Topophonophilia: In Pursuit of a Harmony of the Acoustic Landscape

Sebastian BERNAT

Abstract

Among the results of the present civilizational changes is a rapid disappearance of the areas of silence and acoustic landscapes once traditionally associated with particular places. Sounds naturally related to them have been replaced with overlapping and reverberating noises which produce a continuous and monotonous hum.

In the opinion of the author of the current article, a way to restore the lost harmony of the acoustic landscape might be provided by topophonophilia, conceived of as attachment to a given place and sensibility to its natural sonic environment.

The present considerations include a description of the role sounds play in the process of the identification of a human being with a particular place, and point to the elements of the acoustic landscape conducive to the feeling of a bond with a particular place. In the course of the considerations also the factors that determine the acoustic friendliness, or unfriendliness, of a given places are determined.

The presentation of places (landscapes) considered as acoustically friendly is made against the background of both scholarly literature and fiction, as well as selected websites and results of surveys. In the conclusion it is stressed that acoustic tourism and acoustic planning may play a significant role in creating bonds with a place, while the quality of acoustic landscapes forms a special area of human responsibility.

Translated by Dorota Chabrajska