Extraordinary Sensescapes

Hello again!

After Wienhausen, Volker and Corine picked me up and we drove to a town called Bad Bevensen (still in northern Germany, not far from Lueneburg and Wienhausen).  So for the past week (October 25-30) we participated in a conference organized by Corine and Volker called "Extraordinary Sensescapes."  The conference is the official beginning of a group project which includes art historians, musicologists, musicians, historians, acoustic engineers, 3-D modeling experts, etc.  The goal of the project is to reconstruct the sensory environment of a Birgittine monastery in the Middle Ages.  Factors to consider: sounds of nuns chanting/singing (they did a lot of this), textiles' absorption of sound (this will be part of my contribution), acoustic effects of certain types of vaulting and architecture (and how that changes as nuns walk around the cloister during processions), smells (incense and spices), sights (what were they looking at and when), and you get the point.  Eventually, this will lead to some sort of 3-D computer modeling and reconstruction.

And so our group of about 20 scholars and performers spent the week together, sharing our ideas for the project, trying out chants in different spaces, and exploring six monasteries in just five days!  So we began our tour of German monasteries in Bad Bevensen, where we stayed in a conference center type of accommodation right next door to Kloster Medingen.  The medieval monastery was destroyed and rebuilt during the Baroque era, but the museum there still houses a number of medieval objects.

On Monday morning, the 26th, we all hopped on a bus together and rode to Ebstorf.  Kloster Ebstorf was AMAZING!  We spent the whole day there having presentations and touring the monastery.  Then once it was dark, we lit candles throughout the cloister and carried candles while the choir ensemble performed several chant processions.  It sounded beautiful and the candles really set the mood!

Kloster Ebstorf-- The group setting up for presentations

Kloster Ebstorf-- Cloister

Kloster Ebstorf-- Cloister stained glass

Kloster Ebstorf

Kloster Ebstorf

Kloster Ebstorf-- Candlelight processional

Kloster Ebstorf-- Candlelight processional

Kloster Ebstorf-- Candlelight processional

Kloster Ebstorf-- The full moon outside was enough to light up the stained glass in the cloister!

On Tuesday the 27th, we took a bus trip to Kloster Wienhausen and then to Kloster Luene.  Since I had already been both of these places in the week prior, I was basically an expert. ;)  It was great to visit these museums again-- I noticed new things and even more details this time around.  The women at Kloster Luene recognized me and were happy to see me again!  I think they will be very open and welcoming, so I may find myself there a lot in the coming year.  After we got back to Bad Bevensen, I gave my presentation.  It went well and was very well received by the group.

Kloster Wienhausen 

Kloster Luene-- Interesting web of vaulting

Kloster Luene-- Saint Birgitta in stained glass

Kloster Luene-- Dormitories

Giving my presentation in Bad Bevensen

Giving my presentation at Bad Bevensen

We spent Wednesday on the bus driving from Bad Bevensen in the north all the way to Altomuenster in the south (Bavaria).  On the way to Altomuenster, we stopped to see the monastic ruins at Gnadenburg.  The sun had gone down, and the soaring walls and arches were spooky and dramatic at dusk.  There is now a small museum attached to the ruins, and we were able to tour the museum before getting back on the road to Altomuenster.

Gnadenburg ruins at night

Gnadenburg ruins at night

Gnadenburg Museum

In Altomuenster, we stayed in a monastery!  It was so neat to stay in the actual rooms that nuns have always stayed in.  Of course they have updated the interiors, but the original doors remained and that made it feel authentic.  The bells rang several times an hour, and even more at certain times, so it was easy to imagine that was how the monastic days were regulated.  There is only one nun left at Altomuenster now, and her name is Sister Appollonia.

Altomuenster-- Our hallway in the monastery dormitories

Altomuenster-- Monastery dining room

Altomuenster-- Sister Appollonia

Chapel at Altomuenster

Altomuenster-- Enormous bishop statue through a second story window

On Thursday the 29th, we heard more presentations and were able to look at some beautiful medieval manuscripts from Altomuenster's library!  The manuscripts were outstanding-- lovely illuminations and still in great condition after all these hundreds of years!  We also visited the museum in Altomuenster, which had exhibits about Saint Birgitta and the Birgittine Order.  After the museum, the choir ensemble in our project (they are from Sweden, and the group is called Gemma) put on a concert at the outrageous Baroque church in Altomuenster!  After a brief introduction from Volker, Gemma performed Birgittine chants that soared through the vaulting and echoed off the domes.  It was truly spectacular.

Manuscripts at Altomuenster

Manuscripts at Altomuenster

Manuscripts at Altomuenster

Manuscripts at Altomuenster

Manuscripts at Altomuenster

Manuscripts at Altomuenster

Tore Nyberg (basically the father of Birgittine studies) looking at the manuscripts

Manuscripts at Altomuenster

Altomuenster Museum

Altomuenster Museum

Baroque Church in Altomuenster

Friday the 30th was the final day of our conference.  We heard a couple final presentations and had important discussions about the future tasks and directions that our project could/should take.  Later that afternoon, Corine, Volker, and I headed out and came to Volker's mother's home in Bubenreuth (pronounced BOOB-in-ROYT).  We arrived in "the Reuth" (which is jokingly pronounced "the ROOTH" after several mispronunciations) late in the evening and settled in for the night.

It was a great week, and I was so excited to be included in such an interesting project.  There are two other doctoral students in the group, and the rest are established performers and scholars in their fields.  Even the most esteemed and respected scholars among us were so open, encouraging, and welcoming.  It was inspiring to be valued as an equal team member, and I am on fire and enthusiastic to work on my own research!!