Acoustic Simulation of Renaissance Acoustic Simulation of Renaissance Venetian ChurchesVenetian Churches

Braxton Boren, Malcolm LongairBraxton Boren, Malcolm LongairNew York University, University of CambridgeNew York University, University of Cambridge

Hearing into the PastHearing into the PastUsing Modern Computational Models, we can listen to a present-day choir as it would have sounded in the churches of the Venetian Renaissance.

• Palladio’s Church of the Redentore would have had much better acoustics on the day of the Festa del Redentore, for which it was designed

• The galleries in the chancel of the Basilica San Marco give much greater acoustic clarity to the position where the Doge of Venice sat

• Furthermore, the galleries would have ensured a direct line-of-sight from the Doge to the split-choirs, giving him the first stereo effect in Western music.

MethodologyMethodology• Our project began with precise acoustical measurements of the churches being investigated.

• Next, we built acoustical computer models of the churches, proving that our models were accurate by comparing their simulated values to the measurements.

• Then we consulted with architectural historians about the layout and materials of the churches as they would have existed during the Renaissance. Working with professional acousticians, we then changed the models to represent the churches in the past.

• We can use the computer model to obtain a filter that can then be applied to a recording, allowing us to hear a present-day choir as it would have sounded 400 years ago.