Soprano soloist, Mei Zhong and pianist, Jim Helton recorded Silvered Lute in the Music Technology Studios at Ball State University. The multilingual album features compositions by Derek Healey, Hua Lin, Judith Cloud, Joaquin Turina Perez and Eleanor Trawick.
Released on North Pacific Music, NPM-LD-033
…Mei Zhong’s singing is beautiful, warm, and highly expressive. As a Puccini soprano, she brings a flawless singing line and heartfelt lyricism to every song.
–Judith Carman, Journal of Singing, Sept./Oct. ’09, Vol. 66, No. 1, NATS
This is our third album together. I used an AEA R44 for Mei’s vocals. The album was recorded in the studio but Mei didn’t want a studio sound. She wanted a large hall sound but I liked the clarity of a more intimate studio sound. We compromised by using the R44 from two feet away. Its natural smoothing of the high end softens her powerful voice. Jim Helton’s piano (yes, we moved his piano into the studio) was recorded with a stereo pair of Sennheiser MKH 80 microphones (90 degrees, 12 cm). These were placed a few feet out from the curve of the piano. I laser sighted the mics for voice and piano between sessions so that we could get a reasonable level of repeatability.
