Speculum, volume 92, supplement 1: The Digital Middle Ages (October 2017).

CONTENTS INCLUDE

Soundscapes of Byzantium
Spyridon Antonopoulos, Sharon E. J. Gerstel, Chris Kyriakakis, Konstantinos T. Raptis, and James Donahue

Soundscapes of Byzantium is an international collaborative effort that seeks to investigate Byzantine liturgical spaces through the scientific analysis of acoustics in conjunction with the study of changing architectural forms, the documentation of imagery inspired by choral performance and hymn composition, and the transcription and recording of medieval chant. In June 2014, an interdisciplinary team of scholars studied eight of medieval Thessaloniki’s most significant churches in order to assess the relationship of architectural design and acoustics; the association of chant, acoustics, architecture, and monumental painting; and the role of sound in the experience of the medieval worshipper.

Icons of Sound: Auralizing the Lost Voice of Hagia Sophia
Bissera V. Pentcheva and Jonathan S. Abel

The interdisciplinary project Icons of Sound (2008–present) is codirected by Bissera Pentcheva(Department of Art and ArtHistory) and Jonathan Abel (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics [CCRMA]) at Stanford University. Bridging humanities and exact sciences, this research focuses on Emperor Justinian’s sixth-century church of Hagia Sophia, uncovering the synergy that once existed among acoustics, chant, and aesthetics. The liturgical rite, celebrated within this monument from late antiquity until at least the Fourth Crusade in 1204, was known as the ekklēsiastēs (“cathedral”) or more commonly referred to as the asmatic,or sung, rite. As a museum today, the interior of Hagia Sophia is off limits for any performance involving the human voice; this ban pertains both to religious and artistic initiatives. Digital technology has become our only means to restore and experience the lost voice of the Great Church. Icons of Sound has collected acoustic data on site using inflated balloons popped in the interior. Extracting from these samples the impulse response of the space, the team has successfully imprinted Hagia Sophia’s acoustic signature on live performance of Byzantine chant, first in a studio setting in 2011 and then at Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall in 2013 and 2016. This article presents the method and the results of this research.