The Past Has Ears

The PHE project is an international collaboration across 3 countries : UK, Italy, and France. Each country has a Principal Investigator who then leads an interdisciplinary team.

• Brian FG Katz, , PI France, Project coordinator
• Damian Murphy, PI United Kingdom
• Angelo Farina, PI Italy

The PHE project puts great emphasis on collaborations both between disciplines and across institutions.

Here are the various members of the different teams, with their research interest statement relative to the projet.

The Department of Electronic Engineering AudioLab is an outward facing, multi-disciplinary group of academic researchers that apply signal processing, acoustic modelling, and machine learning with experimental work in psychoacoustics and perception, to produce world-leading research in audio with impact across society. There is a strong record of accomplishment working with industry, applying diverse intra-disciplinary expertise to present creative solutions for audio and acoustic applications with companies including Google, Huawei, BBC, Meridian Audio, ARUP and AECOM. Core research areas include Immersive and Interactive Audio, Environmental Soundscape, Voice Science, and Health and Wellbeing.

• Murphy, Damian (PI) : Professor in Sound and Music Computing at the AudioLab in the Department of Electronic Engineering, University of York, UK, where his research focuses on the development and creative application of immersive audio and virtual acoustic modelling. He is an active sound artist, and the Director of the £15m XR Stories Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Creative Industries R&D Partnership exploring the next generation of interactive and immersive storytelling for the UK’s creative screen industries. Professor Murphy has a long track record and interest in the development and application of methodologies for room acoustic simulation, and particularly at its intersection with heritage acoustics. This has included the development of the OpenAIR online library of acoustic impulse response data that features measurements and results from studies made around the UK and internationally, including both physical sites and virtual models. Working with the UK Team as part of the PHE project he is leading on the development of a virtual model of the historic House of Commons chamber in Westminster, and is interested in exploring and optimising approaches to acoustic model calibration in the absence of base line data.
• Popp, Constantin : Sound artist and researcher, having studied electroacoustic composition with Robin Minard. He obtained an AHRC/DAAD funded PhD in the design of spatial experiences for loudspeaker orchestras at the University of Manchester, supervised by David Berezan. He is undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship in audio-driven, immersive storytelling at the University of York, supervised by Damian Murphy and funded by XR Stories. Constantin worked as a sound artist and lecturer across Europe, most recently at the Experimentalstudio des SWR Freiburg and Liverpool Hope University.
• Fotinou, Aglaia

The Department of History carries out ground-breaking research of significant chronological breadth and geographic and thematic scope. The department was ranked 2nd in the UK for the research quality, significance, and impact (2014 Research Excellence Framework).

• Cooper, John : Reader in Early Modern History at the University of York, and Director of Research at the Society of Antiquaries of London. He specialises in British political, religious and cultural history during the sixteenth century (‘the Tudors’), including representations of royal power, the history of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster, and the provincial progresses undertaken by Tudor kings and queens. John was Principal Investigator of the AHRC projects ‘St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster’ (2013-17) and ‘Listening to the Commons’ (2018-19), focusing on the medieval royal chapel which became the first permanent House of Commons in 1548. Working with Prof Damian Murphy and a research assistant, within the ‘PHE’ project he is focusing on the soundscapes of early modern English Parliaments held at Westminster and Oxford. He is interested in pursuing parallels between the liturgy and soundscape of the medieval St Stephen’s Chapel, the Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame de Paris, building on our existing 3D digital reconstructions of St Stephen’s.

Dipartimento Ingegneria ed Architettura (DIA) & Dipartimento di Discipline Umanistiche, Sociali e delle Imprese Culturali (DUSIC) At UP the study of spaces for performing arts has a long history, linked to the city’s cultural heritage strongly interconnected with the history of opera and opera houses. UP is cooperating with local musical institutions and the municipality in a number of initiatives, culminating in international events such as the Festival Verdi, and the designation of Parma as the Italian Capital of Culture 2020. The most evident proof of success of this cooperation between the two departments of UP and the municipality is Casa della Musica: a performing space (both indoor and outdoor), museum, and the research lab of acoustical engineering of DIA. It hosts the archives of the Verdi Foundation, offices and classrooms for the Musicology group of DUSIC, and Casa del Suono, an exhibit of ancient and modern sound reproduction devices. It also houses an advanced research centre equipped with a 189 loudspeakers WFS system and 4 full-HD video projectors for fully immersive audio-visual reproduction, and an installation for virtual acoustics performances featuring a dome with 226 loudspeakers, employed for live concerts of electronic music.

