The Sound of 18th-Century Paris *

* (restored)

‘The musicologist Mylène Pardoen has recreated the background sound environment of central Paris in the 18th century. Her project, presented at an exhibition dedicated to the humanities and social sciences at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, unites the work of historians and specialists in 3D representations.

‘More specifically, the 8’30” video takes the viewer to the heart of the Grand Châtelet district, between the Pont au Change and Pont Notre Dame bridges. “I chose that neighborhood because it concentrates 80% of the background sound environments of Paris in that era, whether through familiar trades—shopkeepers, craftsmen, boatmen, washerwomen on the banks of the Seine, etc.—or the diversity of acoustic possibilities, like the echo heard under a bridge or in a covered passageway,” Pardoen explains. While historical videos with soundtracks are nothing new, this is the first 3D reconstitution based solely on a sonic background: the quality of the sounds (muffled, amplified…) takes into account the heights of the buildings and their construction materials (stone, cob etc.).

‘This urban soundscape was recreated based on documents from the period, including Le Tableau de Paris, published in 1781 by Louis-Sebastien Mercier, and the work of historians like Arlette Farge, a specialist on the 18th century, Alain Corbin, known for his research on the history of the senses, and Youri Carbonnier, an authority on houses built on bridges. The audio tour includes sounds like the cackling of birds in the poultry market, the hum of flies drawn to the fishmongers’ stalls, the sound of the loom at the woollen mill that used to stand at one end of the Pont au Change, that of the scrapers in the tanneries on Rue de la Pelleterie, of typesetting at the print shop on Rue de Gesvres… all overlaid with the incessant cries of the seagulls that came to feed on the city’s heaps of waste. In total, the project incorporates 70 sonic tableaux.

‘“All of the sounds are natural,” Pardoen points out. “Machine noises, for example, were recorded using authentic antique devices.” Only the sound of the Notre Dame pump, which drew water from the Seine for the city’s consumption, was artificially recreated: the researcher recorded an old-fashioned water mill and reworked the sound based on the (estimated) size of the vanes of the Notre Dame pump.

‘Presented to the public on June 16-17 2015 as part of “Innovatives SHS,” a social sciences exhibition at the Cité des Sciences in Paris, the project is mainly intended as a prototype for history museums that might want to showcase their own city’s audio heritage. Developed on a video game platform to facilitate the integration of sound and movement in a 3D reconstruction, it is compatible with all types of digital equipment: computer terminals, tablets, etc. “It is a research project that will continue to evolve,” Pardoen reports. “The next step will be to include the machines and devices that are now missing from the image, and allow the ‘audience’ to stroll freely through the streets of the neighborhood.”’ — The Bretez Project

 

‘An additional six minutes was added to The Bretez Project’s sound exploration of 18th century Paris in 2017.’ — Napoleon.org

 

‘A collection of high quality remastered prints from the dawn of film taken in Belle Époque-era Paris, France from 1896-1900, and animated and sound scored by Guy Jones. Slowed down footage to a natural rate and added in sound for ambiance. These films were taken by the Lumière company.’ —  Guy Jones

 

Plus …

The Bastille around 1500

The Bastille was initially a fortified gate through which one must stop to enter Paris. Quickly, the main entrance was condemned and the Porte Saint-Antoine was built at the Bastille northern flank.

The view toward South West

Quickly, access to the city of Paris was redesigned next to the Bastille to enhance the defense and facilitate the flow of the city.

The current Boulevard Beaumarchais was built following the embankment of the ditch along the enclosure Charles V.

 

Le Temple, un site chargé d’histoire et intégralement détruit

Parisian former priory of the Order of Templars established in the twelfth century in the Marais. During the Revolution, the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (the Temple established in the fourteenth century) were expelled; Louis XVI and the royal family were imprisoned in the dungeon in 1792 which were still visible in front of the line current Mairie of the 3rd district. With the historian Philippe Simon and meticulous work of graphic designer Michael Douaud, this reconstruction of buildings has been carried out faithfully.

At the time of the Templiers

The gate of the Temple

Part of the Enclos du Temple, the Rotunda of the Temple, built in 1788 by architect Perrard Montreuil, enjoyed extraterritorial privileges granted to this forum. The shops will be rented so the price of gold and there were a refuge bankrupts.

A decree of the First Consul in 1802 permanently establishes the trade in “old clothes, old clothes and rags.” The architect Molinos four wooden sheds built between 1809 and 1811 from the Rotunda to the Rue du Temple. Streets are drilled around, with names of Perrée and botanist Du Petit-Thouars. Mecca of old clothes, the market has its own vocabulary, some words have remained as “chick” (client, originally), “Embers” or “dosh” for money.

The dungeon of the Temple was turned into a prison to incarcerate the royal family. Shameful symbol of their painful martyrdom, Napoleon demolished it between 1808 and 1810.

 

Le Palais de la cité

The largest building on the island of the City, the Palace of the city, now houses the courthouse. Its origin dates back to the conquest of Gaul by the Romans in 52 BC. First-Palais palatium Lutèce- for governor, he became the Paris home of the Merovingian kings after the Franks invaded Gaul.

