The event also marked two other world firsts – the premiere of Sony’s new Hi Res Series Studio Microphones, and their use to record the premiere of Australian composer Alan Griffiths’ album Rare View.
The extraordinary piano is called The Beluera, after its debut venue, and was built by Stuart & Sons in Tumut, NSW. The Beluera is a mammoth, yet achingly beautiful instrument that weighs in at 644kg and hosts 218 strings spanning the 108 notes.
“Due to the incredible range and the immense cacophony of harmonics and high frequency overtones, it takes a unique kind of microphone to fully record its range and beauty – which is where the Sony High Res 100 Series mics came in,” Sony Australia product manager David Green explained in a press release.
Bach penned the Gigue Sonata in A minor in 1728, utilising church and cathedral organs’ lower register, making it impossible to accurately play on a traditional piano. The event at Beluera House marks the first official high-res recording of the piece and after 200 years, it might have been worth the wait.
“If there were ever a format that had to be heard to be believed then High Res Audio is it, as it is a relatively new format for appreciating music holistically. With its extended frequency response the listener is now not only able to hear with their ears, but also experience and sense these high frequencies through their bodies,” Green added.
Green means this very literally – the microphone reproduce an augmented experience felt through skin, bones and even hair.
For more details on Sony Microphones, visit Dynamic Music.
