Throughout history, musicological curiosity has led to the exploration of research fields that have expanded the possibilities of music listening. The priority of pioneering researchers and musicians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was to recover the many scores and musical instruments that had fallen into oblivion and to rediscover forgotten performance practices. Their discoveries gave rise to continuing initiatives for the promotion and recreation of forgotten repertories, awakening a growing public appetite for historically informed performances. The union of these academic and practical initiatives added new sensory experience to a society interested in listening to music of the past in the way it was originally created and heard. Evidence of the success of the enterprise was not only the great interest shown by audiences in both concert halls but also the creation of a multi-million dollar recording industry. In recent decades, scholars have become increasingly aware of the continuing development of these performance practices that have resulted from the rediscovery of previously unknown sources, and also through the development of new fields and methodologies of research1.
Two of the most interesting approaches of recent academic trends, because of their interrelationship, their practical application, and their evocative potential, are the exploration of the physical environment in which these recovered repertoires were once performed, and the way they may have affected the perceptions of the listeners who bore witness to them. The difference found by contemporary audiences when comparing the listening experience in modern concert halls with performances in old buildings for which the music was originally conceived is one of the contemporary realities that has promoted this area of study to flourish. The current interest in the spatial context is not limited to identifying the specific places where musical performance took place –cathedrals, monasteries, palaces– but extends to their topography, acoustic conditions, the sensory experience of the spectator, and the awareness of this at the time. The development and interconnection of these aspects (spatial, acoustic and sensory) is the main focus of the present volume.
The study of spatial acoustics as applied to music is not new. In 1936 the then Deputy Head of the Music Section of the Library of Congress, Harold Spivacke, began his paper at the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society with the following words: “the place of acoustics in musicology is similar to the position occupied by sound in music”2. He complained that the only branch of acoustics that had enjoyed the full attention of musicologists was mathematical physics because it was intimately related to musical intervals and tuning3. In fact, for many years, it was this aspect of acoustics that became a fundamental part of studies of musicology, until almost the end of the last century. The more interesting part of his discourse, however, was his proposal to develop various applications of acoustics with respect to the production and reception of sound. Spivacke pointed out, among other options, the collection of interesting data on early music knowledge from the study of cathedrals and historical venues. Although some approximations had previously been made in this field, the New York librarian considered that work had been superficial4. Possibly his comments referred to some works dealing with contemporary building design in relation to musical experience, such as those by the British architect Hope Bagenal5, in which a historical perspective had sometimes been noted6.
Other options regarding the relationship between spatial proportions and music emerged in musicology7, but it was essentially from the 1980s and 1990s that interest grew in the interaction between musical performance and space. Of particular note at this time were studies of the architecture of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice and its relationship with cori spezzati8. Particularly linked to the acoustics of early music in these decades, but with a musicological vision, were the studies of Dorotea Baumann9, who pointed out the difficulty of undertaking similar interdisciplinary approaches due to the number of subject areas that had to be included10. Despite the complexities, this professor from the University of Zurich continued to publish studies in historical musicology concerning perception and spatial acoustics in following years11.
In parallel to musicological investigations into space, which have expanded considerably so far into the twenty-first century, research from the field of architectural acoustics were progressively working to bring the disciplines closer together. Technical studies were increasingly aware of the inherent relationships between music, devotional practice and space in religious buildings, and how the whole affected listener perceptions. With the progressive awareness of this reality and the development of increasingly accurate computerised measurement and analysis tools, research increased, especially since the 1990s12. One of the most widely known projects focused on the Renaissance was the one carried out by the Centre for Acoustic and Musical Experiments in Renaissance Architecture (CAMERA) at the University of Cambridge. The aim was to analyse how the work of Venetian architects affected the performance of sacred music after the Council of Trent. It involved acoustic measurements of several Venetian churches and the participation of the choir St. John’s College, University of Cambridge, which performed music in situ13. After several articles and papers, a volume was published that became the driving force for subsequent monographs14.
