Philosophy
Joy of sound
«Music's unspeakable depth, so easy to understand and yet so mysterious, is due to the fact that it recreates all of our being's innermost feelings…"
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)
The secret of music could hardly be put in words in a more beautiful manner. When listening to well-played music in concert, the audience gets infected by the magic of the one moment which is without equal. The art of recording tries to capture that magic, doing its utmost to make sure that the music's inherent magic hits home. This is the true art of a tonmeister's task - the aim has been reached when we, while listening to the music, forget that we are sitting between two speakers, and euphony is reaching the depths of our souls. The CD has got to be more than a mere copy of reality, an additional tonal beauty must be added courtesy of the tonmeister or recording engineer. Just as the chef de cuisine is refining a meal by his artistry, or the photographer projecting things beyond natural perception. A tonmeister is an artist, either in the field of record engineering or sound design. He has got an inner idea of the music and sound, and is guided by his inspiration while both his technical skills and his experience provide the basis.
Is a CD production's euphony right, the music will be listened to more often, for it comes across as being more lively and played with inspiration, bringing great joy - the joy of sound.
Read more about our philosophy
Hearing Sound Culture
Euphony has a far greater bearing on the subjective experience when listening to music through speakers, than is commonly assumed. If it sounds bad, the listener gets the impression of a little-inspired musician lacking vitality. This is why old recordings often sound so touching and emotional: besides great musicians playing inside perfectly matching rooms, great value used to be set upon the excellence of technology. It is our goal to make our recordings sound as rich and moving as an old vinyl record, but with the sophistication of present-day standards as well as all the contemporary technical possibilities.
How?
Musical quality and excellence of instruments are the prerequisites for a successful production. The recording engineer assists in production in order that the music comes into its own through the speakers, since a recording situation produces an entirely different impact than live music, i.e. music in concert. Matching the music, the recording room is making the music resonate, shaping it by its unique euphony, since an instrument in a room behaves in a similar way to the string in a grand piano, with the resonating body producing the sound ultimately! Next, a perfect microphone set-up is crucial. Finding the right positions is an art we have mastered consummately. Additionally, one of the most complete collections of historical and modern microphones in the German-speaking world is on hand. Different from our ears, microphones dont't 'listen' selectively - in order to capture all the qualities and tonal nuances of the music, a number of different microphones are normally utilised. Pivotal emphasis is placed on the quality of the preamplifiers and the A/D converters. We must unfortunately mention the fact that people today cut down on this most important aspect. The resulting recording won't ever be able to move you the way it could!
Sound Art
After the recording, the single tracks are edited and cut in order to get refined, mixed and mastered in our high-end production centre, or to put it more simply, to create some sound masterpiece by dint of much fervour! Fundamentally, an Idee und Klang Studio production impresses with both outstanding liveliness and spaciousness, differing audibly from other productions. People are deeply moved by our music productions, as if they'd be at a concert. This effect is, as described above, only possible by way of an additional beauty dominating the recorded sound: euphony. By comparison with photography once again, an image is pleasing to the eye if both the object and the photographer's artistic accomplishment are fine. The photographer cultivates an additional beauty which is absent in the real world. Therefore, the art of recording produces tangible experiences beyond the live concert, capturing a few moments of magic. Find detailed information of our approach to working with sound in the appropriate music menue items.