• Farina, Angelo (PI) : Full Professor of Environmental Technical Physics. Angelo conducted research in almost all the fields of Acoustics, and particularly he worked on digital signal processing techniques for acoustical measurements and audio effects, and on numerical models for the sound field propagation in closed and open spaces. In more detail, he developed new measurement techniques, based initially on the use of binary pseudo-random signals (MLS) and subsequently on exponentially-swept sinusoidal signals; these allow for the easy measurement of the sound propagation in working places, outdoors, and in concert halls and auditoriums. Another research topic has been the usage of transducer arrays: loudspeakers, microphones, hydrophones. Employing advanced beamforming techniques, Angelo managed to synthesize virtual loudspeakers and virtual microphones with arbitrary directivity and aiming, which are used for sound recording and reproduction, and for acoustical measurements. Angelo has coded several software tools for the simulation of sound propagation indoors and outdoors and for automating impulse response measurement and processing, namely the Ramsete, Disia and Aurora packages.
• Antonella, Bevilacqua : Student researcher at the University of Parma. The most recent project which she was involved on is named Sipario, related to the virtual reconstruction of artistical performances executed inside the Italian Opera theatres through an immersive listening playback. The Sipario project aimed to record and reproduce concerts and shows in such a way to appreciate both the artistic experience and the acoustic information of the architecture. The auralization has been realized by using MIMO measurements, followed by the wavefield analysis and Ambisonics spatial sound techniques, rendered in 3dof. Her most recent publications are based on the outcomes obtained by this research activity, involving the acoustic studies of approximately 13 theatres located across Italy, mainly built between 17th and 18th century, most of them protected by international organization (e.g. UNESCO). Now she is focusing the research upon the ancient theatres of Roman and Greek style, to include also amphitheatres and odeia characterised by geometrical features that influence in a particular way the behaviour of the soundwaves. Beside the auralization, previous research studies undertaken by Antonella were focused on noise and vibration analysis of activity in fitness facilities, including drops of hard heavy weights as a common source of disturbance in mixed-use building type. Based on tests applied on different thickness of selected rubber flooring tiles, based on the variabilities of free dropping height and weight, a certain floor vibration reduction (i.e. delta-LV) has been obtained over a specific frequency range, reasonably independent of structure typology.
• Farina, Adriano : Began his Bachelor of Electronic Engineering at York, but he finished his degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Parma, where he built a Mixed Reality system for producing physically motivated sounds, taking into account the shape, velocity and material of colliding objects. He has a decade of experience in Immersive Filmmaking using spatial audio. As a VR developer Adriano brings together his experience with MIMO acoustical measurements, with photogrammetry and with immersive media to craft 6DoF experiences. His MIMO measurements and automated processing software have been used in the Artsoundscapes and Sipario projects.
• Lavagna, Lorenzo : Architecture graduate conducting a master thesis on the reconstruction of the acoustic experience of the amphitheater of Tindari at the Politecnico di Torino. During his studies he focused on themes restoration, green technologies, and humanitarian development; he applied these interests by founding the team Hygiene First and working in the team La Termitière. He studied building acoustics, has a musical education, and is a self-taught producer. New to spatialized 3D audio and VR, he is now starting to apply his knowledge in architectural restoration, 3D graphics, and music production to the field of archaeoacoustics.

