DPA microphones played a key role in delivering exceptional sound quality to the
Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra of Ireland, which made its London debut over
Easter with a special concert at the Barbican.
First formed by Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Éireann in the late 1980s, the National Folk
Orchestra of Ireland has always attracted the most gifted young Irish musicians and
singers. At the Barbican, the 60-plus musicians in the Orchestra were performing
Macalla 1916 – a new commission by composer and conductor Michael Rooney to
mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. The piece celebrates the rich culture and
traditions of Ireland today and reflects on the events of Easter 1916 when Irish
republicans launched the rising to end British rule and establish an independent Irish
Republic.
Michael Rooney is one of the finest exponents of the Irish harp in traditional Irish
folk music and therefore it was no surprise that this piece included eight harpists,
all of whom were amplified using DPA d:vote™ 4099 Instrument microphones.
Barry McCusker, Director of Armagh-based hire company McCusker Pro Audio, was
the sound engineer for the event and was responsible for specifying the
microphones.
“With the harps in particular, we were looking for a microphone that could be
positioned close to the strings without giving us any feedback problems and also
without interfering with the way the musicians played,’ he explains. “DPA’s d:vote™
Instrument microphones were ideally suited to this task because they deliver
transparent sound without any colouration.’
To fit the microphones to the harps, McCusker used an instrument clip that was
originally designed to fit a d:vote™ to a trumpet.
“A local harpist, Eimear Mallon, recommended this approach because she had seen
it done before and it had worked well,’ he says. “Like all musicians who play
expensive instruments, harpists are very particular about clips – they won’t
countenance anything that is likely to scratch or damage their harps. However, they
were all thrilled with the DPA trumpet clips because they are rubberised and very
gentle on the instrument. We taught the musicians how to fit the microphones
themselves so that they could get the positioning absolutely right for their individual
playing styles. All our monitor engineer, Diarmaid Rankin had to do was check them
and they were ready to go.’
McCusker used d:vote™ 4099 instrument microphones on a number of other
instruments, including two cellos and the double bass. The piece also required two
narrators and two singers, all of whom were miked using DPA’s d:fine™ headset
microphones.
“Both singers and narrators found the headset microphones very comfortable to
wear and we were thrilled with the clear and natural sound quality we achieved
through the monitors,’ he says. “In fact the vocals were so good that quite a few
people asked me what microphones I was using and I was more than happy to tell
them.’
