Today, Janet took me on another church crawl, scouting suitable places for recordings of lutes and vihuelas. We managed to see eleven churches this time, mainly to points south and west of home (Richmond, North Yorkshire). The previous crawl had mainly been to points north and east. I played a little bit in each place, took a few pictures, and made some notes. Here are the results.
1. Kirby Hill
Toilet? No. But maybe an arrangement could be made with the pub opposite.
Separate space suitable for a control room? Yes, the vestry.
Power sockets? Yes.
Acoustical properties: doesn't particularly pick up the lute.
Clock chimes every quarter hour. May or may not be turn-off-able.
Silence: surprisingly quiet, considering it's near dwellings and near the pub. However, it was a very windy day, and Kirby Hill (as the name implies) is high and exposed. The wind was somewhat noisy. The potential for noise, plus the fact that the acoustical properties failed to inspire me, mean that I won't pursue this one further, nice though it is.
2. Marske
Note the box pews and the unusual interior. I liked the church for being characterful.
Toilet? No. Would have to beg favours from locals.
Control room? No. What a pity! No separate room which could be used as a control room.
Never mind the other questions -- with no control room, it's a non-starter. Pity, because it's a more resonant place than some (no carpets).
3. Downholme
This lovely little church is one I've been to before, and it's a favourite of mine. Set in a very beautiful spot only a few miles from home, I'd love to record here. It's small, but fairly resonant for its size. I'd love to show this one to Ade, the producer/engineer, when he's up here for a visit in December.
Toilet? No, and none anywhere near. Some sort of arrangement would have to be made to hire portable toilets, or we'd have to use the gravestones.
Control room? There is a space behind the organ which could be used as a control room, but I'm not sure Ade would approve it, because it's not sealed off from the main body of the church -- it's only sort of partitioned off, so our live sound would leak into Ade's work space.
Power sockets? Yes. Enough? Not sure. Ask Ade.
Acoustics? resonant, with a short tail (long enough for spacious polyphony played on two vihuelas? not sure; ask Ade!)
Silence? It's beautifully quiet, because it's away from everything, except when something drives past on the road outside, which is not so very far away. But it's not a busy road, and I think it could work. There are question marks, however, so I think Ade and I need to pop in there and check it out in December.
4. Bellerby
Toilet? Don't think so. But it's right in the village, so maybe some kind residents would let us use theirs.
Control room? yes.
Power sockets? Yes, I think there are enough.
Acoustics? none to speak of. Dead for lute.
Silence? The place is surrounded by dwellings, so a bit at their mercy. Also, I can hear occasional traffic from inside the church. Not worth pursuing for my purposes.
5. Wensley
Wensley is a
Churches Conservation Trust church. I like that organisation -- they seem to me to be worth supporting.
Toilet? No. Maybe use the pub nearby?
Control room? Yes.
Power sockets? Yes.
Acoustics? Nave not so great for lute. Chancel very good. Resonant and responsive.
Silence? Near a road. Seemed pretty quiet when we were there, but a church near a road tempts fate.
6. Coverham
Another
Churches Conservation Trust place. As you can see from the picture, it's well set back from the road. This is good.
Toilet? No, and none anywhere near.
Control room? Yes.
Power? Yes.
Acoustics? Resonant enough for our purposes, I think. I like this place.
Silence? Seems very good.
This is one to take Ade to in December.
7. Spennithorne
Toilet? Yes!!! (Most unusual.) and a kitchen!
Control room? Yes.
Power? Yes.
Acoustics? None to speak of.
Silence? ok, I think, though it's pretty much in the middle of things.
Interestingly, in some venues the sound actually coming out of the lute (as opposed to the sound bouncing back from the room) sounds thin. In others, it sounds full and rich and it's a joy to play in the space, even when there's little or no tail to the sound coming back from the room. This was one such place -- it's lovely to play in there. The lute sounds full and rich to my ears, even though there's no tail to speak of. I suppose one could record in a place like this, and add artificial reverb.
8. Finghall
Toilet? No.
Control room? Yes.
Power? Yes.
Acoustics? Surprisingly resonant, especially in the chancel, though the place is small.
Silence? This is the question mark. There's a caravan park next door. It was very quiet when we were there, but if there are lots of people staying in the caravans, it may not be quiet. Also, outside the church I could hear distant traffic noise (though the church is a long way from the road). Inside, I couldn't hear it. I think it may be worth taking Ade to see this place.
9. Hornby
Toilet? Yes!
Control room? Yes.
Power? Yes.
Silence? Seems ok. It's on a road, though not a busy one. I did hear the odd car passing, even when inside the church, so I don't think it's a goer.
Acoustics? Fairly resonant and spacious, but probably better for voices and louder instruments than for lute, which doesn't fully excite the resonance in the room.
10. Hauxwell
Toilet? No.
Control room? Yes.
Power? Yes.
Silence? Seems good. Away from the road.
Acoustics? Another one of those places where the lute sounds exceptionally good to my ears, but without a lot of feedback from the room. All the rich and full sound seems to be coming straight out of the lute. Like Spennithorne, only better. I suppose this could again be a place to record if one were prepared to add the reverb later.
11. Hipswell
Not worth bothering with, unfortunately. It's right on a busy road, and the traffic noise is audible in the church.
So, looking at the results of the two church crawls (for which I'm greatly indebted to Janet), I think there are a small handful of places to consider with Ade when he comes in December.
Janet also thinks I should go and have a look at the Saxon church in Escomb, near Bishop Auckland. I may try to fit that in at some point.
