An investigation on the spatial adaptation of an artistic performance in contemporary churches

The contemporary church acoustics is affected by different aspects related to the creativity of the designer. Despite the importance of the role of acoustics in the execution of the main functions, the optimal acoustic conditions are not always verified, resulting in much more reverberant spaces. Very often this is due to the use of highly reflective materials and very large and complex volumes. This work presents the analysis of objective parameters (ISO 3382-1) in four contemporary churches located in the city of Milan (Italy). Moreover, further measurements of the directional properties of the sound fields in the four spaces have been performed using a spherical microphone array. The main focus is to investigate the acoustic conditions of four places chosen for the execution of a contemporary performance by six artists. The performance is modified and adapted to the places where it is performed in order to create a similar perception and spatial sound experience while maintaining its artistic and aesthetic qualities unchanged. The results show significant differences of the objective acoustic parameters between the four spaces ranging for Reverberation Time 3÷5 s, Early Decay Time 2.8÷5 s, Definition 0.18÷0.29, Clarity -2.2÷-5.8 dB, and Center Time 188÷347 ms. Furthermore, from the spherical microphone array measurements, 3 rd -order ambisonics recordings were derived to pave the way for future subjective listening tests inside the laboratory.