Seminari de Sonologia

Àbstract:

Multipart singing by groups of men at different mediterranean regions is a well-observed phenomena. Polyphonic chant is a personal and social experience and it articulated the social organization of villages until the first half of the 20th century. These singing events hold a specific rhetoric (singers position, flavours, lighting) according to the religious calendar of the region. In this study, we focus on the Holy Wednesday which the Cunfraternita di Sant Antone Abbate (Brotherhood of Saint Anthony the Abbot) carries out in Calvi, Corsica. This celebration has been widely studied by musicologists. In a certain point of this celebration, singers follow the rhetoric of the so called "sonorous fullness", that is, a search for a growing intensity of the sound produced by their chants. The aim of this work is to determine the role of the room acoustics in the polyphonic chant performed on the Holy Wednesday, in Calvi. Specifically, we try to explain (a) whether the room geometry (and their associated room modes at different locations) plays an important role in the harmonic creation of the polyphonic chant, and (b) whether reverberation time influences the harmonic generation in polyphonic chant. The contribution of the room acoustics to the generated sound may arise during the "sonorous fullness" part.

Bio:

Enric Guaus holds a PhD in Computer Science and Communications, is professor of Acoustics and Electronics at the Sonology Department, School of Music of Catalonia, Researcher at Music Technology Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and directs the Department of Sonology (ESMUC). Jaume Ayats is professor of Ethnomusicology in the Department of Art and Musicology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Researcher on Music in the Contemporary Societies.