Contemporary Sound Practices: Church Bells and Bell Ringing in New South Wales, Australia

Murray Parker,Dirk H. R. Spennemann

doi:10.3390/heritage4030098

Abstract

As a social species, humans have developed soundscapes that surround, and to some extent circumscribe, their daily existence. The concept of aural heritage, its conceptualization and its management represent a rapidly expanding area of research, covering aspects of both natural and human heritage. However, there have been no contemporary regional or supra-regional studies that examine the nature of sound making in Christian religious settings, nor the extent to which it is still used. This paper presents the results of a survey into the presence of bells and bell ringing practices among five major Christian denominations in New South Wales, and examines to what extent bell ringing is still practiced and what factors may determine any differentiation. In doing so, it provides an objective basis from which to investigate future changes in bell ringing practices, and provides a solid foundation with reference to aural heritage of sound in a religious setting.

Highlights

Practices: Church Bells and BellAs a social species cohabiting in colonies of varied sizes, humans have developed soundscapes that surround, and to some extent circumscribe, their daily existence
This paper presents the results of a survey into the presence of bells in churches of five major Christian denominations in New South Wales and examines to what extent bell ringing is still practiced on the church premises
A quantitative survey was designed with open-ended qualitative questions to investigate the use of, and values attributed to bells and bell ringing on church premises in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia

Summary

Introduction

As a social species cohabiting in colonies of varied sizes (villages, towns, cities), humans have developed soundscapes that surround, and to some extent circumscribe, their daily existence These soundscape components may be ancillary, i.e., emanating from activities conducted by people (e.g., factory sounds, sounds emerging from traffic), or intentional, i.e., emanating from sound making devices designed to notify the public of events or dangers (e.g., bells rung in a church, loudspeaker announcements at subway train stations). These soundscapes are not static but undergo changes concurrent with changes in the patterns of the underlying human activity, as a soundscape is the perception of an acoustic environment in a contextual setting [1]. There is a growing body of research, including international conventions, that addresses the identification and management of intangible cultural heritage, which is too extensive to be reviewed here [5,6,7]

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Conclusion