The rapid evolution and expansion of digital technologies has helped to promote new explorations in this field which, with increasing frequency, are presented in digital format and become a modern-day sensory experience accessible to the general public. Virtual reconstruction and auralisation tools make it possible to recover both the physical and aural characteristics of buildings that have been destroyed or modified from their original design. A notable web-based example showing both relevance and continuity is the project Renaissance virtuelle en musique de l’ancienne collégiale Saint-Martin de Tours. The initiative was led by David Fiala, professor at the Université de Tours, in collaboration with the universities of Orléans and Bourgogne and the Ensemble Gilles Binchois, under the musical direction of Dominique Vellard. The research built an acoustic and visual reconstruction of the former collegiate church of Saint-Martin de Tours, destroyed around 1800, which made it possible to contemplate the architecture of the disappeared building and to listen to the music played inside it during the second half of the fifteenth century with a sound based on the acoustics of the building. The chosen period is particularly significant because it represents a cultural golden age, given the presence at the time of the royal court and composers of the importance of Johannes Ockeghem. The project generated some articles and videos, and an exhibition held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tours from 8 October 2016 to 8 January 201715.
In view of the development of research and the possibility of increasingly wide-ranging and striking results, it was proposed to hold a congress which, for the first time in Spain, would bring together the different perspectives of these acoustic-architectural and musicological analyses. On the Iberian Peninsula, the University of Seville had been carrying out technical studies on Hispanic buildings for some time and had supported several sound reconstruction projects16. The Sevillian research group TEP130 Arquitectura, Patrimonio y Sostenibilidad (Architecture, Heritage and Sustainability), which is part of the Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación), was awarded several R+D grants to study the behaviour of sound in Hispanic temples and promoted analysis on the subject, resulting in several publications17. Antonio Pedrero’s doctoral thesis from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid incorporated musicological research and early music performance into this type of study and was the seed of a rapprochement between both disciplines18.
The international congress entitled Música antigua, espacios arquitectónicos y nuevas tecnologías / Early music, architectural spaces and new technologies was held in the medieval walled city of Morella in Valencia in May 2022. The event was the Fourth meeting of the research group “Música y Contextos en el Mundo Ibérico Medieval y Renacentista” (Music and Contexts in the Iberian Medieval and Renaissance World), a research group of Sociedad Española de Musicología. Francisco Rodilla León, convener of the group, was the academic director and its organisation was financed by the Fundación Cultural CdM, directed by Carles Magraner. The aim of the congress was to bring together various areas of research: studies on the historical interest in acoustics in the past, architectural explorations of sound transmission incorporating a historical-musical vision, and musicological research that takes space into account. The exchange of ideas and the atmosphere of collaboration led to the planning of another international symposium in Avignon the following year and the present volume, which incorporates commonalities within the different perspectives currently being worked on simultaneously19.
The inaugural lecture of the conference was given by Dorothea Baumann and the closing one by Iain Fenlon. Both are established researchers with long careers and abundant high-quality publications who have contributed through the breadth and originality of their research and, from varied viewpoints, have dealt with music and space over the decades20. Unfortunately, Dorothea Baumann was unable to attend the congress at the last minute due to illness. Despite her condition, she was kind enough to video her contribution, together with the full text, which made it possible to open the congress with her words, in a gesture that shows her generosity and determination. In a tragic turn of events, she died some three months later, leaving an indelible mark on all of us who had had contact with her throughout her life. Her energy and capacity for work was known to all and we would like to pay tribute to her with a book that we are sure she would have enjoyed. We were later contacted by Elena Abramov-van Rijk who kindly offered to expand Dorothea’s contribution with the information that the former secretary of the IMS had collected for her conference and which was on her computer. We would also like to thank her for her generous help and work in order to be able to include here the complete research that made her a personal and academic reference for all of us. Her work and personality will always continue be an inspiration.
The book is divided into three blocks that present different approaches to the same field of analysis: the musical event and its spatial context. The relationship between architecture, music and acoustics from a historical perspective is the subject of the first section. The four chapters included in this initial part present different approaches in which the first, by way of an introductory preamble, presents a European overview. The next two chapters examine the Italian and Iberian peninsulas in that order, both of which were closely linked by politics and trade during the Renaissance. The closing of this section shows the Burgundian ceremonies, which were a model of etiquette throughout Europe.
In the first study, Dorothea Baumann shows how new translations of ancient Greek writings and experiments on the geometrical rules of optics from the twelfth century onwards gradually led to a new concept of space and time. In cathedral construction, this awareness was reflected in the progressive transformation from the plan based on a cross with additions during the Romanesque and Gothic style to a Renaissance type of construction that used a single unit of measurement to calculate all the dimensions of the parts of the building. The growing use of polyphony and the increase in the number of personnel for the performance of chant, together with the incorporation of musical instruments, increasingly necessitated spatial planning to achieve the best possible acoustic conditions.
