Acoustic reconstruction of the Saint Pantaleon church in Cuenca (Spain)

Abstract

The ruins of the church of Saint Pantaleon, located in the historical center of the city of Cuenca (Spain), presents a Romanesque origin related to the Order of the Temple and a Gothic finish. Moreover, the two naves of which it would consist in the 13th century, would become a single one in the 16th century. Through the analysis of the ruins and the investigation of the architectural and stylistic characteristics of the period, as well as the comparison with other temples in Spain, two simulation models have been made for the 13th and the 16th centuries respectively. They have been validated by comparison with studies of temples of similar contexts and dimensions due to the impossibility of validating the model with in-situ measurements. As the observed behaviors are analogous, it indicates that the theorized models are accurate and, therefore, the results are reliable. These models, were simulated in an occupied and empty state for officiant, choir and populus sources. It can be highlighted a more reverberant enclosure in the 16th century, with better values of vocal clarity and definition and better intelligibility than in the case of the 13th century model. Regarding positional differences, it has been observed that there are hardly any differences among the three positions in any of the models. Finally, the inclusion of the audience has a remarkable effect on the acoustics due to the increase of absorption, which leads to a better musical clarity, definition and intelligibility and a shorter reverberation time.