Noise, Pt. 5 - Airs June 10th

The Ecstatic Underground from Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening
The sound-world of the first Christians was filled with the subdued voices, measured singing and solemn prayers that would later echo through the medieval churches and cathedrals of Western Europe. Early Christians needed to be quiet to avoid persecution - but they often weren't. David Hendy explores the ecstatic sounds of the underground in ancient Rome.

The Bells from Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening
In the Middle Ages the peal of the church bell was one of the most dominant features of the soundscape. Every time it rang out, religion’s hold over the secular world was signaled loud and clear. Professor Hendy of the University of Sussex visits one of the oldest church bells in the UK and explains that the sound’s power lay in ancient, pagan associations. Inscriptions written on bells were understood to function as spells: when a bell rang out it was believed any words on it would also be sent flying through the air.

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