Attracting more than 1,200 pilgrims each month Sao Paolo’s Basilica Nosa Senhora do Rosario borrows Gothic-style architecture and ornamentation reminiscent of European cathedrals. As with Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle, its interior is highly reverberant and fraught with complex acoustics.
The sound system it required had to be visually unobtrusive yet deliver clear, intelligible sound everywhere. Diego Nascimento Brito and the team at systems integrator AMI Music met the challenge with Renkus-Heinz Iconyx technology.
‘Masses at the basilica are very traditional, with no instrumental music but a lot of Gregorian chant and spoken word,’ Brito explains. ‘To handle the main part of the room, we mounted a pair of Renkus-Heinz IC16-R-II digitally steerable line arrays to the columns that flank the base of the steps to the stage. From there, we could steer multiple beams to cover the room while minimizing the effects of the many reflective surfaces.
It was also imperative that the sound system be as invisible as possible. To accomplish this, Brito had Renkus-Heinz customise the paint so that the slim, low-profile IC16-RII columns were the same shade of crimson as the walls. If you don’t know where to look, you probably won’t see them.
The altar is behind the IC16s and therefore outside their coverage area. The chorus is up in the mezzanine, and there’s an arched corridor. To serve these areas, Brito chose IC7-II mechanically steered array loudspeakers. While they employ the same triple-tweeter technology and natural sound reproduction as the IC16-R-II, the IC7-II’s fixed acoustical beam is particularly well suited for side fill, front fill, and short-throw applications that don’t require programmable control. That enabled Brito to precisely cover the smaller areas. A pair of Renkus-Heinz IC7-II columns serves the altar, painted a custom shade of brown so they blend in with the decor. Another pair of IC7-IIs serves the mezzanine.
The corridor presented a special challenge. But, says Brito, ‘the IC7-IIs proved an excellent solution for the corridor, as well, thanks to their controlled dispersion.’ The AMI team installed a pair of stacked IC7-II columns on either side of the front of the corridor, beneath the arches (four IC7-II units total). A delayed pair of IC7-IIs was mounted further down the corridor.
‘The combination of the IC16-R-II main pair and the ten IC7-IIs has worked perfectly,’ Brito reports. ‘The client says everything is fantastic, they love the system, and they want us to put a Renkus-Heinz system in the sacristy as well. People from other local churches have come to the basilica to check out the new sound system. Everyone has been very impressed.’
More: www.renkus-heinz.com
