When considering the sonic effects of the church on individuals, aural architecture is an important way to help one understand the experience that a church forms. “Aural architecture refers to the properties of a space that can be experienced by listening.” (1) the properties of a church influence the way one encounters this religious space. The acoustic characteristics of the materials commonly found in a Church have a huge part to play in the aural architecture and the effects this has on an individual. The resonances of materials such as stone, wood, glass, and marble produce the typical sonic features of the experience of a Church. (My blog post ‘Resonances: Natural and Manufactured’ explores this further.) “Depending on the physical design and the cultural context, aural architecture can stimulate anxiety, tranquillity, socialization, isolation, frustration, fear, aesthetic pleasure, and so on.”(1) By considering physical design and cultural context is essential in understanding the effects of a church, the cultural context an indivudual has will massively impact the sonic experience they have of a religious space as the purpose of being in the space changes on an individual and personal basis.
The space is designed to carry voice. Is it because one feels surrounded and almost held by the voices of the church that people feel comforted? Using spatialisation to make one feel small, in churches the architecture is designed to carry sound upwards putting one at a point of vulnerability/insignificance, also symbolising heaven and higher power.
Different denominations of Christianity have Churches with different aural architecture and sonic implications “The acoustics of a grand cathedral can create an exalted mood; those of a chapel can enhance the privacy of quiet contemplation”(1), knowing this, I feel as though i understand the context of why Christians may resonate on a religous and spiritual level with certain spaces.
A Churchgoer has certain expectations of how to behave within the Church, I have been considering the sonic expectations of individuals within the Church. The church encourages quiet contemplation, and for the most part, individuals sit in silence. In Church services, there are occasions when the service leader invites the audience to make sounds such as joining in with prayer, singing with the choir, and saying Armen. Certain Churches such as gospel churches seem to invite the audience to make sound more but this is not something I have either experienced or knowledgeable about.
Certain musical features of churches signify the religious experience. These include but are not limited to; choirs, organs, hymns, as well as various woodwind and brass instruments. Music within a church is commonly known as liturgical music, this is music that is written for performance in religious worship.
- – spaces speak: are you listening?