Photo: Axel Buether
Cologne Cathedral as
Sound space
Spiritual evening Emotion and contemplation
Date and location: October 10, 2017 (Tue.) Cologne Cathedral
Music
Prof. Dr. Winfried Bönig, Cathedral Organist, Cologne Cathedral
Download lecture Raumatmosphären_Kölner_Dom_Buether
Lecture Cologne Cathedral “Perception of spatial atmospheres (Video Fridhelm Büchele)
Color, light, sound, fragrance … On the perception of spatial atmospheres
About atmospheric research
My first lasting encounter with the overwhelming effects of built atmospheres goes back more than thirty years. During and after my training as a stonemason and stone sculptor in the field of restoration, I was able to spend a lot of time in sacred spaces. Today I work as a researcher and theorist in the field of spatial perception, as a teacher in the field of spatial communication and design and as a practitioner in the field of scenography and media art.
Atmospheres of colored light have a magical effect on people. We are fascinated by atmospheric landscapes, seas, lakes, rivers, deserts, mountains and forests that appear sublime and incredibly beautiful under the light of the sun. We are all familiar with fascinating natural phenomena such as the atmospheric glow of the rising and setting sun, a sublime spectacle of light that has a mesmerizing effect on many people. Emotionally overwhelming natural events are part of our sagas, fairy tales and legends, they feed myths and are places of projection for our religions.
We do not leave the power of atmospheres to the workings of nature alone. The scenographic design of atmospheres is a living part of our cultural history and is used in language, images, film, animation, theater and architecture.
Our emotional mood in the perception process is reflected in the atmosphere of the room situation. This is why we always perceive rooms in an inner mood. You are currently in one of the largest laboratories of space research that generations before us have built over many centuries. The long period of experimentation, during which the building underwent numerous transformations, dates back to the 5th century.
The secret of the magical effect of atmospheric spaces is revealed to us through the exploration of our perception, an introspective method of cognition that I would like to briefly outline for you in the next few minutes.
People and atmosphere
Atmospheres form and change through the influence of people. By spending time together, we create a social space that can be felt everywhere and also transforms the architectural space. The atmosphere of rooms changes when we experience them individually or collectively. Cathedrals are directed spaces whose inner order is created by the shape of the building, the arrangement of the artifacts and the movements and stays of people.
In their atmospheres of sacred spaces, the effects of the visible and the invisible are combined. In the construction of a cathedral, the form of the liturgy materializes and creates a social meeting space. They create space for spiritual effects such as the divine service, the veneration of the saints, the reception of sacraments and sacramentals, which make the essential nature of the church possible and are achieved through intercession and faith.
The central means of interior design is scenography, the creation of atmospheres that promote emotional moods such as awe, amazement, joy, fear and contemplation. Atmospheres have an involuntary effect on our emotional state, they change our feelings and control our experience, thoughts and behavior.
Cathedrals are powerful instruments for initiating and controlling emotional moods and irrational behavioral states. During our stay, we feel a strong sense of community, we experience ourselves as a community that is accountable to each other, shares common values and commits its actions to the common good. We open up involuntarily and accept messages more easily. The drama of the space is transferred to people’s expressions of life, whereby words, images, gestures and music gain meaning and appear more credible.
About the atmospheric change
With the passage of time, the entire atmosphere of the sensory space is transformed. This can be seen in the concrete effects that you can immediately feel if you stay in this room for a longer period of time. These effects are no coincidence, but the result of the iconography and liturgical purpose of the building.
As dusk falls and during the night, yellow-grey moonlight filters through the high windows of the cathedral. The deep black of the cavernous surroundings seems immaterial and threateningly close during these hours. When we look out of the darkness into a fragmented night sky, we are gripped by feelings of fear, loss and loneliness. Where a warm glow of light shines, islands of hope, security and community are formed.
As the sun rises, the light, refracted in color by countless delicate glass fragments, pours through the window openings and sets the stage for an act of creation. In metaphysics, we speak of emanation when something emerges from its origin, i.e. when light becomes spirit or imagination. The colored light brings the stone surfaces of floors and walls, columns, pillars, arches, altars and sculptures to life before our eyes. It constantly paints new materials such as the wooden surfaces of the fixtures, whose tangible scale mediates between man and the environment. The cathedral comes to life and becomes part of the living space.
