Abstract
The two reasons for this theoretical analysis of the acoustics of medieval churches are: first, to explain how the pointed arch vaulting in the nave is directed to improve acoustic efficiency; and secondly, to show how the architecture of the churches is uniquely configured to produce an extraordinary resonance for the plain-chant. In an enclosed space, the emission of any sound inevitably produces reverberations; but if we construct a vault of appropriate dimensions, then most of this reverberation can be directed in a coherent way without untoward resonance, whatever the timbre of the original sound. The reverberant sound increases loudness and gives the sound a sonority which is particularly advantageous for religious chants.
In this study, we shall explain the methodology used and the theory behind the structural characteristics of the pointed arch vaulting [1].
After reviewing the acoustic characteristics of a closed space, we will examine the structures of these churches in relation to specifying the sound bandwidth and reflection quality needed to produce such sonority supported by measurement is of reverberation times. These measurements were made by the University of Genoa in several abbatial churches in Provence.
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