October 17, 2022 Issue

Pick of the Issue this week is Rivka Galchen’s “Sound Affects,” on the renovation of Geffen Hall’s acoustics. Is acoustical engineering a subject I’m normally interested in? No. But I’ll read Galchen on anything. I love her writing. In “Sound Affects,” she describes various aspects of the renovation – seating, paneling, ceiling, floor angle, and so on. She notes that the governing principle is psychoacoustics – “the study of how mood, color, sense of place, and other emotional factors affect the way people perceive and understand music.” She writes,

We were looking out at walls of plastic sheeting; something enormous was being hoisted up above the stage so that adjustable absorptive banners of wool serge could be installed. “One thing that’s really interesting to me is the psychoacoustics,” McCluskie said. “Restaurateurs know about this, of course—that the presentation of food affects the way it tastes.” The architects had to make the space warm and welcoming, so that the audience would feel connected to the musicians. For that reason, McCluskie had pushed for the reraking of the floor. “It’s just three degrees difference, but it really affects the sense of closeness to the musicians,” he said. 

My favourite part is Galchen’s description of the “sound-transparent mesh” that overlays the hall’s ceiling: “a hand-bent steel grid, with a clover pattern, that catches the light.”

Commenting on the acoustics in Boston’s Symphony Hall, Galchen says, “A balance of warmth and clarity was achieved.” The same can be said of Galchen’s writing. I enjoyed “Sound Affects” immensely.