The Acoustics of the Choir in Spanish Cathedrals

One of the most significant enclosures in worship spaces is that of the choir. Generally, from a historical point of view, the choir is a semi-enclosed and privileged area reserved for the clergy, whose position and configuration gives it a private character. Regarding the generation and transformation of ecclesial interior spaces, the choir commands a role of the first magnitude. Its shape and location produce, on occasions, major modifications that significantly affect the acoustics of these indoor spaces. In the case of Spanish cathedrals, whose design responds to the so-called “Spanish type”, the central position of the choir, enclosed by high stonework walls on three of its sides and with numerous wooden stalls inside, breaks up the space in the main nave, thereby generating other new spaces, such as the trascoro. The aim of this work was to analyse the acoustic evolution of the choir as one of the main elements that configure the sound space of Spanish cathedrals. By means of in situ measurements and simulation models, the main acoustic parameters were evaluated, both in their current state and in their original configurations that have since disappeared. This analysis enabled the various acoustic conditions existing between the choir itself and the area of the faithful to be verified, and the significant improvement of the acoustic quality in the choir space to become apparent. The effect on the acoustic parameters is highly significant, with slight differences in the choir, where the values are appropriate for Gregorian chants, and suitable intelligibility of sung text. High values are also obtained in the area of the faithful, which lacked specific acoustic requirements at the time of construction

Resource allocation in the brain

When an individual performs several tasks simultaneously, processing resources must be allocated to different brain systems to produce energy for neurons to fire. Following the evidence from neuroscience, we model the brain as an organization in which a coordinator allocates limited resources to the brain systems responsible for the different tasks. Systems are privately informed about the amount of resources necessary to perform their task and compete to obtain the resources. The coordinator arbitrates the demands while satisfying the resource constraint. We show that the optimal mechanism is to impose to each system with privately known needs a cap in resources that depends negatively on the amount of resources requested by the other system. This allocation can be implemented using a biologically plausible mechanism. Finally, we provide some implications of our theory: (i) performance can be flawless for sufficiently simple tasks, (ii) the dynamic allocation rule exhibits inertia (current allocations are increasing in past needs), and (iii) different cognitive tasks are performed by different systems only if the tasks are sufficiently important

Acoustical influence of different locations of the choir in the cathedral of Granada from a subjective and objective overview

The choir is a space that greatly influences the design and architectural configuration of a cathedral. Cultural influence, the reform of the liturgy and agreements reached during ecclesiastical councils in the last centuries have promoted a relocation of this space. Since its origins, it has been a privileged and reserved enclosure, providing a private character. This space is reserved for the clergy for prayer, preaching, or chant, promoting churches as places where music can be heard. The Renaissance cathedral of Granada in Spain is one of the most important historic religious spaces in southern Europe. Over time, the choir was moved up from the central nave to the back of the presbytery to be finally distributed inside the cathedral. Virtual modelling using geometrical acoustic prediction is a very helpful tool to investigate these choir locations in the acoustic behaviour of the cathedral. Hence, based on experimental acoustic measurements carried out previously, sound space reconstruction was recreated virtually. The creation of a virtual model of its sound field led to the implementation of the three main documented changes. In this paper, the role of the choir within the liturgy was considered in terms of acoustics and the acoustical performance of the evolution of various interventions was analysed. The impact of the relocation of choral space is evaluated from a perspective that analyses the relationship between subjective qualities and the acoustic parameters measured. In addition, the acoustical suitability of the cathedral in terms of the performance of different music motifs is also considered. Therefore, a comparative analysis in terms of temporal design, incorporating the study of early reflections together with the type of music is addressed to investigate the influence on the acoustical performance of the cathedral

On the efficiency of impact sound insulation systems on prefabricated lightweight floor and on standard homogeneous base-floor

Considering the impact noise as a major social issue in many countries, extensive work have been developed aimed at reducing the noise level in dwellings. Laboratory tests were carried out to investigate the acoustic performance of same constructive proposals, arranged to reduce the impact sound transmission. According to this study, acoustic performance of both types of floors differs significantly, with a difference of up to four times that of the effect of floating floor system on a homogeneous floor in some cases. The conclusions can help to determine the proposal of best suitable constructive solutions in accordance with legal regulations

Criteria for vibration levels from Metro Lines to comply with acceptable noise inside residential buildings

Amongst all types of transportation means, the Metro generates high levels of vibration, which are transmitted to the structural elements of nearby buildings. The related energy reaches the foundations and the ground floor of buildings in the form of waves that excite floors and walls. By vibrating all the partitions of a room, a corresponding radiated noise field is established, thus disturbing the residents. To our knowledge, from the legislative point of view, there are no published legal limits for human comfort and criteria related to vibrations generated by railway traffic inside buildings. This work is carried out in order to establish criteria to prevent or reduce the harmful effects and discomfort of the exposure to noise due to vibration inside housing. In this study, it is mainly intended to deepen the determination of criteria to be followed in the consideration of vibrations at low frequencies propagated through the foundations and structure of residential buildings. In situ measurements and calculation methods have been carried out taking into consideration different cases in order to analyse the transmission of those generated vibrations, to the different constructive elements linked to the floors, and in this way to be able to determine the overall noise established into the room

