Notre Dame is back. And so are its acoustics.
The Paris Cathedral, which was dramatically burned in a fire in 2019, is reopening the public on December 8. After the fire, the acoustic scholar Brian Katz studied the qualities of the Cathedral’s voice, such as Echoes and Reverbeles created by space, both after restoration and in various eras of centuries -old Cathedral history (Sn: 1/12/20).
Before the fire, the Notre Dame was reverberant, which means that the noises would hang in the air for seconds at a time before they died, due to the sound waves that jump the walls, floor and other surfaces within the mass space. This reaction was dropped by the fire, which left holes in the arched ceiling and the debris and the ash that separated the floor. Now, after repairs to the structure and cleaning to remove the toxic lead and the other dust released on the fire, the cathedral is closer to its previous self. But even seemingly small changes in a space, such as wall hanging, carpets or furniture, can change its acoustics.
Scientific news He spoke with Katz, from CNRS and Sorbonne University in Paris, about his work and what he expects that the revitalized cathedral will sound like. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sn: How are the Notre Dame’s acoustics now?
Katz: We were there in late September to make some measurements of progress. There was a lot of construction work that continues. Especially seeing how much has been cleaned since then, we are hoping to get there in the next two weeks to make some current condition measurements.
Reactions from few people who have been there [more recently] Is it, “Wow, it’s pretty reverberant there.” I think we all expect it to be more reverber [compared to before the fire] Because it is clean and refined. Each surface was sprinkled with latex [that was later peeled off] which absorbed and inhaled the bullet from the pores in the stone. Well, it also absorbed all the other dust and everything, so it’s extremely clean. All that residual suction that comes from dust and dirt over the years is gone, so it must be a very vibrant place of sound.
Sn: What are the criteria for good acoustics in a space like Notre Dame?
Katz: As for the sermons, they have a whole new system of sound that is modernized. And the sound system is really designed to minimize the amount of sound energy sent to the reverberant space and really focuses on the audience. So this has to really help understanding even in a reverberant space.
[For performers not covered by that sound system] It is mainly a matter of musical style and what is the right reverberation for what they want to play. I would be really excited to see something that [allows] Variable acoustics, a way to flip the tapestries inside and out, so that they say: We want a more reverberant space or a more submissive space as it continues with aesthetics. I think that would be the ideal.
Sn: How were acoustics considered during renovation?
Katz: Once the decision was made to restore the cathedral as it was before the fire, I didn’t have to decide, “What is the impact [on the acoustics] If we put a limestone bow here? “Because there was one there before. Before that decision was made, the question existed,” What if we get that limestone arch out of glass? “Or” What if we really change things? ”
So, already removing a lot from thoughts, and now it is more the impact of smaller things like carpets and tapestries. Once it returns to the cathedral again and begins to actually be used, then it is more adjustment than the great panic of “Oh my Lord, what are you doing?”
Sn: How do you finally feel the Notre Dame reopen?
Katz: Really makes me remember the first time we entered, I was i think two months after the fire, so really very soon, only when they had begun to secure tulle and really [doing] some cleaning. And I think we were all in 10 people in Notre Dame at the time, and loneliness and tranquility and darkness and the smell of fire were still truly unveiling.
And now to see pictures of the interior where everything is bright and clean and intact and all the details they have added, is really amazing, I am really looking forward to being able to get inside.
An animated film by Katz and colleagues, celebrating the story of Notre Dame’s acoustics, premieres on January 24, as part of UNESCO Sound of sound. In the film, titled Arched harmony, Music from different historical periods is reproduced as it would look in the cathedral of that era.
Audio Guide of Katz and Colleagues, Notre-dame whisperAvailable on iOS and Android devices, he gets listeners around the outside of Notre Dame, recounting sounds of the Cathedral’s past.
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