Iain Fenlon deals with the changes that took place in the structures of the Catholic Church in Italy in the years immediately after the Council of Trent. The diocesan reforms carried out by the different ecclesiastics show personal initiatives without uniformity of approach, where there is no clear model to follow. Against this general background, the study focuses on two different examples reflecting different temperaments and contexts. On the one hand, Mantua, where the duke and composer Guglielmo Gonzaga, personally supervised the construction and the musical-liturgical functioning of the court chapel. On the other hand, republican Venice, with a frequently changing head of state, was more rooted in its inherited traditions. Both Santa Barbara and San Marco show reforms affecting ceremonies, architecture and music, which are closely related.
In the third chapter the focus shifts to the Iberian Peninsula, where Eva Esteve Roldán highlights the success of Vitruvius’s book De Arquitectura in Spain, with several translations and texts inspired by his aesthetic and constructive orientations during the Renaissance. Among the various copies related to the Roman work, the manuscript version in Spanish written between 1554 and 1564 by Lázaro de Velasco stands out. This humanist, theologian, and illuminator of the choir books of the cathedral of Granada added to his translation drawings of the resonant vessels and personal comments that illustrate Vitruvius’s explanations. The author shows how the specific architectural characteristics of Hispanic temples influenced the decisions made to improve the soundscape within religious institutions. The renewed interest in the aural aspect is reflected both in the design of the buildings and in the ongoing organisation and transformation of religious ritual.
To close this section, Margret Scharrer’s contribution focuses on the entries of rulers that took place in the Dutch Burgundian territory during the reign of Philip the Good (1396–1467) and Charles the Bold (1433–1477). Drawing on urban and court chronicles, economic documentation and bibliographical illustrations, Scharrer shows how both urban and ephemeral architecture were intentionally used for the development of a planned soundscape. Balconies, city gates, and church towers were among the most frequently used points for the production and propagation of sound. In addition to existing venues, temporary buildings were constructed as special tribunes for theatre and music performances. In addition to fixed platforms, sound was produced on the move: music was also produced using portable or mobile buildings so that the musicians were placed on the backs of animals in small wooden constructions during events. The chapter shows how the rich visual decoration had its acoustic parallel as another contribution to the conscious staging of political, economic, and legal self-representation.
The second part of the book is devoted to the more technical aspect of this area of research particularly its physical-acoustic application. The order of presentation follows the chronology of the spaces for which virtual reconstruction has been carried out, from the earliest to the latest. The section presents several projects that show the possibilities of interdisciplinary work with the integration of digital technologies, the results of which facilitate new ways of approaching intangible heritage. Antonio Pedrero and María Larrosa raise the problem of reconstructing the Hispanic rite, a particularly difficult recovery because many of the churches where it was celebrated have either been modified or no longer exist, and because most of the repertoire is in a diastematic notation. The search for a sonority close to its original sound has encouraged the application of virtual reality techniques to reproduce the original acoustic sound spaces in a group of pre-Romanesque churches on the Iberian Peninsula. The search for and interpretation of the Visigothic ritual melodies that were written in diastematic notation in the Middle Ages has been added. The research presents the process of acoustic reconstruction and the results of the application and recording of this repertoire in the recovered aural environment. Their study concludes that, despite the uncertainties of this virtual sound reconstruction, the pre-Romanesque churches presented a clear acoustic hierarchy that established differentiated sound spaces in the different parts of the temple.
The next chapter is by Frédéric Billiet, Valerie Le Page, Sarabeth Mullins and Brian F. G. Katz. The study is the fruit of another collaboration that uses virtual reality to explore the acoustics of a historic building, in this case the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, from its construction to its subsequent evolution over time due to renovations, deterioration, etc. The project started in 2013 and uses the EVAA (Experimental Virtual Archaeological-Acoustics) system for the real-time simulation of the topography of Notre-Dame Cathedral, to which is added the historical musical interpretation. The collaborators build on the success of previous studies to reconstruct acoustics that do not exist today through virtual reality auralisation (the acoustic analogy of visualisation) with appropriately calibrated models. The objective was to explore the acoustic impact of the early architecture of Notre-Dame with respect to the polyphonic singing that developed contemporaneously with its construction. To this end, the researchers worked with a vocal group specialising in medieval chant and listened to excerpts from Viderunt Omnes in three different architectural spaces to examine changes in musical reception by incorporating expert listeners.
