John Barnes

Glyndebourne Tonmeister

For over half a century, sound recording at Glyndebourne was managed by John Barnes. Alongside his work in management Barnes took a keen interest in high fidelity recording, kitting out the quintessentially English opera house with a formidable selection of high-end audio gear:

Glyndebourne recording equipment

His approach was nothing short of fastidious, from the optimum placement of Schoeps microphones in the auditorium to the clever wiring of the control room, which minimises interference and maximises galvanic isolation in the analogue and digital lines.

For Glyndebourne's biggest season yet, Eastwood Records will be continuing Barnes's legacy as Tonmeister through archival work on old recordings, and recording the 2016 Festival in high definition. The music of each stunning production is being captured at 96kHz in a multi-channel, surround sound format so it remains future-proof, and we will also contribute edits and mixes to various promotional material released by the company. Millennia and Earthworks mic pres paired with Prism and RME A/D conversion never sounded so good.

Click here to listen to more recordings produced by Eastwood Records.