• Armelloni, Enrico : He graduated in Electronic Engineering, in October 1999 at the University of Parma, and obtained a PhD in Mechanical and Energy Engineering in April 2004 at the same university, discussing a thesis entitled: “Acoustic applications of techniques for the digital processing of audio signals”. In the past years Enrico has held various positions as a “contract” researcher at the University of Parma, carrying out research on various aspects of acoustics, from architectural to industrial acoustics, from underwater acoustics to numerical processing of audio signals, etc.. Enrico is co-founder and legal representative of AIDA Srl, the first spinoff company of the University of Parma. Enrico is the author of numerous national and international scientific publications in the field of acoustics and is currently working on the use of transducer arrays for various applications, ranging from underwater acoustics to noise mapping. Other fields of interest are environmental noise (in the air and underwater) and industrial noise.

• Mottese, Elisabetta

• Tronchin, Lamberto

• Astolfi, Arianna : Graduated with honors in Architecture from the Politecnico di Torino and obtained her PhD in Technical Physics from the University of Genova. She is associate professor of building physics at the Department of Energy of the Politecnico di Torino since 2015, where she teaches building physics and applied acoustics and is responsible for the Applied Acoustics Laboratory. She is a member of the academic council of the PhD course in “Management, production and design” of the Politecnico di Torino and of the National council of the Italian Acoustic Association. She is co-chair of the technical committee of Room and Building Acoustics of the European Acoustical Association and is a member of the UK Institute of Acoustics and of the Acoustical Society of America. She created two start-ups incubated in the I3P incubator of the Politecnico di Torino. In 2017 she obtained the national scientific qualification for the role of full professor in Italian universities. She is author of more than 60 peer-reviewed articles published in international journals on the themes of classroom acoustics, voice monitoring, concert-hall acoustics, acoustic materials, soundscape and sound insulation.
• Shtrepi, Louena : Assistant Professor in the Department of Energy “Galileo Ferraris” since 2018. She holds a university degree in architecture both from Politecnico di Torino and from Politecnico di Milano. She received her PhD degree in 2015 in Metrology: Measuring Science and Techniques, rewarded with the Newman Medal (Newman Student Award Fund and Acoustical Society of America) for excellence in the study of acoustics and its application to architecture. Her research and teaching interests rely on applied acoustics, more specifically in room acoustics and building acoustics. Since 2012, she started working on acoustic materials properties, room acoustics, soundscape and archaeoacoustics. These aspects have been deeply studied in multidisciplinary investigations that involved also measurements, different simulations techniques and subjective perceptual testing. Her research results have been published in highly rated journals and rewarded with several grants at different conferences.

The Institute Jean Le Rond d’Alembert (IJLRA) is a research laboratory whose aim is to extend the field of knowledge in all fields of Mechanics. This team brings their expertise in acoustics, spatial hearing and perception, room acoustics, psychoacoustics, audio and multimodal interfaces, and VR for the blind.

• Katz, Brian FG (PI, project coordinator) : Has worked in the area of virtual acoustic reconstructions of historic buildings for almost 15 years, starting with the reconstruction of the Fogg Art Museum, where the science of room acoustics was founded by W.C. Sabine. His work has focused on examining the technological and perceptual limits of realistic and credible acoustic simulations. The work is currently being directed towards VR simulations as an assistive device for the visually impaired to prepare visits to unknown buildings as part of the ANR-RASPUTIN project.
• De Muynke, Julien : Doctoral student in room acoustics. After he earned his MSc Degree in Electrical Engineering and Signal Processing in 2005 from ENSEA, Cergy-Pontoise, France, he worked in the audio industry for 10 years as a signal processing engineer. He later joined a research team in spatial audio at Eurecat Centro Tecnológico de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain, and started his PhD in 2020 in the field of room acoustics of various cultural heritage sites such as the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris and the Palais des Papes in Avignon. His research focuses on navigable audio experiences in archeoacoustical context, spatial audio perception and room acoustics simulations.
• Mullins, Sarabeth : Doctoral student in room acoustics and acoustic heritage. She brings a background in music composition and technology to her work in room acoustic simulation, augmented aural reality, and acoustic experience. After getting her B.Mus in composition and technology, she went on to earn her MSc in acoustics and technology from the University of Edinburgh in 2020. She joined the Son Espace lab in 2021 where she studies the acoustic heritage of Notre Dame de Paris.
• Poirier-Q., David : Post-doctoral research engineer working on sound spatialization, perception, and room acoustics simulation for virtual and augmented realities. His research focuses on how real virtual must be to feel real, and on the applications enabled by blurring this line.
• Canfield-Dafilou, Elliot Kermit : Post-doctoral researcher working on the aural heritage of Notre-Dame de Paris. His research focuses on sound spatialization, room acoustics simulation, and auditory perception. His present work involves modeling changes in the acoustics of Notre-Dame over time and studying interactions among musicians and the spaces in which they perform. Before joining Sorbonne Université, he earned his Ph.D. from the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University with a dissertation on Performing, Recording, and Producing Immersive Music. At Stanford, Elliot was part of the Icons of Sound project simulating Byzantine Chant in the acoustics of Turkey's Hagia Sophia. His work is multidisciplinary and frequently combines scientific and creative endeavors.

