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Telling the story of Jesus Christ’s final days from the point of view of Judas Iscariot, Jesus Christ Superstar was performed in Lincoln Cathedral as part of the city’s Magna Carta 800 celebrations, commemorating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta - one original copy of which is owned by Lincoln Cathedral and was on display at Lincoln Castle during the show’s run. WhileonasabbaticalfromhisdayjobasaHeadofSoundforCirqueduSoleil,GlenBeckleyreceivedthecallfromhirecompanyWigwamAcousticstoactasSoundDesignerandEngineerfortheproduction,resumingarelationshipthatwasforgedonthemusicaltheatrecircuit17yearspreviously.WhileLincolnCathedralservedasadrawforBeckley,itssonorousnavealsopresentedsomethingofagauntlettorunbeforehecouldbegintothinkaboutdesigningtheshow. Hesaid:“Thevenuedrovealotofthedecisionsreally.It’sanincrediblyimpressivestructure.ThefirstthingIaskedwaswhattheywereplanningtodowiththeband.Theyhadn’tdecided,soIsuggestedtryingtosilencethem.Ithoughtthatifwecouldremovethemfromtheequationacousticallythenwemighthaveafightingchance.” Thedecisionwasmadetoplacethe

orchestrabehindandunderneathFOH,whichwasattheoppositeendofthecathedralnavefromthemainstage,atthebackofaraisedseatingstand.ThisstructuregaveBeckleyandhisteamaroofandwallstoadaptintoisolationboothsforthemusicians.Theseboothswerereservedforanythingthatcouldn’tbereproducedelectronically,suchaswoodwindandpercussion,andeverythingelsewasroutedthroughaDI-includingthedrummer,whowasusingaRolandTD-30KVV-ProSerieselectricdrumkit. Withthebandundercontrol,Beckleyneededtofindawayofhavingmultipleaudiosourcesaroundtheaudiencesothatheneverhadtoworkwithdeafeningvolumesandtheassociateddifficulties. “Weachievedthisbyhavingloudspeakersplacedateverypillarpositiondownthelengthofthebuildingandhadthemondelays.Thiswaywecouldminimisetheimpactoftheroom.” AnotherissueforBeckleywasthefactthattheshowwasdesignedtobeanimmersiveexperience.Theensemble,whichnumberedaround250people,regularlymovedbetweenthemainstageandsecondarystage,aswellasallthewayupthesidesandbehindtheaudienceatthebackofthecathedral. Beckleyexplained:“Weplacedevenmore

speakersfacingbacktowardsthestageandusedquiteacomplicatedmatrixsystemtoenablemetopositiontheaudiowheretheensemblewasatthetime.Itendedupbecomingsomethingofa‘surroundsound’experience.ObviouslyIdidn’tuseanyreverbsasthereisnotareverbmadethatcancompetewiththeonethatwasalreadythere.Ididn’twanttofightwiththespace,justcomplimentwhatwasalreadyprovidedinordertokeepeverythingintelligible.” Altogethertheteamused34channelsofRF.BeckleyusedDPA-4088headsetsforthe12principlesandthendistributedjustover20SennheiserMKE2samongsttheensemble.TheMKE2isanomni-directionalcapsuleso,ratherthanwiththeprincipleswheretheteamwantedtofocusononevoice,theMKE2swereusedtopickupasmuchofthesurroundingvoicesaspossible.Beckleyadded:“Wedivideditupchorally-bass,baritoneallthewayuptoaltoandsopranotobalanceandreinforcethesound.Tobehonest,250peoplesingingatthetopoftheirvoicesinacathedralmakesaprettygoodnoiseasitis!” Aswellasovercomingtheobstaclesposedbythevenueandproduction,BeckleyalsooptedtotrialCadac’snewCDCeightdigitallivesoundconsoleattheevent-despitehavingfreereinin

ALTHOUGH JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF WAS CENTRE STAGE, IT WAS SOUND DESIGNER GLEN BECKLEY AND THE CADAC CDC EIGHT THAT PERFORMED ALL THE MIRACLES. TPi’S STE DURHAM SPOKE WITH BECKLEY TO DISCOVER HOW HE DEALT WITH LINCOLN CATHEDRAL’S DISTINCTIVE ACOUSTICS.

