Past Sounds

Regent honeyeaters are losing their rich and complex song culture as their population declines and fragments. Dr Ross Crates and colleagues are using old recordings of the songs that have since been lost, not only to understand the decline, but to teach young birds to sing their intricate songs of their ancestors. More information can be found on the series webpage https://abigailwincott.wordpress...

What we call sound effects - from trumpets to explosions to mermaids - were central to theatre of the 16th and 17th centuries. Laura Wright tries to uncover what the effects were, what they meant and what it was like to experience them. More information on the podcast can be found on the series webpage https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/

Neil has listened to thousands of hours of US radio plays from the so-called Golden Age and found a rich world of symbolism and spatial realism created by some of the time's greatest writers, directors and actors. More information on the episode can be found on the series webpage https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/

It's hard to imagine Western classical music as improvised and participatory, but that's what Nina Kumin tries to bring back to life as she researches the sounds of Baroque music through playing. More information on the Nina's work can be found on the series webpage https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/

As Cork’s historic docks close, tourists snap photos of the last ships coming in and share them on social media. But who will snap the sounds of the docklands? Elaine and John race to collect disappearing sounds, and recreate those already lost. More information can be found on the website https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/

Musical tastes affect the places we listen to music in, and those places also change the music we perform – from chamber music to stadium rock. Sound archaeologist Dr Riitta Rainio talks about the acoustic tastes of the Finnish stone age. Read more and share your suggestions for future Past Sounds at the website https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/

Mystery plays were a big deal for the people of York between the 14th and 16th centuries. They staged these epic events every year, yet little is known about the performances. Dr Mariana Lopez's acoustic modelling has brought their intricate staging skills to life. Read more https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/

Sometimes we don’t know here we come from, yet our language remembers on behalf. Assistant Professor of Religion, Dr Guangtian Ha, explains the ways the unusual present day pronunciation of China’s Jahriyya Muslims gives clues to a multilingual past. Find out more on the webpage https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/

Professor Mark Smith talks about what formerly enslaved plantation workers in the American South have told us about their sonic worlds, and demonstrates how different our experiences of the same sounds can be. Read more at https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/

Dogs barking, drunkenness and declaiming in the 16th century schoolroom. Find out from Jennifer Richards, Joseph Cowen Professor of English Literature what that sounded like, and how she pieced together what she knows. More information on the podcast can be found on the series webpage https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/past-sounds-podcast-2/  

Find out more about Past Sounds, a series about the lost sounds of long ago, and the people who make it their business to find them. Coming Spring 2021.