February 9, 2016 · Forte dei Marmi, Italy – The sound of Andrea Bocelli’s voice is the very essence of beauty itself. Having transcended geographic, cultural and generational borders, Bocelli is one of classical music’s biggest selling artists and the only one to have achieved 10 albums in the top 10. Perhaps more importantly, his heartfelt performances strike an emotional chord among audiences around the world. Bocelli and his longtime engineer, Pierpaolo Guerrini, depend on Antelope Audio’s studio clocking technology in the studio to bring his recordings as close as possible to the authentic live performance.
Though he is one of the most important operatic tenors who ever lived, Bocelli also has an extraordinary sense of sonic perception and is able to ascertain every detail in his recordings. While recording Puccini’s famous unfinished opera Turandot in Valencia last year with Maestro Zubin Mehta, Guerrini introduced two new pieces of gear in the recording chain: An Antelope Audio 10M atomic reference generator and Trinity master clock combination. The result was immediately perceptible to Bocelli, according to his engineer: “When Andrea heard it he noticed right away and told me, ‘Pierpaolo, from now on, we should always use the atomic clock.”
A Digital ‘Coming of Age’
Bocelli, who has released a total of 11 complete operatic recordings to date, is conditioned to working in recording environments with extremely high technical standards. When engineer Guerrini told him about the sonic benefits of adding the Antelope 10M/Trinity combination during the recording of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, it piqued his interest: “Andrea got really curious when I told him about this unique device,” he recalls. “He was also a bit skeptical, but I suppose that anyone would be skeptical about such transformative technology.”
With innovations such as Antelope’s atomic clocking technology, Bocelli is now confident that digital recording technology is finally coming of age: “Our period is a digital period — the world moves on, and nobody can ever go back,” he says. “I am very happy about Antelope technology because it represents a discernible improvement in the sound. In the recording of Turandot with Maestro Mehta, there were many open microphones and tracks — yet with the Antelope clocks, everything sounded cleaner and more brilliant.”
The production team integrated the 10M/Trinity combo throughout the entire recording, mixing and mastering processes. “We made some very important recordings in Valencia with Placido Domingo as director of the orchestra,” says Guerrini. “We used the best equipment we had during the entire process, and we added the Antelope atomic clock. We were pleased to discover some differences right from the first mix. Sonic details — especially in Turandot during the part of the big chorus where the arrangement is complex — we could observe details, depth and clarity that we simply did not have before.” “After the first mix was finished, Andrea and I went straight to Maestro Mehta’s house to hear the outcome of our work,” he continues. “Zubin was very pleased with it and said that it was definitely one of the best Turandot operas he had ever done. This was a great moment of satisfaction for us.”
Antelope Takes to the Big Screen
Sometime later, as Bocelli was about to begin working on his new album Cinema with David Foster, Humberto Gatica and Toni Renis in Miami, Guerrini received a call back in Italy. “It was Andrea, who didn’t want to lose anything from his performances,” he says. “He told me ‘We need the atomic clock’. We recreated the same signal chain in Miami that we had used in Valencia, everything went fine and we completed our work.” Since its release in October of this year, Cinema has reached the number one position on the top U.S. Classical Albums chart.
Bocelli, who continues to expand his own artistic possibilities by pushing his talent and passion to new levels, expects nothing less from the technology he uses. “Andrea is very curious by nature, especially interacting with people. I think there is a great connection between Andrea and Igor [Levin, president and founder of Antelope Audio], who is definitely a genius,” says Guerrini. “There is a wonderful mutual respect when they talk about various topics, both technical and musical.”Having achieved the success that many artists can only dream of, Bocelli has never forgotten his roots: “Everyone is influenced by the place that he has lived, it is absolutely true. I was born and grew up in a small village in the countryside, and sang for a long time riding my horses.” Perhaps his music brings his fans a little closer to home, and perhaps Antelope Audio brings the maestro himself one step closer to sonic perfection: “The sound is nice, simple and beautiful. I like it,” he says.
For more information, please visit Andrea Bocelli’s web site at http://www.andreabocelli.com
For more information, please visit Antelope Audio’s clocking technology website section at http://www.antelopeaudio.com/en/products/category/master-clocks