Wigwam’sstockroom. Hecommented:“Oneofthethingsthatstruckmemostonfirstmeetingthedeskwasthefactthatthesurfaceisreallywellthoughtout.Ididn’tdelvetoofarintohowitsoundedatthatpointasIwasinawarehouse,butasapieceofkititergonomicallylookedandfeltlikesomethingIcouldbecomfortableon. “SomeotherpeoplewhoseopinionsIvaluehadalreadysaidsomereallygoodthingsabouttheactualfidelityofit.Ifnothingelseitwasanotherinterestingtwisttotheexperience-asifthereweren’tenoughalready!” WithtwostageboxesandtwoindependentMADIstreamsgoingtoandfromtheconsole,Cadachadtodosomecustomengineeringfortheteam.Aswellastheselogisticalreasons,therewasalsoasoundscapedesignedtoimmersetheaudienceinthefeelofaMiddleEasternmarketplaceofthetime,playedforthe45minutewalk-inbeforetheshowstared.Thisinvolvedanumberofchannels,andBeckleyconfirmedtheteamwasusing“wellnorthof100”bythetimeitwasready. HeaddedthathebelievestheCDCeight

couldevenplayapartinmovingthediscussiononfromthe“oldandboring”analogueversusdigitaldebate. “Withagoodanalogueconsole,oftenyoucanjustsetyourpreampgain,liftthefaderandthenmoveon,ratherthanhavingtotweaktocompensateforwhattheaudiocircuitistakingawayfromthesource.TheCDCeightisthefirstdigitalconsoleI’veusedthat’sbehavedinthesameway,allowingyoutostartfromscratchwithapuresignal.Thedebateisirrelevant,it’sjustagreatsoundingconsole,”saidBeckley. WhiletheCDCeightisstillintheearlystages,developmentally,Beckleyconfirmedthathewouldbepleasedtoarriveonanotherjobandgettheopportunitytotaketheconsoleforanotherspin. Aswellasthisglowingreview,itseemsthattheaudiencewasalsoimpressedwithhowtheteamdealtwiththechallengesposedbythecathedral’srareacoustics. Beckleylaughed:“Youdon’treallywanttojudgeyourworkonhowfewbadcommentsyouget,butthiswassomethingofanexception.Inshort,acommunitymusicaltheatreproduction

inacathedralisobviouslygoingtodrawacertaindemographic,andthatdemographicmightnotnecessarilybepredisposedtolisteningtoloudrock‘n’rollmusic. “Iwasveryconsciousofthatfactthatfeatherscouldberuffledifwedidn’tgetthisrightso,fromthatperspective,Iconsidernotreceivinganycomplaintsasabitofasuccess!Beyondthat,anyfeedbackthatIdidreceivewasalmostuniversallypositive.Manypeoplecouldn’tbelievewemanagedtodoit!” HowevermiraculousBeckley’smethodsappearedtothoseinattendance,itisclearfromoneconversationthatattentiontodetail,experienceandprideinhisworkgoesalongway.Heconcluded:“Thespaceandthefeeloftheenvironmentwasverymuchapartofwhattheproducerswantedtheshowtobeabout.Soweweren’tviewingtheroomasadrawback,justaseriesofchallengeswehadtonegotiatetoworkinaspacelikethat.”TPi

http://superstarlincoln.co.uk www.sseaudiogroup.com/wigwam

www.cadac-sound.com

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EVENT FOCUS: Jesus Christ Superstar

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Opposite: Everyone has used ‘cathedral reverb’, but Glen Beckley had to deal with the real thing. Below: The Cadac CDC eight more than lived up to the hype; The production had a cast of hundreds.

EVENT FOCUS: Jesus Christ Superstar