Julien Ferrando and Julien De Muynke then describe the project IMAPI Experiment, which is the result of a collaboration between the PRISM Laboratory (UMR 6071) of the CNRS in Marseille, the LAM Laboratory (UMR 7190) of the CNRS in Paris and the musical ensemble Diabolus in Musica in Tours. In this case, the aim of the experiment was to carry out an original archaeo-acoustic study in the context of the Papal Palace in Avignon, recreating the sound environment of the mid-14th century. The research incorporates the musical performance of the repertoire preserved in Ivrea codex 115 and Apt manuscript 16bis. The authors explain how the project has been planned through a digital platform and the close collaboration between musicologists, physicists specialised in the fields of the acoustics of historical building and musical performers. The result allows the listener to explore the music intended for the popes around 1352–1362 immersed in a virtual acoustic-historical environment.
The last study in this section is based on the acoustic evaluation of the spaces of the Royal Basilica within the royal monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial, built between 1563 and 1584 in the town of San Lorenzo del Escorial, currently part of the Comunidad de Madrid. María Larrosa has carried out an extensive program of acoustic measurements taking into account the liturgical uses of the enclosure. The chroniclers of the time, including Fray José de Sigüenza, left numerous testimonies on the use of the space in the basilica and the positions occupied by the participants for specific liturgical acts. The research compares the comments recorded by sixteenth-century listeners on the musical performances inside the basilica with the results of present-day measurements. With the documents consulted and the data obtained through the acoustic measurement program, it is possible to assess the suitability of the acoustic characteristics of the space in relation to its liturgical use, considering the historical and aesthetic context of the sixteenth century.
The third and last thematic division of the whole set of studies focuses on the recreation of the soundscape through various documentary sources, especially considering the spaces where performances took place. The order of presentation is organised from the general to the specific. The first contribution from this perspective, by John Griffiths, raises the problem of the spatial interpretative study of the sixteenth century when applied to solo instruments outside religious ritual. Through extensive computer-assisted research, including the consultation of iconography, practical sources and historical evidence, he points out the possibilities of different physical environments for the performance of plucked string instruments. The author also proposes the need to consider other factors such as social environment (courtly, ecclesiastical, urban, civic, domestic), the socio-economic situation of performers and listeners, the general activities in that included musical participation, the number of listeners, or the time of day.
Clara Bejarano Pellicer looks at the places used by musicians, particularly minstrels, for their performances. Her study reflects a tendency to project the sound of woodwind instruments from elevated vantage points, examples of which can be found on the rostrums of temples, but very often also in open outdoor spaces. Belfries, towers, galleries, and loggias of the urban architectural landscape served as improvised platforms when the festive apparatus required bringing music into the streets. The author also discusses some purpose-built buildings which, over time, went from being an element of ephemeral festive architecture to become an integrated part of the urban landscape in certain localities. The text takes a journey through Spanish cities in search of the roots and origins of the phenomenon and relates civil and religious spaces, which never ceased to be interconnected in the area of the fiesta.
In relation to the last chapter of the previous section, the research of José Sierra Pérez focuses on the choir of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial. His approach is to consider this space from a global perspective as the neuralgic point of the building where numerous elements converge: the choral library, the choir members, the musical instruments, the books, etc. The distribution of choral responsibilities is meticulously distributed with specific functions for each position: choirmaster, chapel master, organist, text corrector, and others assigned tasks such as weekly rosters, singing the versicles, lighting lamps, working the bellows, etc. The functionality of the space is not only restricted to the liturgical office, but also participates in the extraordinary events that take place in a precinct that serves as a royal residence. In this context, the raised platform inside the monastery basilica is used for the canonical hours, carols, Christmas plays, religious penances, and tributes to monarchs, nobles, or high-ranking religious officials. The presence of chant is constant and the study of its organisation and the components that accompany it helps to understand the reasons for its location, its function, and the aesthetic concepts of the period.
