Masters Thesis: Acoustics & Composition
As we become more distant from the physical and cultural realities of space, it is vital to create site-specific art that reconnects us with the world around us. In comparison to visual art, site-specific music has been far less explored particularly through non-electroacoustic means. The main question of this research is regarding if and how acoustic data can be used to inform a choral composition and how vocal timbre may affect the perception of resonances used. Measurements were taken of two different church sanctuaries and a three minute piece was created for each space and recorded Ambisonically. The anonymous survey results showed a varied response in regards to the perceived resonance of individual notes and chords. Overall this research showed one method of informing choral composition with acoustic measurements along with the architecture and history of the space. However the result is from one person’s perspective and can not be expected to accurately portray the space to every person who experiences it.
MOTIVATION
The human sense of identity is inherently tied to our relationship to places and their histories. As we grow and experience life, our sense of place and belonging directly inform how we interact with the people and the environment around us. As we become more distant from these places, uprooting ourselves from specific local cultures, we may lose the ability to locate ourselves. We may lose touch with nature, history, and spirituality along with our own sense of self. David Harvey in his UCLA Colloquium in 1991 stated that “The elaboration of place-bound identities has become more rather than less important in a world of diminishing spatial barriers to exchange, movement and communication” (p. 156). This growing importance, as Harvey describes, calls artists to create site-specific works to reconnect us with our sense of space, connecting us to our histories and cultures. There is therefore a need to grow and better understand how to create site-specific works that can create this sense of space and identity.
CONTEXT
This thesis sits at the cross section of three interdisciplinary fields: site-specificity, room acoustics, and choral composition. In the context of the arts, site-specificity regards works that are designed for a particular space and are therefore inseparable from them. This can include physical properties like the architecture, materials, and acoustics of the space or social cultural properties such as the history, location, and use of the space. Acoustics focuses on the study of sound and how it propagates. Particularly, room acoustics works to understand the aspects like the resonances, reflections, and reverberation of sound within a particular space usually through measurements and models. Lastly, choral composition refers to music created for a group of voices. In this case, my work builds upon timbral choral compositions of composers such as Caroline Shaw and Meredith Monk.
OBJECTIVES & KEY QUESTIONS
This thesis addresses how site-specific choral works can achieve a reconnection between the human experience and historical space using acoustic measurements. Therefore the main question this research seeks to understand is: How can acoustic data gathered from a particular space inform a site-specific choral composition? In this project, two 3-minute choral pieces for two different churches were created using acoustic measurements taken inside the sanctuaries of two churches as well as their histories and social contexts. The two churches featured in this project are Grace Epiphany Episcopal Church and The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill both in different neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Each piece was recorded using Ambisonics and rendered into 5.1, binaural, and stereo outputs. A survey was used to evaluate the success of the incorporation of acoustical properties into the piece as well as the quality of the tie between each space and each composition. The main way in which the acoustic data will inform the piece is through obtaining the resonant frequencies of each space. This brings a secondary question: Does vocal timbre affect the perception of the resonant frequency throughout a composition? Therefore, sections with different timbres or vowels notated will be incorporated in the
compositions to use for comparison in the survey.
The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
SPL Graph For All Positions (PCCH)
Grace Epiphany Episcopal Church
SPL Graph For All Positions (GEEC)
METHODOLOGY
In the first phase of the project, acoustic measurements were obtained from each location. Data from Room EQ Wizard (REW), primarily the Waterfall and Spectrogram plots, was then used to directly inform the choral composition for each space.
In the second phase of the project, the two pieces were composed, each approximately 3 minutes in length. Acoustic data was used throughout the composition to inform note choice and the positions of the singers. As these are site-specific compositions, the historical aspects of the space were also considered along with the acoustical data. Both spaces are churches, which have a long history with choral music. Each church is also of a different denomination, Episcopalian and Presbyterian, which each have different practices and understandings of worship in relation to music. Therefore research was done using the archival history of each church to understand their different musical histories.
The third phase of the project included rehearsing and recording the piece. A group of five voices, a soprano, a mezzo-soprano, an alto, a tenor, and a baritone was obtained. Luna Dantagnan sang soprano, I sang mezzo-soprano, Sophia Bollar sang alto, Graeme Brown sang tenor, and Joshua Powell sang bass. There were two rehearsals of each piece prior to recording. Each piece was then recorded using a RØDE NT-SF1 microphone which is a first order Ambisonic microphone and a Zoom F8n Pro using the Ambisonic mode. Using the SoundField by RØDE and the Sparta Binauralizer plugins, 5.1, stereo, and binaural renderings were created.
RESULTS IN BRIEF
This research showed that acoustic data can be used to inform choral composition and one method of doing so by using acoustic measurements to find the resonant frequencies of the space along with incorporating elements of their architectures and histories. However, as shown through the survey, the resulting composition is from one person’s perspective and can not be expected to accurately portray the space to every person who experiences it. In regards to timbre, the darker timbres were generally perceived as more resonant. Researchers should continue to work with acoustics and singers in order to truly bring a space to life. Site-specific composition is needed to draw us back into the world around us and to better understand our histories and memories through space.