Ambisonic recording as a tool for "Historically Informed Performance"

The subjective perception of our listening is determined by different factors such as dynamics, frequency range or timbre perception, which we associate with certain recording and sound reproduction technologies throughout the 20th century. Parameters such as the signal-to-noise ratio not only depend on the limitations of each medium, but are also conditioned by the wear and tear and deterioration of these: our historical perception of the format is partly conditioned by the degradation of its quality with respect to the original standards. On the other hand, we consider that Historically-Informed Performance (HIP), when based on sound recording, should reformulate the bases of Historically-Informed Recording (HIR): to document a historically-informed performance, although it may be interesting to emulate the original recording technologies, it is particularly valuable to use technologies that provide us with as much information as possible about the characteristics of the spaces in which the musical works were performed, the characteristics of the instruments or the positioning of the performers. In this sense, we believe that ambisonic recording is an optimal resource for transferring sound heritage from a much broader perspective. This research is part of the DEePMusic project: Digitizing the Ecosystem of Musical Heritage (ICCMU, SonoLAB, Complutense University of Madrid) and aims to use ambisonic recording as a tool for the re(construction) of performance in its original spaces, proposing alternatives to a sound archive based exclusively on the aesthetics of recordings marketed by record companies.