More than 400,000 spectators recently gathered at the foot of the Eiffel Tower to see Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana performed to mark the La Fête Nationale (Bastille Day). The work was performed by 250 musicians from the National Orchestra of France and of the Radio France Choir, with TV viewers and radio listeners in France and beyond joining the crowd to listen to the music and watch the firework display that followed.

Sound for the concert was mixed on two Lawo mc²36 consoles at FOH – one handling the orchestra and the other for the choirs. Two Lawo Dallis I/O systems, used as stageboxes, were connected via Ravenna/AES67 Audio-over-IP technology to a newly developed Nova router, with an additional Yamaha console was connected via Madi. This set-up allowed easy networking and sharing of all resources and buses between all consoles.

‘A 24-fader mc²36 was set up for mixing the choirs and a 40-fader desk for the orchestra,’ explains Lawo Live Sound Specialist, Hervé de Caro. ‘Both consoles – plus the Yamaha console that was used for the presenter’s microphone and music playout during the firework display – along with all of the Dallis I/O and the audio recorders were connected to our new plug-and-play Nova router. The mc²36 features a very intuitive configuration page for setting up and managing the rights within the network, controlling the preamps and feeding the different outputs and recorders.

‘The Nova router allowed us to use up to 32 buses between consoles, so the premix of the choirs, the “spare” mix from the OB van and the presenter console were assigned directly from the mc²36 consoles,’ he adds.

The flexibility of the Ravenna-based ‘all-in-one’ mc²36 demonstrated here its capability to meet the requirements of broadcast, live and install applications, providing high reliability, outstanding audio quality, extensive routing flexibility, and high channel capacity.

‘In combination with the mc²Compact I/O and mc²36, this new Nova router becomes a very smart package for live performance, installed sound and houses of worship,’ de Caro elaborates. ‘It is just plug-and-play – you connect your consoles and I/O systems via Ravenna/AES67 or Madi, and the audio network is up and running, providing immediate access to all sources. And user rights are easily done directly on the console’s touchscreen.’

Back at the Eiffel Tower, the singers’ performance of the popular opera pleased the enthusiastic crowd, as well as those listening to the outstanding broadcast on Radio France. ‘The show went very well,’ Hervé de Caro agrees. ‘The sound engineers were very impressed by the sound and the tool-set given by the processing of the channels. They also appreciated the GUI, which allowed them to quickly flip, route and mix to any of the auxes.’

Responsible for the sound capture, mixing and broadcast, French integrator BS Technology appointed audio specialist Fréquence to look after the HF aspects of the event. ‘We took care of the HF microphone and intercom operations and sent a stereo mix to the TV transmission centre,’ says Fréquence Director, Julien Périlleux.

The company used more than 120 d:screet 4061 Miniature Microphones and d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones from DPA Microphones–  around half of all of the microphones used. ‘Primarily, we chose d:screet 4061 mics for their sound quality. Our philosophy is to use microphones that don’t interfere with the musicians’ movements and are invisible, which is crucial when you’re shooting for TV. The addition of the d:vote 4099 microphones was necessary for some instruments where the mic needs to be closer, while still keeping a clear, natural sound. Clarinets are one example, and the specific mount for the d:vote 4099 makes it easy and fast to install.’

To prepare for the event itself, there were six nights of rehearsal, mostly in humid conditions. ‘And with musicians moving around, Périlleux says, ‘yet we never had a problem. The expertise of BS Technology combined with Fréquence’s ethos was a success, making for a perfect broadcast.

‘As a relatively small company, we don’t own hundreds of examples of every microphone on the market,’ he continues. ‘Instead, we carefully select our products so we can deliver a premium, custom-designed service for our clients. Every single service, rental or sale is treated as unique. Fréquence is not an over-the-counter rental company, but a true partner.’

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