On the outskirts of Liverpool is Speke Hall, which was built from 1530-1598 by the Norris family and is now in the ownership of the National Trust. The fabric of the hall contains many visual and acoustic conundrums. In the Tudor period, there was a fashion for building riddles and curious devices into buildings, but …
In January, we had a preliminary workshop in York where we announced the formation of a new research network on soundscapes in the early world. In preparation for the soundscapes workshops we will run as part of the network, we asked deceptively simple questions about how we define soundscapes and how we engage with historic …
Here, you may watch and listen to Bruce Smith’s lecture, “What is (Are?) Sound Studies and What Shape is it (Are They?) in Now?”, delivered at Green College, University of British Columbia, on Thursday 21st March 2019. We are extremely grateful to Green College for recording this talk and for allowing us to post it. …
In 1664, Richard Flecknoe made the following observations about how plays were performed in the Restoration in comparison to how they were produced in the first half of the seventeenth century: Now, for the difference betwixt our Theaters [sic.] and those of former times, they were but plain and simple, with no other Scenes, nor …
Towards a new theory of the early modern soundscape? Read More »