Auralization as a tool of historic reconstruction of Vadstena Abbey church

Throughout human history, there have been locations used for performance of speech and music. Many of these locations are considered part of our common cultural heritage, and more and more of them can be visited virtually as technology advances to produce better and better reconstructions. However, the technological capabilities are not the only limitations when it comes to historical reconstruction, and one of the most important research questions is often to determine the actual historical configuration of a space. This is the case for a project regarding Vadstena Abbey church in Sweden. As a step in producing the virtual reconstruction, a number of different configurations for one of the major performance locations will be examined using acoustic simulations and auralizations. As the acoustic properties of a space affects the performances within it, there should be a correspondence between the musical and oral traditions of this location in particular and its acoustics. Historical records of the performance traditions within the space, as well as records of the acoustic experiences of visitors, will be used as an evaluation tool to distinguish between the models.