Acoustics in ancient church, Hagia Sophia
The byzantine church Hagia Sophia was modelled as part of the CAHRISMA project. Hagia Sophia’s central dome is placed more than 50 metres above the floor, has a diameter of more than 31 m and is embraced by two half domes. The reverberation time is approximately 10 sec (1000 Hz).
The ‘Alleluia’ was sung in Hagia Sophia first Sunday after Easter (‘Antipascha’) according to the Typikon of the Great Church, dating back to around 950, which is the oldest document with precise information on the cathedral liturgy in Hagia Sophia. The music is transcribed from two manuscripts from the Vatican Library (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), namely Vat. gr. 1606 (intro + refrain), and Vat. gr. 345 (verse). The transcription is made by Christian Troelsgård, Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Theology, Dept. for Church History, Denmark.
Measurements were simulated with three sources in 12 receiver positions – here we are having a look around the room.
Wireframe of the Hagia Sophia church, displaying source and receiver positions (for the simulated parameters).
Source 2 active. Examples of simulated room acoustic parameters compared to the real measured values.
Source 3 active. Examples of simulated room acoustic parameters compared to the real measured values.
Source and receiver positions (for the auralization).
Anechoic recording
Alleluia
Demo sounds
View from receiver
Receiver position 1
View from receiver
Receiver position 2
View from receiver
Receiver position 3
View from receiver
Receiver position 4
View from receiver
Below are additional examples with chants from the CAHRISMA project.
Source and receiver positions (for the auralization).
Anechoic recordings
Bahir
Ic Ezan
Mimber Duasi
Salà
Tekbir
Tevsih
Demo sounds, source position 1
View from receiver
Demo sounds, source position 1
Bahir
Ic Ezan
Mimber Duasi
Salà
Tekbir
Tevsih
View from receiver
Demo sounds, source position 2
View from receiver
Demo sounds, source position 2
Bahir
Ic Ezan
Mimber Duasi
Salà
Tekbir
Tevsih
View from receiver
Demo sounds, source position 3
View from receiver
Demo sounds, source position 3
Bahir
Ic Ezan
Mimber Duasi
Salà
Tekbir
Tevsih
View from receiver
Below you may download an ODEON Zip Archive of this example, which is a packaged ODEON model (for ODEON Auditorium or Combined, 15.15 or newer) containing all the necessary files to run it: room geometry, assigned materials, source and receiver placements, anechoic recordings, etc. The extracted anechoic recordings can then be used for auralizations on any other room model.
To unzip an ODEON Zip Archive:
- Launch ODEON
- Go to File > Zip > Unzip archive
- Select your downloaded ODEON Zip Archive
- Select a folder to extract the files
ODEON will then automatically load the room.
We have more ODEON Zip Archives available for download, which include different room models and anechoic recordings.
