Hearing Historic Scotland: Reflections on Recording in Virtually Reconstructed Acoustics

Abstract

This article discusses the process and wider implications of a new project by The Binchois Consort that situates an entire CD recording in a virtually reconstructed acoustic. We believe our recording is the first complete commercial CD to reproduce virtually an acoustical experience of a particular space, place, and time: in our case, the chapel royal of Linlithgow palace as it stood at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Now a ruined shell, with no roof or windows, clinging to the side of the peel above Linlithgow Loch, Linlithgow palace was once the great pleasure palace of the kings and queens of Scotland and the birthplace of James V and Mary Queen of Scots. As a refuge for the royal family from the bustle of the capital, Edinburgh, and the main royal residence in Stirling, the building once resounded to music sung by the skilled musicians of the itinerant chapel royal, surrounded by magnificent decorations and sculptures. Almost none of this-the music or the building’s furnishings-survives. We seek to give an overview not only of our production process for the CD but also of the broader historical and aesthetic rationale for the project, as well as some thoughts on possible future ramifications. Some consideration of the broader project and, especially, of the creation of the Linlithgow chapel VR experience, is also given.