Synagogues are the central religious space of a Jewish community. The design of the space, as well as the associated possibilities for experiencing religious practice, are situational, at times also hierarchically differentiated, and are always significantly shaped by the orientation and the religious self-understanding of the respective community that defines the cultic functionality of the space. In research on synagogue architecture, attention has so far been directed mainly to visual and above all stylistic aspects of the buildings. The project pursues the aim of placing in focus that component of synagogue architecture that is fundamental for the perception of the Jewish rite, but has so far been insufficiently researched – the acoustic space.
The fundamental significance of the acoustic space can best be examined through the adaptation of the synagogue space following the introduction of choir and organ in the context of reformed communities in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In this project, both the religious and architectural discourses that accompanied this process are analyzed. Likewise, through the prism of religious experience, the question is explored of what participation in the acoustic structure of the synagogue was made possible by the space, particularly with regard to the acoustic presence of women and children. In addition, the acoustics of the synagogue are confronted in a comparative perspective both with Christian religious spaces and with secular acoustic spaces such as theatre and opera, thereby embedding them in the broader context of the acoustic architectural history.
- Fani Gargova
