Beautiful Sound

The Cascade Chorus

A December tradition for me and my wife is to attend the Cascade Chorus’ annual Holiday Concert. The Cascade Chorus is a performing group based in Eugene specializing in the a cappella barbershop sound. We never fail to enjoy the concert as it reliably transports us on a nostalgic trip back to the simpler times of our youth, providing a soul-satisfying dose of seasonal cheer and reverence as each choral group offers their take on a variety of old holiday standards. 

A definite highlight of the 2+ hour concert was a performance by the Oregon Young Men’s Ensemble. The group is comprised of talented high-schoolers who clearly love and appreciate the rich history of choral music. Their renditions of a traditional Hebraic chant and Ave Maria (in Latin) were inspiringly beautiful and otherworldly, so much so that my wife was moved to tears. No doubt, the sympathetic acoustic properties of space in which the concert occurred contributed immeasurably toward its unqualified success. Unquestionably, the architecture mattered to the performances. 

This year’s edition of the Holiday Concert took place at the Eugene Church of Christ, within the church’s roomy sanctuary. I am not a member of the congregation, so I wasn’t previously familiar with the facility. Charitably speaking, the sanctuary is nondescript, not unlike several others I have been in of similar vintage (my guess is the building dates from the 1960s or 70s). These spaces often feature rectangular plans, with a simple, gabled volume oriented lengthwise, framed by glued-laminated arches. The interior surfaces of the sanctuary at the Eugene Church of Christ are mostly reflective: painted gypsum board or plaster, brick, or wood. What surprised me was how, despite the relative absence of acoustically absorbent materials (other than the members of the audience and the upholstered chairs they sat on), the choral performances were clear and warm, with just the right balance of direct and reflected sound. The venue proved ideal for both the ethereal voices of the Oregon Young Men’s Ensemble and the barbershop stylings of the Cascade Chorus and the other groups. 

The behavior of sound in architectural spaces should be predictable, and yet some of the most extravagant performance venues in recent memory have been notorious for their poor acoustical performance, among them the opera hall at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and the Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall. With the enlistment of the best experts and the lavish expenditure of capital construction funds, how does this happen? Contrast the performance of those venues with as humble a facility as the sanctuary of the Eugene Church of Christ and you’re left to ask whether the field of architectural acoustics may be more akin to alchemy than science. 

Perhaps there is no categorical means to declare one space as truly superior to another when it comes to what performers and audience members consider to be the best acoustics. Simply put, people are not all the same. Human preferences differ. That said, it may be no coincidence that many of the concert halls considered to be the best in the world are of the “shoebox” configuration that is shared by the Eugene Church of Christ sanctuary. There’s something about their basic shape and proportions that must be consistent with the pleasant rendering of instruments’ sounds and voices and how we hear them. 

What I don’t understand is why many consider loud noise and excessive reverberance somehow desirable for some interiors, particularly popular restaurants and public houses. The aural assault these spaces unleash on my ears is often unbearable. Speech is frequently unintelligible, so I often feign listening during conversations. Open kitchens are the worst, with all their clanging and banging of pots and utensils. Why did this ever become a thing? Give me quiet serenity over a raucous din any day. 

As an architect, particularly one who has been in the profession for so many years and who has worked on a variety of project types, I should possess a more solid grasp of the fundamental principles of architectural acoustics. The truth is I don’t. In practice, my office relies upon the services of architectural acoustics consultants (such as Creative Acoustics Northwest, Inc.) to ensure our designs perform as intended. The field of architectural acoustics is well established, but for every nine parts of it that are grounded in science, it’s clear one significant part derives from inspired artistry. It is in the application of this artistry that the best consultants earn their keep. 

A cappella singing may not be your cup of tea, but if it is, I highly recommend you attend an event featuring the Cascade Chorus or the Oregon Young Men’s Ensemble. They truly make music for your ears.