The Centre André Chastel (CAC), is a research laboratory in Art History with expertise in monumental art and architecture, in particular concerning Paris and its Heritage.

• Sandron, Dany
• Dagalita, Cristina : Art historian, specialized in the religious art of the Middle Ages, post- doctoral researcher in Sorbonne University. Her study relates to the permanent or temporary decoration that would have modified the sound reverberation in Notre-Dame cathedral at eight significant dates, from the consecration of the church, in 1182, until the beginning of the 21st century. Those adornments were mainly textiles, paintings and furniture. They are referred to in archival or printed sources, and in the bibliography. Research for similar items is useful in terms of materiality and also for modelling purposes. The results are gathered in a single Excel file, available on the PHEND project dropbox. They could be useful for any type of reconstruction of the cathedral’s interior throughout history, especially for 3D modelling and AR applications.

The Institute of Research in Musicology (IREMUS) develops researcher covering a vast chronology from the Middle Ages to contemporary music, addressing many sub-disciplines of musicology (historical and systematic, ethnomusicology, contemporary popular culture, musical institutions, sociology, cognitive psychology, aesthetics, and digital musicology), and promotes musical heritage conservation.

• Billiet, Frédéric : Professor of Medieval Music at Sorbonne University, Vice-Dean of the Faculty Human Sciences Sorbonne University and co-director of the Organology/Iconography program in the Institute of Researches in Musicology (IReMUS – SU/CNRS). His major fields of research are the medieval musical iconography and the soundscapes of the Middle Ages. He is responsible for the research program on medieval musical iconography MUSICONIS “the representation of sound in the Middle Ages” supported by the ANR (2011-2015) and by IReMUS. He also coordinates the initiative on medieval choir stalls with the association Misericordia International (France-USA). Last publication : F. Billiet, E. C. Block Lexicon of Medieval Choir Stalls, Brepols, 2019.
• Caseau, Béatrice : Professor in Byzantine history, in the medieval section of the history department. She was the director of a research cluster on Religions and society in the Mediterranean (Labex RESMED 2015-2021). She is now a senior member of the Institut universitaire de France. Her research focuses on religious and social history. She has published 2 volumes of collected essays (1336 pages) with N. Bériou and D. Rigaux on Eucharistic practices (Pratiques de l’eucharistie dans les Églises d'Orient et d'Occident (Antiquité et Moyen Âge), Paris: Études Augustiniennes, 2009. Her most recent publication is on the history of the senses in Christian rituals. (Rituels religieux et sensorialité (Antiquité et Moyen âge) Parcours de recherche, with E. Neri, Milan, Silvana Editoriale, 2021). Her Phd was on the christianization of perfumes, such as incense and the holy chrism. She now moves into the world of sounds, interested in voices (especially choirboys, but also women) and in questions of audibility and intelligibility.
• Nunes-Le Page, Valérie : A singer in medieval music ensembles. In addition to teaching music at the Conservatory and the University of Evry-Val d’Essonne, she obtained a Master's degree in Early Music Performance (MIMA Medieval) under the direction of Benjamin Bagby, Katarina Livljanic, Marc Mauillon and Brigitte Lesne at Sorbonne University. She is currently a doctoral student under the direction of Frédéric Billiet and Victoria Eyharabide at the Sorbonne University. Her subject is the representation of singers in the musical iconography of the Middle Ages. It is in this context that she is a member of the PHEND project, working with acousticians of the LAM-Jussieu on the singing in Notre-Dame de Paris at the very beginning of its construction.
• Buchs, Numa : Young researcher with a PhD in Byzantine history on the reign of Constantine IX Monomachos (1042-1055). His research focuses on the political, military and administrative history of Byzantium and, more recently, the history of music in the cathedrals of the kingdom of France (13th-18th centuries), in particular the children's choirs of French cathedrals. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow at IReMus. He works under the direction of Frédéric Billiet and Béatrice Caseau. Within this framework, he is especially interested in the choirboys of Notre-Dame de Paris, in particular concerning their voices, particularly their audibility inside the cathedral.

