New project will explore the nature of sound inside Bristol Cathedral

The University of Bristol and Bristol Cathedral are collaborating on a new research project which will explore the nature of sound inside the building and the way that it impacts on visitors. Funded by the University's Brigstow Institute , the project will record the different sounds in different parts of the building, look at the ways in which people look for silence in the Cathedral and explore the difference that live music makes to visitors' experiences. The Cathedral has a long, rich history of choral music. The sound of choirs singing has been heard in the building since the twelfth century and there has been a full time organist at the Cathedral since 1542. Today, the sounds of the Cathedral include recitals, concerts, guided tours, cinema events and school visits - as well as the day-to-day sound of visitors walking around the space, hushed conversations and daily prayer. This project will map the soundscape of different parts of the building - and outside spaces - at different times of day, so that the changing nature of the cathedral's sound signature can be better understood. It is also hoped that new events, such as Led Silences or Sound tours might be created.