Contribution
From Text to Soundscape. Acoustic Perception and Preferences in Early Viennese Concert Halls around 1800
* Presenting author
Abstract:
ISO 12931 defines soundscape as "the acoustic environment as perceived, experienced and/or understood by people in context". But how can this concept be applied to the soundscapes of historical events? How can we study the perception of acoustics in historical concerts by people and spaces that no longer exist? The methodological challenge of reconstructing listening experiences and acoustic preferences of the past requires a combination of historical textual analysis and soundscape research methods. As an exemplary application, the understanding of "good acoustics" in Viennese concert life around 1800 and possible acoustic preferences for different musical genres were analysed in digitised journals from 1798 to 1835. Using qualitative content analysis, iterative keyword searches and inductive coding, important terms and categories were extracted from over 3000 journal issues, allowing a detailed analysis of acoustic descriptions and preferences. In addition, many of the rooms to which the analysed text passages refer were reconstructed using room acoustic simulation to substantiate the interpretation of the empirical analysis. The work presented thus offers an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of music and acoustic perception in the cultural context of the early 19th century.