Going back 1500 years with the study of Stanford University!

​

As a result of the project of academics from Stanford University in California, a concert was performed that digitally copied the acoustics of Hagia Sophia and took the audience back 1500 years.

​

Stanford University collaborated with the Oregonian chamber music choir Capella Romana, which stands out for their expertise in Byzantine music. Drawing attention to the detail that the echo duration of Hagia Sophia is more than 10 seconds in its unique acoustics, the scientists working on the Icons of Sound project emphasize the following regarding the acoustics of Hagia Sophia: “Hagia Sophia upsets contemporary expectations about the intelligibility of language. We are accustomed to hearing words and spoken words clearly in dry, anechoic environments. On the contrary, the wet acoustics of Hagia Sophia blur the intelligibility of the message. It turns words into seeps from under the sea.”

​

Listen to the recording made as a result of this interesting work…

 

​

From a performance at Stanford University's Bing Concert Hall. February 1, 2013

​