all standard streaming services. 

 

The project was documented by CreaTeME researchers, and will hopefully result in exciting publications. 

 

Photo: Eirik Sørbø