Table 2 Research papers on soundscape in Christian historical buildings
From: Soundscape in religious historical buildings: a review
Authors/years | Main research objects/countries | Buildings | Methods | Key findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brink et al., 2011 [25] | Sound/Switzerland | Church bell tower | Ambu-latory polysomnography(PSG); acoustic measurements | Church bell ringing events increase the probability of additional awakening reactions that would not take place if the ringing were suspended at night. |
Segura et al., 2011 [90] | Sound field/Spain | Sant Jaume Basílica | Measurement technology (MLSSA and WinMLS) and two geometric simulation technologies (EPIDAURE and CATT) | The differences between the simulated values and the measured values for all parameters by both frequency and mean values, increase with distance. |
Berardi, 2012 [37] | Sound field/Italy | The Cathedral of San Cataldo, the Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione, the Church of Santi Martina e Luca | Parameter calculation | This paper proposes a double synthetic index to evaluate the acoustics of a church. The index is obtained by combining the average values of seven parameters generally considered in studies of architectural acoustics. |
Soeta et al., 2012 [66] | Sound field/Japan | 4 Catholic churches | Acoustic measurements at different locations and directions | The speech transmission index was higher for the new Catholic liturgy, suggesting that the change in liturgy has improved speech intelligibility. Moreover, the interaural cross-correlation coefficient and early lateral energy fraction were higher and lower, respectively, suggesting that the change in liturgy has made the apparent source width smaller. |
Delviniotis, 2013 [30] | Sound/Greek | Greek Orthodox Church | Sample analysis | The two vocal types of Byzantine music, sung and read, differ from each other and from common Greek speech and opera style with regard to the sound pressure level, the mean and standard deviation of frequency, the long-term average spectrum slope, and the relative level of the speaker. |
Kosała et al., 2013 [38] | Sound field/Poland | Polish Roman Catholic churches | Investigation and analysis of sound field characteristics | Polish Roman Catholic churches of a small cubic capacity, especially historical wooden ones, are characterized by good acoustic parameters. Along with increasing cubic capacity, acoustic parameters worsen when compared to the preferred values. |
Omlin et al., 2013 [26] | Sound/Switzerland | Church bells in canton Zurich | Exposure‑effect model; extrastatistic arousal response | The results suggest that up to 120–150 m from churches, more than one additional electroencephalography awakening on average occurs per night per person. A reduction in the number of awakening reactions of approximately 75% could be achieved by reducing the sound-pressure levels of bells by 5 dB. |
Suárez et al., 2013 [33] | Sound field/Spain | The Church of Aquilea, early Christian basilica | Computer simulation and CATT-acoustic software | The early domus, with T30, mid values under 1.0 s, with a full congregation and D50 and STI values of 0.60, were designed as places for meeting and preaching and generated private spaces for the faithful, who actively participated in the rites with suitable acoustics. |
Alonso et al., 2014 [24] | Sound field/Spain | The Cathedral of Seville | Modelling; field measurements | The results led to the proposal of a new layout plan for an audience of 1500 people and other corrective measures in keeping with the history of the cathedral and compatible with its heritage value, improving subjectively perceived sound. |
Álvarez-Morales et al., 2014 [19] | Sound field/Spain | The Cathedral of Malaga | Experimental measurements and simulation technology | When the source and receivers are in the choir, the results show that the choir is configured architecturally as a unique space within the Cathedral and can be considered a smaller volume with a more absorbent capacity due to the carved wooden seating. |
Berardi, 2014 [20] | Sound field/USA | Misericordia (Rome); St. Michael’s Church (Luneburg, Germany); Basilica of Santa Sabina all’ Aventino (Rome); Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church (San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy) and Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence) | Computer simulation method for calculating acoustic parameters of box-shaped churches | In rectangular churches, the acoustic conditions are particularly influenced by the typology of the church only when the volume is greater than 10,000 cubic metres. In churches of small volumes, the parameters show similar results for different typologies and internal organizations. |
Pedrero et al., 2014 [74] | Sound field/Spain | Toledo Cathedral | Data analysis | The cathedral cannot be understood as a single space since its various parts have different acoustic characteristics. These differences are not observed in traditional reverberation descriptors (T30) but are noted in other room acoustic parameters. |
Suárez et al., 2014 [21] | Sound field/Spain | The emblematic Cathedral of Santiago | Computer simulation methods | The lack of direct sound and nearby early reflections in many parts of the cathedral, in addition to the presence in many areas of source-receiver distances over 20–25 m, caused a major loss in speech intelligibility and musical clarity. |
