DESIGN FOR MUSIC

New Zealand Listener, Volume 36, Issue 928, 24 May 1957, Page 18

DESIGN FOR MUSIC

WHEN the National Orchestra gave the inaugural concert in Lower Huft’s new Town Hall on April 6, the acoustics were as warmly commended as the Orchestra’s performance. R. GILLESPIE MELDRUM (right), who was invited by the City Council and the architects to design the stage setting, here describes the problems facing the acoustics expert and how he seeks to overcome them.

As you sit and listen to an orchestra or a choir, you may not realise that many things have happened to make for your’ enjoyment. The conductor has taken a group of individual artists and trained them to play as an orchestra or sing as a choir. They have spent many hours rehearsing the music you are now listening to. The concert hall in which you afe seated, the stage upon which the orchestra plays or the choir sings have also been designed. The designer in his turn has taken a number of building materials, each with their own individuality and function, and has coordinated them into a design so that they not only provide the physical shelter for both audience and orchestra, but also play a very important part in the production of the music you hear. Music is an abstract art; unlike sculpture or architecture it has no physical dimensions. It is not composed of material things, but is rather the result of material things being set in vibration, as with the drawing of a bow across the strings of a violin, the blowing

gainst the reed of a clarinet, or the beating of the skin on a drum. These vibrations, controlled by the musician, in turn set the air particles in the concert hall in vibration progressively outwards from the sound source. It is these’ vibrations falling upon our ear which are in ‘turn translated into music, : But what of the material things forming the physical shelter and enclosing the air, walls, floor and ceiling which form our concert hall? These materials, along with the carpet in the aisles, the seats we sit upon, our bodies and the manner in which they are clothed, all play an important part in the quality of the music we

hear. Each material used in the lining of the concert hall must be carefully selected with a full appreciation of the part it has to play and the location in which it is to be used. It must be selected not only for its aesthetic and _ structural qualities, but also for its acoustical value. Some must be selected to reflect sound and give reinforcement to the original music, others by their surface and design to give diffusion, whilst others again are selected to give partial reflection and absorption, and still others are selected to absorb as much sound as possible, Concurrent with the selection of these materials, direct and reflected paths for the sound must be planned in relation to the audience to be seated, the size of the orchestra, and the volume of the hall. This reflection, diffusion, and ab-

sorption of the sound must be studied so as to give the best possible results. The relation of the volume of the hall to the number of audience to be seated and the size of the orchestra to perform is most important. A quartet or a small orchestra of ten players can readily be staged in a large auditorium, but conversely a large symphony orchestra or a civic band cannot hope to play successfully in a small auditorium. The designer of a concert hall, unlike a musician, does not deal in notes or a musical scale, but deals in a range of frequencies of sound, or the number of times each particular note or sound vibrates in a second. On the piano keyboard, the musician reads from low A on the left to high C on the right, whereas the designer of a concert hall

translates these notes and the intervening notes between on the keyboard into frequencies of sound. He works from a frequency of approximately 26 cycles or vibrations of sound per second for low A, right through the keyboard to a frequency of 4096 cycles per second for the high C on the piano, and into a frequency range two octaves above this note of C. In the selection of linings and building materials for a concert hall, this musical scale of the musician translated into the frequency scale of the designer plays a very important part. You will now know, when next you are seated in a concert hall and look around you, that all these materials forming the various surfaces of the hall play a part in the production of the music. If the musical performance is good, then you can rest assured that careful consideration has been given to their selection and planning. Quite a lot of research has yet to be done to determine the exact acoustical properties of many building and furnishing materials, and the several types of seating, both fixed and removable, used in our concert halls. Sometimes a designer must exercise his every skill and ingenuity in assessing the acoustical value of some materials and forms of seating, unless, of course, he has all the facilities of a major Building Research Station at his disposal, as was available for the designing of the Festival Hall in London. No doubt some day such research will be carried out, definite material standards established, and concert hall seats designed which have a constant sound absorption factor, whether they be empty, or occupied by the audience. When this is achieved, the task of those who design for music, and that of the conductor and his orchestra or choir who create music will be very much easier. In New Zealand, owing to the size of our population, it is reasonable to assume that for some considerable time to come our concert halls must of necessity be designed as general purpose auditoriums catering for the many cultural and recreational requirements of our communities, Such a general purpose auditorium presents many design problems, and the greatest care must be taken in planning, as a considerable measure of compromise must enter into

the design, In the past it has not generally been appreciated that as much attention should be paid to the design of the stage and its facilities as is given to the rest of the hall. If you reflect for a moment, it will be realised that the stage itself is the theatre proper, the hall is merely an enclosed space accommodating the audience. These two sections of the theatre are separated by what is called the proscenium wall. Stage conditions which permit an actor to give of his or her best are reflected in the measure of audience appreciation. Together, these create that atmosphere known as good theatre. There is no reason why a new type of all purpose auditorium should not be evolved in New Zealand to suit our particular requirements, At present there seems to be a rigid adherence to the solid proscenium wall, with a fixed sta opening, dividing actor from audience, solid proscenium wall can readily be dispensed with as its sole fu m is to provide a screen to the mechanics of the stage and a picture frame to the stage setting. A flexible proscenium, both lateral and vertical, could be introduced, still maintaining the conventional loft to fly seenery and the usual side stage off runs for storage and circulation, Such

a setting with a stage floor of normal height would give the maximum flexibility for any type of performance, It would further obviate the inherent drawbacks of the conventional fixed proscenium opening, which at times restrict vision lines and result in cramped stage conditions, creating problems for both artist, conductor and producer. Recently the new Town Hall at Lower Hutt was) opened. At the request of the City Council and the architects, I designed a composite stage setting suitable for the National Orchestra, or for, a choir of 90 to 100, with an accompanying orchestra of 25 players, This stage setting can, in conjunction with a

stepped outer forestage, also accommodate a college choir of some 500 to 600 pupils, along with a_ college orchestra of 25 to 30 musicians, The stage setting is designed so as to be readily removable should the stage proper be required for theatrical

productions. To illustrate the design of this stage setting, four numbered drawings are shown on this and the facing page, and a key to these drawings appears below. The architects for the Town Hall are to be complimented on the width of proscenium opening they have provided. They have achieved a marked degree of flexibility by utilising sliding doors. Had the normal fixed proscenium opening been adopted for this hall, it is most unlikely that the National Orchestra or a large choir would have been able to present a programme from this stage. I wish to express my thanks to Mr Stanley Oliver and to Mr J, L, Hartstonge, Concert Manager of the N.Z. Broadcasting Service, for their assistance in the planning of the choral and orchestral requirements.