MUSIC students from Wiltshire College & University Centre have uncovered some of the mysteries of Salisbury Cathedral’s ancient soundscape during recording sessions there.
A group of 20 students from the Salisbury campus have been using specialist computer software to capture the 900-year-old building’s ambience so that they can recreate it in their own recording studio.
They have made more than 40 recordings all over the iconic building and now they can record any instrument or voice back at college and make it sound exactly as it would if it were being performed in the cathedral.
But during the recordings they unearthed a strange resonance in the nave close to the cathedral’s choir. “At the end of the actual resonance we heard a weird pinging, it was so strange and original,” said Level 3 Music Performance and Production student Logan Smith.
“We’ve been trying to hit it again but we weren’t able to find it, it’s very weird.”
Lecturer Simon Birch said it was an example of the strange way sound behaves in the cathedral. “We’ve had some unusual things and we think it may have been the metal bars in a window that may have caused it, but it’s quite hard to pinpoint where it’s coming from because the sound bounces around so much.”
The recording process involves using a conical speaker to fire a sound out into the depths of the cathedral at a range of frequencies, and then using Impulse Response Utility software to capture the response via microphones.
Simon said the recordings made over more than 15 visits at various times of day have thrown up some unexpected results. “We’ve found some really interesting ones along the way,” he said.
“The Chapel House where the Magna Carta is kept was really interesting because it’s octagonal shaped and in a small room by the altar that had open windows we had the initial sound bouncing around followed by the long reverb of the cathedral, so you get the most unique kind of sounds.”
He said the college is always seeking new ways to broaden students’ experience and that the project taught them a lot about how sound moves in different spaces. “Recording here has given them an understanding of how to place a sound and how to process it,” he said. “The reverbs we’re creating will enable them to process their own sounds in all sorts of interesting and crazy ways and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with it.”
Logan, 21, who wants to go on to university to study commercial music, said his first visits to the cathedral have been inspirational. “It’s been amazing and really atmospheric,” he said. “We did some recording at night as well and it just showed another side of the beauty of this place. We discovered how the weather conditions affect the resonances inside the building, which was an amazing find.”
The recorded effects will be shared with the cathedral for its own archives and possible use on its website, as well as with the college’s film and TV production students.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a number of years and I’m very grateful to the cathedral, particularly James Kay the events technician, for allowing us to come in,” said Simon. “It’s been a fascinating project and every time we’ve been here the students have told me how much they’ve enjoyed it and asked to do it again.”
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