Audio techÂnolÂoÂgy has made many excitÂing advances in the past few years, one of which enables recordÂing engiÂneers to capÂture the sound of a speÂcifÂic space and recreÂate it elseÂwhere. Through a process called “conÂvoÂluÂtion reverb,” the sound of a conÂcert hall or club can be portable, so to speak, and a band or group of singers in a stuÂdio can be made to sound as if they were perÂformÂing in Carnegie Hall, or inside a cave or grain silo.
Also being recreÂatÂed are the sounds of gothÂic catheÂdrals and ByzanÂtine churches—acoustic enviÂronÂments being preÂserved for posÂterÂiÂty in digÂiÂtal recordÂings as their physÂiÂcal forms decay. This techÂnolÂoÂgy has givÂen scholÂars the means to repÂreÂsent the music of the past as it soundÂed hunÂdreds of years ago and as it was origÂiÂnalÂly meant to be heard by its devout lisÂtenÂers.
Music took shape in parÂticÂuÂlar landÂscapes and archiÂtecÂturÂal enviÂronÂments, just as those enviÂronÂments evolved to enhance cerÂtain kinds of sound. Medieval ChrisÂtÂian churchÂes were espeÂcialÂly suitÂed to the hypÂnotÂic chants that charÂacÂterÂize the sacred music of the time. As David Byrne puts it in his TED Talk on music and archiÂtecÂture:
In a gothÂic catheÂdral, this kind of music is perÂfect. It doesn’t change key, the notes are long, there’s almost no rhythm whatÂsoÂevÂer, and the room flatÂters the music. It actuÂalÂly improves it.
There’s no doubt about that, espeÂcialÂly in the case of the Greek OrthoÂdox catheÂdral Hagia Sophia. Built in 537 AD in what was then ConÂstanÂtinoÂple, it was once the largest buildÂing in the world. Though it lost the title earÂly on, it remains on incredÂiÂbly impresÂsive feat of engiÂneerÂing. While the strucÂture is still very much intact, no one has been able to hear its music since 1453, when the Ottoman Empire seized the city and the masÂsive church became a mosque. “Choral music was banned,” notes Scott Simon on NPR’s WeekÂend EdiÂtion, “and the sound of the Hagia Sophia was forÂgotÂten until now.”
Now (that is, in the past ten years or so), well over five cenÂturies latÂer, we can hear what earÂly medieval audiÂences heard in the masÂsive ByzanÂtine catheÂdral, thanks to the work of two StanÂford proÂfesÂsors, art hisÂtoÂriÂan BisÂsera PentcheÂva and Jonathan Abel, who teachÂes in the comÂputÂer music departÂment and studÂies, he says, “the analyÂsis, synÂtheÂsis and proÂcessÂing of sound.”
Now a museÂum, the Hagia Sophia allowed PentcheÂva and Abel to record the sound of balÂloons popÂping in the space after-hours. “Abel used the acoustic inforÂmaÂtion in the balÂloon pops to creÂate a digÂiÂtal filÂter that can make anyÂthing sound like it’s inside the Hagia Sophia,” as WeekÂend EdiÂtion guest host Sam HartÂnett explains.
PentcheÂva, who focusÂes her work “on reanÂiÂmatÂing medieval art and archiÂtecÂture,” was then able to “reanÂiÂmate” the sound of high Greek OrthoÂdox chant as it would have been heard in the heart of the ByzanÂtine Empire. “It’s actuÂalÂly someÂthing that is beyond humanÂiÂty that the sound is tryÂing to comÂmuÂniÂcate,” she says.” That mesÂsage needs a largÂer-than-life space for its full effect.
Hear more about how the effect was creÂatÂed in the WeekÂend EdiÂtion episode above. And in the videos furÂther up, see the choral group CapelÂla Romana perÂform ByzanÂtine chants with the Hagia Sophia effect applied. Just last year, the ensemÂble released the album of chants above, Lost VoicÂes of Hagia Sophia, using the filÂter. It is a colÂlecÂtion of music as valuÂable to our underÂstandÂing and appreÂciÂaÂtion of the art of the ByzanÂtine Empire as a restored mosaÂic or reconÂstructÂed catheÂdral.
via KotÂtke
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
David Byrne: How ArchiÂtecÂture Helped Music Evolve
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness.
Great to see and hear this wonÂderÂful mergÂing of art and sciÂence! Thank you for postÂing.