The chapter by Elena Aguilar Gasulla provides a guide to the Basílica Arciprestal Santa María La Mayor in Morella from the fourteenth century until the Spanish Golden Age. The study surveys the archival and musical sources of the musical chapel for the first time and provides relevant data to understand the functioning of the jobs related to sound and their link with the church’s benefices. The information provided about the choir and the chapel enables multiple interpretations and meanings, both from the point of view of the musical performers and the space where the music was performed. The research shows the production of music inside and outside the choir enclosure and points to other areas that were also actively involved in music and liturgy, such as the high altar, the organ, the processional route, and religious performances.
To close the volume, Tül Demirbaş travels through time and geography to dwell on the circumcision ceremony of Sultan Murad III’s son, Şehzade Mehmed, that took place in 1582 in Istanbul. Guests from all over the world, courtiers, travellers, and the public of Ottoman lands witnessed the festival in Atmeydanı that lasted for more than 50 days. The ceremony has gone down in history as the pinnacle of Ottoman festivals. The author explores the role of music, space and other sound activities related to imperial power in the festival through the selection of written sources and manuscript miniatures preserved in the archive of the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul. The event was held in one of the oldest historic precincts of the city, dating back to the Roman Empire and that, like other court festivals, was organised as a representation of Ottoman power and legitimisation of the ruling dynasty.
All the studies, with their common points and diverse approaches to contemporary musical research, form an invitation for dialogue, reflection and national and international collaboration. The volume brings together interdisciplinary group and individual initiatives with different methodologies and perspectives. All share a common goal: to broaden our knowledge of early music through a variety of tools, be they visual, aural, technical, intellectual or a combination of them. The spirit of cooperation and openness to new ideas and possibilities shows the character of the events organised by the SEdeM working group “Música y contextos en el mundo ibérico medieval y renacentista” founded in 201721. Similarly, the combination of the work of brilliant established researchers who have opened up new musicological perspectives throughout their careers, together with early career researchers engaged in original and novel projects, is another of the objectives of an increasingly wide-ranging and consolidated association. Almost a hundred years have passed since Harold Spivacke’s reflections and since then the world has changed considerably. The gathering of these works is not only evidence of the irruption of digital technologies in musicology, but also is evidence of the possibilities of teamwork and the results of cooperation and the generous exchange of ideas between various generations and specialities.
List of References
see pp. XLIII–XLV
An extraordinarily analytical view on the subject is Leech-Wilkinson, 2002.
“The place of acoustics in musicology is similar to the position occupied by sound in music”. Spivacke, 1936: 3; Morgan, 2001.
Spivacke, 1936: 8.
Spivacke, 1936: 8.
Cellier and Bagenal, 1926; Bagenal, 1927; Bagenal and Wood, 1931.
Bagenal, 1930.
For example, Lowinsky, 1941; Warren, 1973.
Bryant, 1981; Moore, 1981; Fenlon, 1993.
Baumann, 1988/89; Baumann and Haggh, 1990.
Baumann, 1991: 105.
Her last works in this field were Baumann, 2011 and Baumann, 2015.
Joyner, 1993; Carvalho, 1994.
Two acoustic laboratories collaborated in its development, the Arup Acoustics in Cambridge and the Laboratorio di Acustica Musicale of the Fondazione Scuola di San Giorgio in Venice.
Howard and Moretti, 2009; Howard and Moretti, 2012.
Fiala, 2016a and Fiala, 2016b. Two videos are available in open access, one complete as Collégiale Saint-Martin de Tours: histoire d’une renaissance virtuelle, available at https://ricercar.cesr.univ-tours.fr/ReViSMartin/ and another summarised at https://intelligencedespatrimoines.fr/2075-2/ [accessed on 19/05/2023].
Sendra and Navarro, 1997; Galindo, 2003; Alonso, 2016.
Suárez, 2017; Alberdi, 2021a; Alberdi, 2021b.
Pedrero, 2014. For a general view of the evolution of Spanish research in this respect, see González, 2023.
Colloque international Gothic Resonances/International Symposium Resonances Gothiques, Avignon, 1-9/9/2023, available at http://gothicresonances2023.pasthasears.eu/ [accessed on 20/08/2023].
Particularly evocative is the study by Fenlon, 2012.
The objectives, members, conferences and editions of the group Music and contexts in the medieval and renaissance Iberian world can be consulted at https://medyren.wixsite.com/medyren-sedem [accessed on 30/04/2023].