Experiencing the resonant acoustics of the church of Hagia Sophia
allowed the Byzantine participants in its liturgical rituals to be
filled with the Spirit of God, and even to become his image on earth.
Bissera Pentcheva's vibrant analysis examines how these sung rites
combined with the church's architectural space to make Hagia Sophia a
performative place of worship representative of Byzantine religious
culture in all its sensory richness.
Coupling digital acoustic models and video with a close examination of
liturgical texts and melodic structures, Pentcheva applies
art-historical, philosophical, archeoacoustical, and anthropological
methodologies to provide insight into the complementary ways liturgy and
location worked to animate worshippers in Byzantium. Rather than focus
on the architectural form of the building, the technology of its
construction, or the political ideology of its decoration, Pentcheva
delves into the performativity of Hagia Sophia and explains how the
"icons of sound" created by the sung liturgy and architectural
reverberation formed an aural experience that led to mystical
transcendence for worshippers, opening access to the imagined celestial
sound of the angelic choirs.
Immersive, deeply researched, and beautifully illustrated, this
exploration of Hagia Sophia sheds new light on sacred space, iconicity,
and religious devotion in Byzantium. Scholars of art and architectural
history, religious studies, music and acoustics, and the medieval period
will especially appreciate Pentcheva's field-advancing work.
