In dolce abbandono

Arias by Händel and Haydn with Megan Kahts in Dolby Atmos

On her debut album In dolce abbandono, mezzo-soprano Megan Kahts joins the Carestini Ensemble Wien to interpret arias by Georg Friedrich Händel and Joseph Haydn, all centered around themes of separation, farewell, and emotional abandonment. The result is a production that blends dramatic intensity with intimate sound design, created from the ground up for immersive playback in Dolby Atmos.

Two dramatic cantatas, Händel’s Armida abbandonata and Haydn’s Arianna a Naxos, form the emotional core of the program. They are framed by two of Händel’s “forest arias,” Ombra mai fu and Verdi prati, which function as a contemplative prologue and epilogue. Each piece explores solitude through the lens of abandoned female figures, musically expressed in a fragile balance of strength and vulnerability.

Recording

The recording took place from January 31 to February 3, 2024, in the concert hall of the Liszt House in Raiding, Austria. With a volume of 3,080 m³ and a reverb time between 1.5 and 2 seconds, the hall proved ideal for a sound aesthetic that fuses the clarity of chamber music with operatic depth.

The goal was to create a sound image that is both intimate and spatially expansive. To this end, we chose an unconventional setup: instead of standing in front of the ensemble as is common, the singer was placed within the ensemble. This promoted close musical interaction and created a particularly intimate chamber-like sound. At the same time, the challenge was to preserve the resonance of the hall while giving a small ensemble with predominantly soft instruments the necessary presence. The solution, as so often, was a carefully planned and finely tuned microphone setup, designed specifically with a later Dolby Atmos mix in mind.

Microphone Setup

At the core of the system was an AB main array with Sennheiser MKH20 microphones positioned about three meters above the stage, supported by a center microphone (Neumann TLM193) and dedicated spot microphones for the soloist, instrument groups, and ambient capture.

Two parallel systems were used for the vocal recording: a stereo AB setup with Neumann TLM170s and an MS system using two Sennheiser MKH50s (sides) and a Coles 4038 (mid). The latter was later omitted in favor of greater vocal clarity.

The Dolby Atmos surround and height channels were built discretely: side surrounds approximately five meters behind the main system, rears, and overhead microphones at the front and rear of the hall, slightly elevated and angled upwards. The result is a coherent spatial image. When the listener moves outside the sweet spot, it creates the illusion of moving through the real concert space.

The recording was managed via a compact mobile control setup, with the soundcheck conducted remotely. During setup and mic placement, a hi-res audio stream was sent live to the marinegrau control room, enabling full remote sound checking from the studio.

A quirky side note: on one of the recording days, Megan Kahts changed her shoes, and the shift in her position was clearly audible. Subtle details like this reveal how sensitive the setup was to even the smallest changes.

The album was released on June 21, 2024, on the Solo Musica label.

In dolce abbandono captures the solitude of nature, reflecting on loss and melancholy in a sonic world that brings closeness and spaciousness into perfect harmony.