Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2011 - 82

book

reviews
Haydn, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn were, of
course, sensitive to the acoustic ambience of
these spaces, and they fashioned their scores
to take advantage of these environments."
Since the early twentieth century, acoustics has advanced continuously as a science,
as has the design of performance halls. While
aided by science, many new performance
halls were designed for Baroque, Classical,
and Romantic music, adopted the traditional
concert hall's rectangular form, and were
judged against the likes of Vienna's Grosser
Musikvereinssaal and New York's Carnegie
Hall. Jaffe tells the story of the New York
Philharmonic's struggles after Lincoln Center
opened in 1962.

Science and subjectivity

The Acoustics of
Performance Halls

Spaces for Music from Carnegie
Hall to the Hollywood Bowl

By J. Christopher Jaffe; New York, W.W. Norton,
2010. 208 pp. Cloth, $50.
Reviewed by Anthony Shou
J. Christopher Jaffe's The Acoustics of Performance Halls is not your typical textbook
on the subject of acoustics. It is not filled
with formulas and in general has surprisingly few numbers. Much of the text is written
in the first person, which makes acoustics
discussions extremely accessible and enjoyable to read.
To help readers develop an appreciation
for acoustical design challenges, Jaffe, a 40year veteran of architectural acoustics, provides a brief architecture survey ranging from
Greco-Roman theatres to the great halls of the
nineteenth century. He writes, "Because of the
limitations of available structural materials, the
desire to accommodate larger audiences, and
the need for ventilation, most public concert
halls built before 1900 were...long narrow
rooms with high ceilings. Composers such as

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Physics of sound is quantifiable, but sound
quality is largely subjective, a matter of personal preference. "These qualities encompass subjective judgments on the part of
individuals-whether they are musicians,
audience members, or conductors-and are
based on the experience of hearing music
performed in one or more environments over
a period of years," he says. Jaffe describes
this phenomenon as "musical memory...
which conditions people's listening experience and which [designers] must be better
able to define if we expect to build halls that
are perceived as acoustically sound in a given community." He challenges acousticians
not simply to strive for aural perfection but
to design an acoustic environment fitting for
the community.
To communicate effectively with architects, performers, and audience, it is important to develop a common vocabulary. Jaffe
defines intimacy and presence; liveness and
envelopment; and warmth. These descriptors are often used by audience members to
express their listening experience. He then
translates the musical vocabulary into scientific terms such as (1) the arrival time of
mid- and high-frequency reflections, (2) reverberation time, and (3) bass ratio, respectively. This is where you will encounter more
numbers, but it only lasts for two chapters.

spring 2011

Finally, these scientific parameters are translated into physical terms so that the architect
may understand the geometric relationship
of a concert hall such as room volume and
location of boundary surfaces. "Jaffe Acoustics has used these three acoustical descriptors to design symphonic facilities of very
different architectural styles... and all were
extremely well received by audiences, performers, and the music press," he writes.
Once the basics of concert hall acoustics have been addressed, the remainder
of the book presents various concert hall
forms, ranging from small to large, as well
as indoor and outdoor venues. Each chapter
focuses on a particular form and discusses
the acoustic and architectural issues as well
as relevant owner and user goals. Jaffe willingly shares lessons that reflect his rich experience. Many chapters are followed by an
informative case study featuring one of his
projects.

Smaller halls
Many of Jaffe's smaller halls are much loved.
He uses the example of an 800-seat recital hall
at a music conservatory to explain. While some
may consider a hall of that seating capacity to
be a concert hall, it's really not about the name
or about developing the proper reverberation
time. He argues that it's all about developing
the appropriate volume to accommodate the
biggest and loudest ensemble. How much volume? For an "800-seat recital hall to achieve
a 1.7-second reverberation time, you have to
provide about 176,800 cubic feet (5,006 cubic meters) of volume... but [that] would
not provide enough air volume to prevent the
orchestral sound from becoming harsh [and
really loud]. In my experience, you must increase the volume . . . to at least 350,000 cubic
feet (9,910 cubic meters) and then develop a
design that will allow you to bring the reverberation time down..." That is almost double
the volume! Once the proper volume is established, then you design for the appropriate reverberation time by managing the quantity of
fixed and variable sound absorptive elements
in the space.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2011