Álvarez-Morales et al., 2015 [22] | Sound field/Spain | The Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba; the church of San Fancesco; the Basilica of San Petronio; the Cathedral of Malaga; the church of Santi Martina and Luca | Modelling; acoustic simulation | The presence of the congregation led to substantial variations in T30 in historical churches, predominantly in the medium–high frequency range. This was particularly the case in churches where the occupied area was significantly larger than the total surface area. |
Bradshaw et al., 2015 [84] | Perception of sound/USA | / | Statistics | The frequency of listening to religious music is linked to a reduction of death anxiety and increased life satisfaction, self-esteem and a sense of control. |
Brezina, 2015 [14] | Sound field/Slovakia | The Christian Reformed Church in Kalinčiakovo; the St. Stephen-King Church; the Our Lady Queen of Angels Church | Measuring the speech transmission index (STI) and the rate of speech clarity (C50) to evaluate speech intelligibility | The positions of the sound source (S) have no significant effect on the level of clarity. The research data are relevant for comparison with future similarly oriented research in smaller Romanesque churches (volume in the range of 300 to 600 m3), which have previously been studied only minimally from an acoustic perspective. |
Debut et al., 2015 [28] | Sound/Portugal | The bell from the church of S. Pedro de Coruche | Physics-based sound synthesis techniques | This paper examined the tuning properties of a damaged 13th-centurybell and resurrected its sounding qualities by combining experimental and numerical techniques from materials science and music acoustics. |
Elicio et al., 2015 [75] | Sound field/Italy | The Orthodox Church of San Nicola | Using microphone arrays to identify architectural elements versus acoustic effects | Although T30 was longer than ideal for intelligibility purposes, the short source-receiver distance contributed to maintaining clarity within acceptable limits. |
Hahn, 2015 [27] | Sound/Germany | Bell-ringing in Lutheran Germany | / | In early modern Germany, there was no unified Lutheran soundscape; instead, a variety of locally or regionally confined soundscapes emerged, which were nonetheless each understood as distinctly Lutheran. |
Postma et al., 2015 [99] | Perception of sound/France | Unfinished amphitheatre; the abbey Church Saint-Germain-des-Pres | Auralization; virtual reality technology; construction of geometrical acoustics models | The results of calibration show that the difference between the average sound absorption coefficient and the scattering coefficient of the simulation model and the measured value is within 1 JND (just noticeable difference). The calibrated simulation model can provide more accurate auditory perception parameters, such as early decay time (EDT) and clarity. |
Alonso et al., 2016 [58] | Sound field/Spain | The tapestry hangs at Cologne Cathedral | Acoustic simulation; modelling | The effect of textiles on church acoustics proved to be more evident at medium frequencies than at low frequencies, as expected considering sound absorption coefficients. The reverberation times and centre time were affected most, while early-to-late energy ratios showed smaller variations, probably as a result of placing the material in a position that did not affect the stronger reflections. |
Álvarez-Morales et al., 2016 [52] | Sound field/Spain | Andalusian cathedrals | Measuring acoustic parameters | The results confirm that both the distribution of the early reflected energy and the acoustic characteristics of reverberation, spaciousness, strength, and clarity support the favourable transmission of spoken or sung messages and music and exhibit remarkable dependence on sound-source location and its areas of influence. |
Iannace, 2016 [57] | Sound field/Italy | The Cathedral of Benevento | Measurement of the acoustic characteristics; study sound-absorbing materials; evaluate the impact of sound insulation systems on acoustic characteristics with room acoustics software | The introduction of material for acoustic correction reduced the length of the sound tail and improved both the understanding of speech and listening to musical performances. |
Kosała, 2016 [70] | Sound field/Poland | Hungary Church | Using computational models to evaluate acoustic quality | The analysis showed that the audience improves the acoustic properties of the church, as indicated by a 23%higher average value of the global index GAP (Global Acoustic Properties) index = 0.8 and the distribution of GAP index values in the space defined by test points, which is more uniform compared with the church without an audience. |
Martellotta, 2016 [63] | Sound field/Italy | Saint Peter's, St. John Lateran's; St. Paul's outside the Walls, and Saint Mary's Major | Measure and analyse the church as an acoustic coupled volume system | Coupling effects may play a major role in explaining how acoustic energy is distributed between subspaces depending on the source and receiver positions. |
Postma et al.,2016 [16] | Perception of sound/France | Théâtre de l' Athénée; Notre-Dame Cathedral; and Saint-Germain—des—Prés Church | Calibration of geometric acoustic models; auralization; virtual reality technology | The results showed that the methodical calibration procedure employed in combination with attention to control factors led to ecologically and perceptually valid auralizations. |
Suárez et al., 2016 [17] | Sound field/Spain | The Maior Ecclesia of Cluny | Acoustic prediction techniques based on computerized models; subjective perception to evaluate the sound quality of a space | High reverberation with mid-frequency values, T30, mid, of 11 s, favoured acoustic conditions for the development of Gregorian melodic chant. |
