1. Audio setup

Requirement: 1 laptop + 1 audio interface with at least 6 inputs/8 outputs.
The concert laptop receives 6 audio channels from the FOH console, and outputs 8 audio channels back to the FOH console.
For the premiere, a RME Digiface DANTE audio interface was used.

Input channels FOH –> ADCs concert laptop:

Output channels DACs concert laptop –> FOH:
DACs 1 to 8 assigned to loudspeakers ring (loudspeakers 1 to 8)

2. Loudspeaker setup

The direct sounds of all the instruments and of the soprano are amplified directly via the FOH console, with frontal sound projection.
The laptop outputs 8 channels, to 8 loudspeakers arranged as a ring around the audience.
The arrangement consist of 4 stereo pairs:
1/2 front left / front right
3/4 front side left/ front side right
5/6 back side left/back side right
7/8 back left / back right

Care must be taken to properly balance the direct sound of the live instruments and the processed sound of the electronics, so that they fusion well together.
Subwoofers are necessary for proper reproduction of some electronic processes: they can simply be fed with a mixdown of channels 1 and 2

3. Midi setup

A simple USB MIDI controller is used to control the gain of all the sound processes, as well as the main master output gain. A MIDI controller with 8 faders is required. In the current version (v1.0), the MIDI CC numbers are hardwired to CC81 to CC88. Adapt it accordingly to your own controller in subpatcher [IO]. MIDI channel is 1.
For the premiere, a Behringer BCF2000 was used.

4. Software installation

2 dmg files are needed: Bianchi_Pozzanghere_v1.dmg file (concert patch, library, simulation file), and the Spat library (version 5.3.2).

• Copy both dmg files on your SSD or HD, and mount them.
• Copy their full content in a folder on your HD or SSD.
• Add that folder to the files preferences of Max/MSP (menu Options/File Preferences…), with “subfolders” checked.

a) Max/MSP patches

Open the main concert patch: 00_Pozzanghere_Main_v1.0.maxpat . It should open without errors.
All the required abstractions and gendsp files are in the “lib” subfolder.

b) Routing in Max/MSP

ADC 1 to 6 get the live instruments signals from the FOH console:
1 - Voice
2 - Trumpet
3 - Violin
4 - Viola
5 - Cello
6 - Double Bass

DAC 1 to 8 output to the ring of loudspeakers (LS 1 to 8, via the FOH console)

c) DSP Status Options (Fs, IO vs, S vs, Overdrive, Audio Interrupt, Vector Optimization)

On Apple Silicon: lower vector sizes generally result in lower CPU usage.
For Apple M1/M2/M3, audio settings should be:
48k,64 IOVS, 64 SVS, Overdrive ON, Audio interrupt OFF

5. Patch presentation

a) Notations

N/A

b) Shortcuts

Once the “KEY” toggle is activated:

• space bar: trigger next cue
• right arrow: select next cue (without triggering)
• left arrow: select previous cue (without triggering)

c) Main patch

00_Pozzanghere_Main_v1.0.maxpat

The patch processes the 6 live inputs in real-time.
Here is a quick description of the audio processes:

d) Main sub-patches

[IO] : audio inputs/outputs and MIDI inputs
[DSP] : all the audio processes
[SCORE] :electronic score (messages)
[INIT] : main initialization messages

6. Initialization routine

1 - check audio status
2 - turn audio ON
3 - select LIVE inputs
4 - select MIDI input
5 - check input levels
6 - Toggle Key ON
7 - click INIT
8 - good to go.

7. System calibration and tests

Input levels:

Check that the input live signals don’t clip. Average input levels should be around -24 to -18 dBFS.
Gain staging has to be made by the FOH sound engineer on the console. No adjustments have to be made within the patch.

Checking the DAC outputs:

Click the button [test] close to the outputs slider to send a test signal to the 8 DAC outputs.

Simulation:

Select input “simul”.
The simulation consists of an 8-ch audio file corresponding to soprano/Tp/Acc/Vln/Vla/Vc/Cb and the 8th channel for the rest of the ensemble.
These 8 channel are mixdowned and sent unprocessed to the DAC outputs 33 & 34 by default.
This simulates the frontal sound projection of the amplifed instruments and the soprano, unprocessed.
Important – > Choose the DAC outputs for the unprocessed sound of the instruments and the soprano corresponding to your own audio setup during testing.
6 channels of the simulation file (Sp Tp Vln Vla Vc Cb) are sent to the DSP processes, identically to the 6 live inputs in a performance situation.
Adjust the level of the unprocessed mixdown (via the numbox) so that unprocessed sound and processed sounds are roughly equally loud, and are fusioning well.
Click (from start) to play the simulation from the beginning, or select a specific position in the score using the umenu.
For now, the simulation file is only a rough draft rendered from Sibelius + some recordings of the soprano.

8. Performance notes

The piece has a strong dynamic range : it is good to adjust accordingly the levels of the processes, so that the electronics can go from subtle and quiet to loud and rough.

The parts with the Black Hole reverberation should be very subtle, to only add a layer of gentle electronic texture to the instruments.

It is important in section H, measures 158 to 167, to closely follow the dynamic of the live instruments. Make sure to start with the sine fader fully down before triggering the cue #37.

In version 1.0 of the patch, at the very beginning of the piece, a first event has to be triggered independently, on a signal of the conductor, by clicking on “bass intro”. Similarly, at measure 26, the same event should be triggered manually, before entering section A.
For the rest, it simply consists in triggering the cues, and adjusting the levels when necessary.