The Diocese responsible for the French city of Tours has been organising events to
mark the 1,700th anniversary of the birth of its patron saint, St. Martin of Tours.
Alongside special masses in the city’s Cathedral, the Saint’s anniversary was also
celebrated with a large, open-air mass in Marmoutiers where he founded a small
hermitage in the fourth century – now the site of a ruined Abbey.

Sound engineer Julien Proutiere, of Tours-based audio company Multi Sceni, was
responsible for specifying audio equipment for these events, many of which were
broadcast by local radio and television. High on his list of priorities was a selection
of DPA microphones, which were chosen for their ability to deliver clear, amplified
sound.

Multi Sceni has an extensive selection of DPA microphones, all of which were
supplied by DPA’s French distributor Audio², and Proutiere called on these resources
to mic this prestigious event. The final microphone set up included four d:dicate™
4011 Cardioid Microphones with active MMP-E cables, which were used to capture
the sound of the choir, plus four more for the orchestra.

The Archbishop conducting the mass was eventually fitted with a d:fine™ 4066
Omnidirectional Headset Microphone, plus a d:screet™ 4060™ Omnidirectional lapel
microphone for added security, just in case Proutiere lost the headset signal. The
other priests had access to two 45cm d:screet™ SC4098 Supercardioid podium
microphones, which were also chosen for its directionality and rejection of
background and wind noise.

“The sound from all of the microphones was perfect, despite the wind, and we didn’t
have any issues with feedback,’ Proutiere says.

Working outside the confines of a church building gave Proutiere more freedom than
usual when it came to choosing a sound system.

“Our main problem was the lack of damping tarps, as the Abbey ruins around the
stage had to be visible,’ he says. “We were also expecting a large number of
spectators filling an area with a depth of over 50 meters, so I needed a sound
system with real kick.’

To this end, he chose a Y10 Adamson line array with eight speakers on each side,
plus full-frontal Adamson M15 speakers and two Wave speakers to brighten up the
front row. These were calibrated by his colleague Julien Benezet and he used a
Yamaha CL5 to control the entire kit.

Over 5,000 people attended the outdoor mass in Marmoutiers, while as many as
3,000 have regularly attended the special masses for St. Martin that have taken
place over the summer in Tours Cathedral.