Alonso et al., 2017 [88] | Sound field/Spain | The Cathedral of Granada | Virtual modelling; acoustic simulation | Different music motifs: the various optimal conditions of reverberation associated with each musical motif exert a great influence on subjective perception. The high reverberation of the cathedral, close to 10 s, has a negative influence on any musical style. |
Bäumer et al., 2017 [62] | Sound field/Germany | The city church of St. Michael in Jena | Collect subjective evaluations of sound before and after interior decoration; acoustic measurements | Objectively assessed the acoustics of the renovated rooms and the applicability of statistical computational models to develop possible improvements. |
Girón et al., 2017 [15] | Sound field/Spain | / | Church acoustics developed in each country | Findings and advances in each of these areas as well as perspectives on their future challenges were summarized and discussed in this work. |
Kosała et al., 2017 [98] | Sound field/Poland | Orthodox Churches | Acoustic measurements | A single-number index for the assessment of acoustics in Orthodox churches was presented. |
Małecki et al., 2017 [86] | Sound field/Poland | 20 churches in Poland | Acoustic measurements; cataloguing and measuring rooms with different sizes, architectural styles; and other quality features | In larger churches, the T20 at 500 Hz was higher than the regression curve. This is probably a result of many small textile elements in small and medium churches, in contrast with large churches which are very austere in this respect. |
Alonso et al., 2018 [56] | Sound field/Spain | The Cathedral of Seville | Acoustic measurements; model calibration and acoustic simulations | The objective assessment of the increase in sound absorption due to ephemeral decorations or mass occupation improves the acoustic behaviour of each of the different areas of the cathedral. |
Martellotta et al., 2018 [59] | Sound field/Italy | St. John the Divine Cathedral | Acoustic measurements; geometric acoustic modelling | At low frequencies, measured values showed a significant influence of the supporting structure, The actual behaviour of the tapestries was estimated by subtracting the absorption of the flats up to 400 Hz (with some smoothing towards medium frequencies). |
Martellotta et al., 2018 [64] | Sound field/Italy | The crypt of the Cathedral of Cadiz | Acoustic measurement; record and analyse room pulse response | In the rotunda, a non-diffuse sound propagation is formed in which, due to its shape, sound travels between the floor and the dome for a long time causing audible flutter echoes. |
Sender et al., 2018 [67] | Sound field/Spain | Saint Jerome monastery | Reconstruct material and architectural features of hypothetical acoustic simulations | The position of the source has little effect on the overall average value for frequencies T30 and G. The worst results for intelligibility and clarity are found in the area under the choir. |
Alberdi et al., 2019 [34] | Sound field/Spain | The church of San Luis de los Franceses | Acoustic measurements | For EDT values, the differences in early energy growth give rise to different behaviour as a function of the position of the source. |
García et al., 2019 [29] | Sound field/Spain | The Cathedral of Valencia | Audiometry | The results show sound pressure levels reaching 120 dB inside the bell tower. The resulting hearing loss in bell ringers is small considering the great intensity of the sound produced by the bells. |
Kim et al., 2019 [32] | Perception of sound/Korea | Myeong-dong Cathedral | Measurement; questionnaire | As the vegetation became established, the sound pressure level tended to be reduced more, with particularly significant decreases in the 1 kHz and higher bands. |
Álvarez-Morales et al., 2020 [61] | Sound field/Spain | York Minster’s Chapter House | Acoustic measurement and simulation techniques to analyse acoustic environments | The authors start by analysing the acoustic characteristics in relation to its original purpose as a meeting place for the cathedral's chapter and end by reflecting on its modern use for a variety of cultural events, such as concerts and exhibitions. |
Carrillo et al., 2020 [56] | Sound field/Mexico | The Cathedral of Morelia | Acoustic birefringence measurement technology | Ultrasonic velocity data and scanning electron microscopy were performed to establish a direct correlation with the shear wave velocity and the acoustic anisotropy parameter developed on the naturally aged and unaged wood. |
D’Orazio et al., 2020 [91] | Sound field/Italy | St. John’s Baptistery | Measuring acoustic properties; calibration model | A comparison between hypotheses on early design of the architecture helped to highlight the influence of the ambulatory and the matroneum. The free path distribution, extracted by numerical simulation, confirmed that the behaviour of sound energy is concentrated in these areas and then released with some time-delay through the apertures between the columns. |
Girón et al., 2020 [89] | Perception of sound/Spain | The Spanish Cathedrals; including the Cathedral of Cadiz; the Cathedral-Mosque of Cordoba; the Cathedral of Jaen; the Cathedral of Malaga; the Cathedral of Murcia; the Gothic Cathedral of Seville; and the Cathedral of Toledo | Acoustic measurement of binaural impulse response; audition test | Statistical analysis reveals that when listening pairs of cathedrals are used for comparison, the recognition of reverberation in cathedrals is independent of the existence of any respondent’s background in acoustics in all spaces regardless of the type of musical or oral stimulus; furthermore, recognition is dependent on the listener’s age. |
