Hateful Chains

General Stuff, I Guess

I'm going on a music camp to teach this coming week. I'm supposed to lead the choir and maybe some band stuff too. To prepare, I chose a number of motets from the 16th and 17th century. Nothing too complicated, since it takes time to get the singers to "sync", musically and socially as well. For band practice I chose some classics, and a few songs from the alternative section, namely The Cure and Radiohead. I have a duty to introduce the young generation to some good music!

The motets remind me of one thing I have been pondering about: Choir in the context of Goth-music. If I really get to record the songs I have written for Hateful Chains, I want it to be perfect.  Meaning actual choir recorded in a church or some other environment that brings out the best from human voices. Most of the choir sounds in the songs are intended to be played with the synth and so they are not trying to be authentic or mimicking the actual human voice. I also usually combine the choir sound with strings or something else, so it's even further. There are some sections, however, that need the special feels, the atmosphere, that only genuine humans and great acoustics can bring out.

The best example of what kind of stuff I have in mind would be Sisters of Mercy's This Corrosion. The beginning of this song is just marvelous: A fateful forte passage, a sudden diminuendo in the second part, and then the song kicks in with full power. Yeah, I have a classic training so this is how I tend to describe music... But it seems that some careful thought and arrangement has been done to acquire this result. Interestingly, the choir part seems to have been recorded with only a handful of people, as one can see from the album credits.

I still have a lot of friends, namely classically trained singers in my old school, from which I graduated just recently. It wouldn't be much of a problem to gather a choir, even a big one. Except that male voices are much harder to find than female. There seems to be at least three sopranos to one bass or tenor these days. But the town I live in is big enough to find these voices with a little effort and asking around. Also, with good arrangement I could use a wider spectrum of singers, not necessarily all classically trained.

There are also three big churches around in this town that have great acoustics, and a few smaller ones. Again, by asking around I might be able to get one even for free, or for a small rent. The churches have different policies regarding the use of their facilities and equipment. If I could somehow make this a study project for the singers, it might be easier to get the space. That way I could also compensate the singers by giving them studying credits.

I have a few connections in the music technology section of the school as well, willing to help. That would cover the recording process and editing. Or, if they can't help, they might know someone who can. There's always a way. I just need to find the one that works. But that's the hard part, me thinks.