The dramaturgy of light is determined by the course of the sun, the seasons and weather phenomena. The incident rays of light, which are let in through the window openings, dimmed, directed, scattered and pixelated in color, bring the interior to life and effectively stage the contents. The choreography of the light indicates the most important focal points of the room. The center of the chancel functions like a stage on which people and objects are effectively staged using backlighting, grazing light, side light and front light.
As soon as we enter, the light-filled atmosphere of the mighty building envelops us and takes hold of our bodies and minds. We slow down our movements, come to rest and find ourselves as a tiny part of a vast cosmos whose components are aligned in perspective with our line of vision. We are always at the center of our perception and are in dialogue with all the people and artifacts, while the almost incomprehensible expanse of the enormous space makes us feel tiny. The relationship between man and the world is symbolized and embodied in this building.
With increasing light, the graphic surfaces of portraits and writings also appear, telling iconographically coded stories and conveying the maxims of their creators. The meaning and significance of the artifacts are not revealed to us through introspection alone. To do this, we need to reflect on our perceptions, but this requires a high level of cultural education and expert knowledge.
The phenomenal character of the Gesamtkunstwerk, on the other hand, reveals itself to us in the process of perception as soon as we experience the effects of space in time on body and mind. This gives everyone a physical form of understanding that works regardless of education, background and culture. This is one of the reasons why Cologne Cathedral is a world-famous tourist magnet and attracts 6 million visitors a year. Germany’s most visited cultural monument.
Perception of atmospheres
We perceive atmospheres with all our senses. Atmospheres affect our physical condition and metabolism, trigger hormone releases, cause emotions and feelings and influence our thoughts through associations. More than 99% of all sensory information remains unconscious. We only notice them when they attract our attention or when we specifically pay attention to them.
Our entire living space functions like a language whose signs are also the objects of our physical and sensory perception. The Latin origin of the term “percipere” refers to the act of taking and receiving. Before we “perceive” something, we must first actively explore it with the help of our senses, we must look at it, take it, grasp it, touch it, lay it, place it, transform it, move it, feel it, smell it or taste it. The quality of these experiences determines what we understand, comprehend and how we evaluate the experience.
We distinguish between sensory-specific experience spaces such as the visual space, the auditory space and the tactile space. The visual space is our most important sensory space, as we inform ourselves about it, orient ourselves towards it and align our behavior and actions with its manifestations. The visualization room shows us what is there and what is missing. It shows us where something is, what it is related to and how it behaves. It directs our gaze, posture and movements, which can be impressively experienced and recognized in the effects of the central perspective.
If we change the structure of the eyes, the structure of the photoreceptors or the processing of visual data, a completely different world appears. Other creatures survey their environment in a 360° panorama, they orient themselves by structures of ultraviolet light or follow their paths along the magnetic fields of our earth. The visual space is our specifically human form of encountering the world.
Its perspective structure makes us the subject of perception and places us at the center of the surrounding space. As soon as we intervene in this perspective order, for example by emphasizing a figure by changing its size relation, its significance increases. The contrast in size is frequently used in the arts of all cultures and can also be observed very well in this room.
Above the horizon, which is always at eye level, arches the cathedral’s buttresses, illuminated by many windows. Where we perceive the celestial space in the wild, the symbol of paradise extends here. This earthly paradise celebrates the presence of a higher power, which is given a place for its existence on earth and becomes a transcendent part of the assembled community. We sense a presence in the void that we can look up to and turn to with our problems, requests and longings. Whether a believer or not. The sacred atmosphere of the vaulted sky offers everyone a place for spiritual experiences and contemplative contemplation.
Final impulse
During my doctoral studies, I went on many walks with blind people and listened to their descriptions of their perceptions. Birth-blind people live in a different kind of reality. These non-visual sensory spaces are also there for people with sight, but we must first open ourselves up to them, pay attention to them and learn to perceive and understand them.
As soon as we close our eyes, the auditory space comes to the forefront of perception, which is formed by auditory media such as voices and sounds, words, noises and music. When voices and music fill the room, we can follow its expansion to the limits of sound and perceive its tonal shape. You can do the test by keeping your eyes closed the next time you hear music.
Perhaps you can also go for a guided walk blindfolded when the time is right. You will discover an invisible space made up of touches of shapes and surfaces, smells of building materials and bodies, voices, noises and sounds. They will experience first-hand the significance of ritualized sensory experiences such as hugging neighbors, singing songs, burning incense or drinking wine.