Katz et al., 2020 [76] | Sound field/France | The Cathédrale Notre—Dame de Paris | Acoustic measurements | Measurements were recently conducted on the construction site, 1 year since the fire. Compared to 2015 data, the reverberation time decreased significantly (20%). |
Parker et al., 2020 [96] | Perception of sound/Australia | / | Survey and comparative method | The absence of church bells sounds made the COVID-19 silence even more pronounced. |
Tronchin et al., 2020 [68] | Sound field/Italy | The S. Dominic Church of Foligno and Imola | Acoustic measurements; digital simulations | The challenge to adjust the acoustics of reverberant rooms such as churches to host musical venues has been achieved with a good quality of sound perception. |
Alberdi et al., 2021 [31] | Sound field/Spain | The Church of Santa María Magdalena | Microphone recording; software simulation | Only the execution of the upper choir and organ sound source positions provides an equivalent sensation of musical and oral clarity and better subjective reverberation than the other combinations. |
Alberdi et al., 2021 [72] | Sound field/Spain | The Church of San Luis de los Franceses | Field measurements and virtual models | The main objective was to analyse the evolution and perception of the sound field from the 18th to 21st centuries considering the different audience distributions and sound sources and modifications in furniture and coatings. There was a notable influence of the dome on the results for the different configurations studied. |
Autio et al., 2021 [95] | Sound field/Sweden | The Vadstena Abbey Church | Digital reconstruction and acoustic analysis | The historical sound field in the church is characterized by the existence of two distinct acoustical subspaces within it. The subspaces show significantly better acoustic conditions for liturgical activities compared to the nave, which is very reverberant under the conditions of daily services. |
Błaszczak et al., 2021 [69] | Sound field/Poland | St. James’s Church; The Church of St. Hyacinth; The Church of the Virgin Mary | Acoustic measurements | Interesting similarities were found in the spatial distribution of individual acoustic parameters characterizing the distribution of the acoustic field in temples with completely different architecture. |
Parker et al., 2021 [97] | Sound field/Australia | Christian churches in the states of New South Wales and Victoria | Investigate church bells; the impact of COVID restrictions on the operations of church towers | While gradual return allowed the recommencement of activity, as the art form of bell ringing requires excellent timing, missing almost one year’s worth of physical practice could negatively impact any art community. |
Buratti et al., 2022 [92] | Sound field/Italy | The new auditorium of San Francesco al Prato in Perugia | Acoustic design and experimental analysis; room acoustic simulation | The acoustic quality indices gradually approached their optimal values for music listening during the works period. The average reverberation time changed from 4.56 s ante-operam to 1.96 s post-operam; C80 changed from a mean value of 4 dB to approximately 0.5 dB. |
López-Mochales et al., 2022 [83] | Perception of sound/Spain | Christian Liturgical Spaces | Musical background questionnaire; statistical analysis | The acoustic signature of the four Christian temples causes an exaltation of certain emotions on listeners, although this effect is not associated with a particular musical piece. |
Sukaj et al., 2022 [65] | Sound field/Albania | Byzantine Churches in Albania | Acoustic measurements | The results highlight slight difficulties in terms of speech understanding, especially given a speech clarity index found below the optimal range. This shortfall is attributed to the geometry of the volume and the reflecting materials applied to the surfaces that facilitate the build-up of sound energy. |
Conference paper | ||||
Postma et al., 2016 [73] | Sound field/France | The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris | Room acoustic measurements and geometric acoustic models | Comparisons between results from two sessions show a significant decrease in reverberation time in the modern state. This change is attributed to the addition of carpet in several areas of the cathedral. |
Postma et al., 2016 [77] | Sound field/France | The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris | Virtual reality technology | A computational acoustic model was created and calibrated based on in situ measurements for reverberation and clarity parameters. |
Álvarez-Morales et al., 2017 [78] | Sound field/Spain | The Cathedral of Seville | Virtual reality technology | This paper shows the potential of virtual acoustic environments in research on church acoustics by providing the results of a preliminary experiment in the Royal Chapel of the Gothic Cathedral of Seville, southern Spain, designed to ascertain which factors clearly influence immersion. |
Girón et al., 2017 [71] | Sound field/Spain | The Cathedrals of Murcia and Toledo | Acoustic measurements | The spatial distribution of several objective parameters is analysed in order to assess the acoustic quality of both musical and speech reproduction of the main temples. |
Rodrigues et al., 2017 [80] | Sound/Portugal | Portuguese Cistercian Churches | Survey | In the Portuguese context, there is a diversity of Cistercian monastic churches. Its characterization allows acknowledgement of the interaction between the Cistercian liturgy and regionalism present in the country, resulting in a great diversity of soundscapes. |