On the assessment of the multiplicity of spaces in the acoustic environment of cathedrals: the case of the cathedral of Seville

Depending on the type of configuration to be adopted there are multiple forms of occupation of a cathedral which can significantly influence the acoustic environment. As a result, several activities with different acoustic requirements, including preaching and the musical performance of a song or piece can coexist during the same ceremony. Therefore, the requirements needed to achieve suitable acoustic conditions may vary depending on the type of configuration. This article presents the development of the multiple spaces inside the cathedral of Seville, the largest Gothic church in the world. The aim is to evaluate the acoustic environment of the cathedral, which has an exceptional multifunctional character, in terms of the different configurations generated inside for concerts and other unique ceremonies, as well as the varied arrangement of the sound sources to meet the requirements of these events. The in situ acoustic measurement carried out in the cathedral enabled the assessment of the current acoustic conditions. In addition, the use of virtual simulation tools made it possible to recover the sound of past times and to establish its potential in future intervention projects. The evaluation of various configurations established the effects of the occupation, of decoration in the acoustic environment, and of different choral and instrumental musical motifs. This analysis was carried out taking into consideration the objective acoustic parameters contained in ISO 3382 and a subjective approach to the temporal and spatial factors. According to this analysis in a large multifunctional building such as the cathedral of Seville there is no general preference for a specific music motif given that the subjective perception of the sound field depends on the type of configuration, while occupation varies depending on the purpose of the event

Virtual reconstruction of indoor acoustics in cathedrals: the case of the cathedral of Granada

Virtual acoustics provides a highly useful tool for the investigation into the influence that spatial transformations may exert on indoor acoustics of cathedrals, which are remarkable spaces due to their heritage value, complexity and multifunctional character. The spatial organization of cathedrals is primarily governed by the location of the choir, which represents the main musical expression. Following various reforms, certain European cathedrals undertook a relocation of the choir stalls from their original position. The Cathedral of Granada is a highly significant case. Since its original construction, three major changes have occurred due to the relocation of the choir. In this article, simulation of indoor acoustics is employed to recover the soundfield in each of these three configurations. An extensive analysis compares the results of the main acoustic parameters in each of the virtual reconstruction models. Consequently, acoustic models are created and then calibrated based on a campaign of onsite measurements

El sonido de las catedrales de Sevilla y Granada: acústica y recuperación patrimonial

Desde su origen la iglesia ha sido concebida como lugar de asamblea o de reunión, al mismo tiempo que lugar de desarrollo de la música occidental, tanto coral como instrumental; sin embargo, la consideración de sus condiciones acústicas, en ocasiones, ha quedado relegada a un segundo plano frente a otro tipo de criterios. En este contexto se enmarca esta tesis doctoral, con la que, de forma general, principalmente se persigue ampliar el valor patrimonial de los espacios de culto desde un enfoque que aborde la recuperación del sonido de dos representantes de la máxima expresión de la arquitectura eclesial en Andalucía: las catedrales de Sevilla y Granada. Esta tarea se abordará a partir del desarrollo de una labor de “Arqueología acústica” que incorpore el análisis espacio-funcional y las principales transformaciones pretéritas, espaciales y de los elementos decorativos, que han alterado tanto la configuración espacial de ambos templos como sus condiciones acústicas. Asimismo, esta tesis incluye el análisis tipológico de la evolución de la arquitectura eclesial desde sus orígenes y su vinculación al desarrollo de la liturgia de la palabra o al desarrollo de la música, estableciendo paralelamente una valoración acústica. Para la realización de esta tesis se aprovechan las posibilidades de las actuales técnicas de simulación virtual o de modelado a escala, con las que ha sido posible reconstruir los diferentes ambientes acústicos, tanto de las catedrales como de los principales ejemplos de la tipología eclesial a lo largo de la historia. La obtención previa de resultados a partir de campañas de medición realizadas in situ ha permitido la calibración y validación de los modelos catedralicios, con objeto de predecir fielmente el comportamiento acústico en situaciones pasadas o efímeras. Con el desarrollo de este trabajo se pretende analizar la calidad acústica desde un enfoque tanto objetivo como de preferencia subjetiva de aquellas organizaciones espaciales estudiadas. Del mismo modo, se investiga la disposición de elementos decorativos en el interior de los templos con objeto de conocer su influencia en el campo sonoro, y se valoran diferentes reproducciones sonoras desde un enfoque estadístico, mediante la realización de ensayos experimentales con oyentes. La discusión de los resultados obtenidos permitirá valorar subjetivamente la impresión espacial y la sensación de realismo de una auralización, ya sea hablada o musical, según las dimensiones del espacio; analizar el impacto en el entorno acústico eclesial que supone la ubicación espacial del recinto coral y disposición decorativa; evaluar las deficiencias acústicas en función de la configuración interior de estos edificios singulares, lo que posibilitaría la proposición de futuros proyectos de intervención que pudieran ser planteados, con el fin de incrementar el confort acústico, respetando el gran valor patrimonial de las catedrales.Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado U