YEARBOOK OF THE ALAMIRE FOUNDATION

54 ERIC RICE
I have recorded pistol shots within the choir and the octagon without the temporary
wall in place for comparison with the recording I made in 1998. These tests reveal
that the acoustics of the choir itself are substantially different from that of the octagon
as originally built. The reverberation time in the choir (Figure 9) is less than two seconds
as opposed to the octagon’s original three, with a more uniform reflection and
decay of all frequencies. Within the octagon (Figure 10), the reduction in reflecting
Figure 9. Graph of pistol shot produced and recorded in the church’s Gothic choir without the
temporary wall in place, July 2000.
Figure 10. Graph of pistol shot produced and recorded in the church’s octagon without the temporary
wall in place, July 2000.