In case you hadn't heard, there was a big, fancy wedding at centuries-old Westminster Abbey on April 29. But the Royal Nuptials were actually just the latest in a succession of high-profile events that have taken place in the Abbey, formally known as the Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Westminster, within the last year or so.
Last fall, for example, the Abbey hosted its very first Papal visit (Pope Benedict XVI). Before that, the venue hosted a ceremony marking 450 years since Queen Elizabeth I granted a Royal Charter to the Abbey in 1560. And that earlier event – not the Royal Wedding – was actually the impetus for a massive upgrade to the Abbey's audio, video and data systems.
Given the Abbey's architectural constraints, ceiling height and busy schedule of concerts, televised events and daily tours, it's easy to imagine that this church installation could have very well morphed into an audio upgrade from hell.
Working on behalf of the Abbey's Clerk of the Works, however, specialist crews managed to get the job done – well in advance of the many other preparations needed for the day when England's future king and queen exchanged vows.
Michael Hyland & Associates provided the AV system design for the upgrade, which included speech reinforcement, induction loop and CCTV systems and video, audio and data distribution, while Whitwam Ltd. handled the installation of the audio, video and control systems and Albert Walker Electrical Ltd. focused on the cable installation.
No Fear of Heights
The cabling requirements were particularly daunting. Routing the cabling through the floor was not an option, and the ceiling height defied easy access for the vertical runs to the underside of the roof, which is where the new cable needed to go. (It was also routed through existing heat ducts.)
"The installers – who obviously were able to overcome any squeamishness about heights – also needed to carefully conceal all new cables and remove all redundant cabling whenever possible.
At the heart of the signal processing system, there are two Yamaha DME64N digital mixing engines installed in the main "user" rack. These are connected locally to AD8HR microphone input modules and DA824 line outputs.
Five remote equipment racks contain a number of DME24N and DME8o-C units, with audio connections from the user rack via CobraNet and a fiber optic backbone. This includes two multi-core fibers installed between all of the rack locations and forming two continuous rings to provide full redundancy.
The decentralized configuration helped limit the length of the AV cable runs required, minimizing their architectural impact.
The Abbey's staff members control the system using Crestron touchscreens, installed in multiple locations including the organ console area. The system also can be controlled by a portable screen which can be plugged in at a number of locations, along with a wireless touchscreen which can be used throughout the main areas of the building.
The Crestron AV2 processor also provides control over other elements of the installation such as CCTV cameras, audio and video recording / playback equipment.
Audio inputs to the system include 32 wired microphone circuits in key areas, each of which can be switched on and off locally by the user or by remotely using any of the touchscreens, which feature a custom electronic interface with the Yamaha DMEs and Crestron system.
Along with the wired mics, including Audio Technica ES935/MLs, AT's U851R boundary microphones are positioned on the altars. A Sennheiser EM2000 wireless system with six wireless lapel mics and two wireless handheld mics was also put to use, and a paging microphone was installed at the user rack.
47 Zones of Coverage
To serve the Abbey's complex interior spaces, there are no fewer than 47 zones of loudspeaker coverage. These include external sockets by the Abbey's north and west doors that allow stand-mounted loudspeakers to be connected to the system.
A range of presets enable the loudspeaker zones for regular services to be selected via the touchscreens by Abbey staffers.
Other input and output options include a solid state audio recorder, plus CD and DVD units, the record and playback functions for all of which are accessible via the touchscreens.
The system also includes a number of pre-recorded announcements for various emergency situations. Once an announcement is selected, it is automatically fed to all loudspeaker zones.
Auxiliary inputs and outputs are also provided to enable external equipment to be connected, while an internet link allows the system to be remotely monitored and managed.
A separate system is installed to reinforce the sound of the choir for the congregation in the nave. With a screen between the two areas acting as a sound barrier, microphones suspended above the choir stalls feed audio to a pair of loudspeakers mounted at organ loft level each end of the screen, facing the nave.
Additional ancillary systems are installed in the Jericho Chamber, the Ringing Chamber and St Margaret's Church (which stands between the Abbey and the House of Commons). All are connected to the main system.
80 Column Speakers
The loudspeakers used in most of the 47 zones are RCF CS 6940 2-way cardioid column loudspeakers – 80 column speakers in all.
For one of these zones, however – the area between the Nave and the Quire, Martin Audio OmniLine micro-array loudspeakers have been installed. These help those seated in the Nave hear the sound of the choir, especially when the organ is being played.
The OmniLine arrays, mounted at Organ Loft level, at each end of the Quire Screen balustrade, were configured in eight-module hangs, all custom-spray-painted to blend into the pillars on which they are mounted.
The RCF CS 6940 column loudspeakers were also spray-painted to blend in with the stonework. They feature eight round extended-range speakers and a tweeter, and each speaker comes with a line transformer for directly connecting the speaker columns to 100V constant-voltage systems.
