Description
During the Early Modern period, processions disrupted daily work activities, integrating ordinary time with moments of closing workshops to engage in devotional practices. In the cities of the Crown of Aragon connected to the Mediterranean, a common feature was the prevalence of processions. In this context, cathedrals functioned as vertical acoustic epicentres, emitting sonic signals that regulated both daily time and processional time. These sounds operated as polysemic codes, capable of being interpreted across functional, symbolic, and ritual dimensions. Consequently, spaces with specific acoustic properties were created, reflecting a deliberate sonic distribution aimed at optimizing auditory propagation and constructing a collective acoustic memory.
Through the methodological triangulation of tools from historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and digital humanities—particularly mapping—it is possible to analyse different soundspaces by articulating three main dimensions: acoustic analysis (encompassing elements such as bells, trumpets, drums, ministrels, and singing); performative practices (such as proclamations, processions, and theatrical interludes); and symbolic systems (linked to social hierarchies and guild identities). This approach is further enriched by a diachronic perspective that considers historical temporality alongside a phenomenological analysis exploring culturally encoded sensory experiences.
This paper will employ these tools to examine acoustic communities associated with soundspaces, revealing how processions were configured as auditory palimpsests composed of stratified layers. Using examples drawn from the historical mapping of processions in cities such as Valencia, Barcelona, Tarragona, and Palma de Mallorca, it will demonstrate how these soundspaces operated as social technologies, shaping identities through auditory enculturation processes. In this framework, repeated exposure to specific sonic codes generated cognitive associations. This approach seeks to transcend superficial descriptions by proposing an analytical model that interprets historical sounds as expressions of power, collective memory, and mechanisms of cultural transmission.
| IMPORTANT | YES, I confirm I have read it. |
|---|
