Acoustics, Liturgy and Architecture in the Early Christian Church. From the domus ecclesiae to the basilica
Rafael Suárez
Juan J. Sendra
Alicia Alonso
Abstract
In general, studies on the history of construction of Christian churches have neglected to include essential aspects such as the development of the Christian liturgy, or its relation to the evolution of spatial organization. In churches, the liturgy establishes the dynamic relationship
between the different foci of the celebration: the altar, the cathedra, the ambo, the choir, places and sound sources from which word and music are proclaimed. In the historical evolution of Christian churches from their origins, liturgy, music and acoustics are clearly interconnected and
related to their architecture. However, little research has been done on these interconnections. This article aims to examine them focusing on early constructions: from the domus ecclesiae to the large early Christian basilicas which preceded Romanesque and Gothic medieval cathedrals. To do
so it is essential to carry out an acoustic assessment of these spaces for worship in their original historical form. Since almost all of these have disappeared or undergone considerable transformation the method of computer simulation was used to set up and analyze acoustic models for these
early churches.