Sunmetron in an architecture firm specialized in National Heritage diagnosis and restoration, plus high-tech applied to old monuments. The firm is currently working on three churches for the city of Paris (St-Ambroise, St-Joseph-des-Nations, St-Martin-des-Marais) and a 3D model of Saintes amphitheatre, on the World Heritage List. E. Ricaud, manager of the Paris firm, is a Preservation Architect and historian of building techniques. Activities include research for the INHA (National Institute of Art History) about 19th c. cathedral spires, built after that of Notre-Dame.

• Ricaud, Elsa : A 15-year experience with historical sources for the French monuments (diocese archives, specialized library for National Landmarks) that will facilitate research relevant to the acoustics within Notre-Dame. Her background as a Preservation Architect will aid in uncovering clues related to acoustic pertinent decorations. She can also act as mediator between the project consortium, the Chief Architect for National Landmarks (ACMH) and the Laboratoire de Recherche sur les Monuments Historiques which is working on the current emergency restoration of Notre-Dame.
• Morisseau, Germain
• Borne, Hanna

Narrative is an audio-visual production company specializing in transmedia and 3D sound. Since 2008, they have worked on documentary creation for new media and mediation for heritage and museums following the realization that new media is a great field of experimentation for authors. Each story is considered in its context combined with the development of audio-visual, interactive devices, interfaces, and installations to bring immersive and transmedia experiences to life.

• Cros, Cécile : After working for 12 years managing a brand content agency : Textuel/La Mine (TBWA), Cécile co-founded narrative in 2008 to produce documentary works for new media and digital mediation projects. Always enriching her production with innovative techniques, she particularly focused on using 3D sound recording
• Cacheux, Simon

The Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (MSH) Lyon St-Etienne brings together 52 research laboratories spanning the spectrum of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Pôle Image Animée Audio (PI2A) will contribute to the project. This division includes staff dedicated to audio and video. Two main poles of activity including an audio pole - oriented towards intangible heritage and archaeology of the sound landscape (study, analysis, and restitution). Collaborations in historical sound restitution have benefited both museums and research laboratories.

• Pardoen, Mylène : She coordinates the Acoustic Working Group of Notre-Dame with Brian Katz. She graduated as a PhD doctor in musicology and specialized in soundscape archeology, the restitution of historically informed soundscapes, at la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Lyon. She is currently working on the Bretez Project (a virtual audio-visual reconstitution the Chatelet district in Paris in the 18th century) and on intangible cultural heritage through the sound of traditional crafts, skills and machines (ESPHAISTOSS project). Her work allows to read History with the sense of hearing. She is working closely with heritage sites and museums to bring historic sound in those places. She has received numerous awards including a CNRS Cristal in 2020 and the Suzanne Srodogora Prize in 2021.
• Guesney, Martin : A young sound engineer working at la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Lyon. He graduated from the sound department of ENS Louis-Lumière school in Paris. He helps Mylène Pardoen in her soundscape archeology journey by recording, editing and mixing the sounds of traditionnal crafts, skills and machines all across France. His master thesis was focused on immersive sound, precisely on the topic of object-based reverberation in Wave Field Synthesis, wich led him to develop his own WFS module in the Max environment. Together with Mylène, they aim to recreate immersive historical soundscapes.