Anechoic Multi-Channel Recordings of Individual String Quartet Musicians

Dataset containing audio files for edited anechoic multi-channel recordings of individual musicians of the string quartet op76 n1 from Franz Joseph Haydn. *

1st Movement: Allegro con Spirito (from bar 1 until first beat of bar 88);

2nd Movement: Adagio Sostenuto (from bar 1 until first beat of bar 16);

3rd Movement: Minuet Presto (entire movement without repetitions);

3rd Movement: Trio (entire movement without repetitions);

4th Movement: Finale. Allegro ma non troppo (from bar 94 until first note of bar 138).

Detailed report on the recording methods:

O. C. Gomes, W. Lachenmayr, J. Thilakan and M. Kob, "Anechoic Multi-Channel Recordings of individual String Quartet musicians," 2021 Immersive and 3D Audio: from Architecture to Automotive (I3DA), 2021, pp. 1-7, doi: 10.1109/I3DA48870.2021.9610912.

Abstract:

Many and great efforts have been put into creating anechoic recordings of symphony orchestras, opera arias, solo instruments, speech and etc. However, chamber music, a typical music formation is poorly represented in the available anechoic material library.  This is especially relevant in the context of small concert halls, where typically the most common form of concert would be of chamber music. With this need for material in mind, short excerpts of each movement of Haydn’s string quartet op. 76 n.1 have been recorded in an anechoic chamber. The recordings have been conducted with individual instruments with an array of 12 studio microphones positioned evenly around the musician. This paper reports on the methods, technical aspects and difficulties faced in producing such recording, as well as the post-processing required to achieve a realistic and usable performance of a string quartet. The finalized audio files will be made freely available for use in academic research.

Specification:

Audio files recorded at 44.1 kHz/24 Bit.

File names:

1000 Hz at 94 dB calibration tone recorded by NTI M2010 microphone. Channel 16.
CalibrationTone_1000Hz_94dB.wav

Short 6 s recording of silence with musician present.
NoiseFloor.wav

1st Movement: Allegro con Spirito (from bar 1 until first beat of bar 88);

Mov1_Cello_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov1_Viola_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov1_Violin1_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov1_Violin2_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav

2nd Movement: Adagio Sostenuto (from bar 1 until first beat of bar 16);

Mov2_Cello_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov2_Viola_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov2_Violin1_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov2_Violin2_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav

3rd Movement: Minuet Presto (entire movement without repetitions);

Mov3_Minuet_Cello_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov3_Minuet_Viola_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov3_Minuet_Violin1_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov3_Minuet_Violin2_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav

3rd Movement: Trio (entire movement without repetitions);

Mov3_Trio_Cello_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov3_Trio_Viola_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov3_Trio_Violin1_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov3_Trio_Violin2_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav

4th Movement: Finale. Allegro ma non troppo (from bar 94 until first note of bar 138).

Mov4_Cello_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov4_Viola_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov4_Violin1_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav
Mov4_Violin2_Haydn_StringQuartet_op76_n1.wav

Description of channels in the audio files:

Channel number    Mic Array               Microphone model      Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z)
1                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        61, 0, -79
2                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        -30, 53, -79
3                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        -30, -53, -79
4                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        49, -85, -19
5                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        98, 0, 19
6                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        49, 85, -19
7                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        -49, 85, 19
8                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        -98, 0, -19
9                          Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        -49, -85, 19
10                        Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        30, -52, 79
11                        Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        30, 52, 79
12                        Dodecahedron        Neumann km-184        -61, 0, 79
13                        Spot mic                DPA 4099                   -,-,-
14                        Stereo A (right)      Neumann km-183        140, 0, 80
15                        Stereo B (left)        Neumann km-183        140, -50, 80
16                        Calibration             NTI M2010                ~ 98, 0, 19

Coordinates in cm from the acoustic center of the instruments.

Recording environment:

TH-OWL Anechoic Chamber in Lemgo, Germany
Inner dimensions: 4.80 m x 5.80 m x 4.00 m
Acoustic conditions: Grid floor with 50 cm acoustic foam wedges.