Church Sounds (01-24-23)
Laplace and Guastavino studied acoustics in churches. They found that “sound [in churches] acquires ‘a life of its own,’ abstracted from the sound sources, unlike other everyday listening situations where sounds are experienced as pointers to object or agents who produce sound. . . . Church acoustics can also reinforce the impression that sounds are detached from their sources. Sound phenomena acquire a form of agency to directly affect participants’ perceptions, reflections and mood, placing them in a world of its own where time passes more slowly and space functions differently.”