It was not until the late tenth century that a sovereign settles permanently. Robert II the Pious, the second Capetian king, rebuilt the palace in the adorning of the Saint-Nicolas chapel and the “garden of the king.”

Under Louis IX, the chapel was razed and replaced by the Sainte-Chapelle, to accommodate the relics of Christ redeemed at Baldwin of Constantinople. The king also erected the tower of the Reformation. The torture chamber was later renamed the “tower Bonbec”. Grand hall of Philip IV the Fair, once decorated with forty-two statues of kings is now the entrance hall of the Conciergerie.

Under Charles V the palace was deserted by kings and renamed Conciergerie. The first public clock in Paris is installed on the facade at the corner of Boulevard du Palais and the Clock Tower Pier. One can still admire the jewel today.

 

Le pont au Change

Under the reign of Charles the Bald, the Grand-Pont, as opposed to the Petit-Pont, crossed the great arm of the Seine between the Ile de la Cité and the right bank. Rebuilt after a devastating flood, it was renamed the Pont au Change and is accompanied by a second nearby bridge, the Bridge to Millers.

At the time, like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Parisian bridges were inhabited and constructed so that it was sometimes impossible to see the water. The Pont au Change its name to the jewelers shops, goldsmiths and changers who controlled régulaient and the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks by forming a built front.

 

Le petit châtelet

The access to the two bridges that connected the island to the City to the banks of the Seine, were protected from the ninth century by two Châtelets, first in wood and stone. The Grand Châtelet protected access to the Grand Pont (now Pont au Change) and the Petit Châtelet protected access to the Petit Pont.

Their construction is part of the protection of urban policy conducted by Charles the Bald against the Norman incursions. The Roman walls are restored, fortified bridges and their abutments tightened to prevent the passage of boats.

In 1369, under Charles V, the small gatehouse was rebuilt as a real small fort and later served in the provost then remains state prison. It is here that were seen in the time of Louis IX, entrance fees of goods arriving in the city.

 

L’Hôtel Dieu

The Hôtel-Dieu was founded in 651 and is thus the oldest hospital in the capital. First place of charity, then instead of charity, it does not endorse his hospital function (practice of medicine, education and medical research), at the end of the nineteenth century.

 

La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

The authors of this synthesis image specifying: “Our Lady was probably polychrome but we are unfortunately unable to determine today how. The colors and painted parts are therefore here that an artist’s impression. ”

Before the desired work by Baron Haussmann during the transformation of Paris during the Second Empire, the cathedral does not have square. Its implementation will result in the demolition of half-timbered houses dating from the fifteenth century, of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Burning Church and the former Hotel Dieu. The outlines of these buildings are now materialized on the ground by light colored pavers.

 

La Place de Grève

The Place de Greve in 1803 became the place of City Hall, hosts the “house with pillars’ headquarters in the Paris municipality. This space festivals and executions while houses an important commercial port.

Under the reign of Francis I, the “house with the pillars” is substituted by a new building designed by Italian Dominique Boccador: the City Hall, completed only in 1628. He became the seat of the prefecture of the Seine, it will house Haussmann prefect in 1853, the very one that will change the face of the place.

 

 

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p.s. Hey. ** Misanthrope, Genetics probably have a ton to do with it. It would explain why Trump is still alive. I feel like the term ‘studies’ has long since lost its lordly lustre. Enjoy your friend and his son’s play. If Zac and I weren’t scraping the barrel for money I’d fly that talented kiddo to LA for an audition. This weekend on my end is doomed a bit by the scary election tomorrow which has turned every encounter with a friend into a mutual stressing out fest. ** David Ehrenstein, Thank you. All signs say that she’ll lose, but until the cat is in the bag, the worries are consuming. ** _Black_Acrylic, Goytisolo is a goodie. ** DavidC, No fucking way! There you are! Yes, and your handiwork remains fresh as a daisy and hopefully just as influential. Dare I ask how you are and how things are? I see a bit on Facebook, but … So nice to see you, David! ** Dominik, Hi!!! He’s a wunderbar writer. See, even you talking about that swinging bridge dream made my shoulders seize up. Even in movies when characters are shown at scary heights I have to grip the seat of my chair and force myself take slow, even breaths. Hopefully no one who wants to kidnap and interrogate me is reading this. Given my current circumstances, I think I would go shopping at the home of a reclusive, paranoid wealthy person who has a million euros (or more) hidden in their mattress and, duh, buy their mattress. Kind of a boring choice, but … I’ll trade you some of those euros for a bit or two from your antique porn booty. I’d probably still eat that Love. Well, not all of him. Thanks, yum sort of. One of my dreams to write a novel in the form of one of those b&w narrative porn magazines starring Hollywood street hustlers that used to commonplace in the early 1970s, so Love bankrolling that project, or, wait, I guess I could fund it myself with money from my new euro-stuffed mattress, so Love going back in a time machine to 1971 Hollywood and plucking a handful of boys off the hustler strip and transporting them to Paris and renting them an AirBnB, G. ** tomk, Hi! Yes, that makes total sense. I couldn’t have delineated it better. And thank you, I do try, ha ha. Enjoy Nightmares on Wax. Very cool! Oh, shit, I’ll send you the you-know-what for your book straight away. I just finished the text for Gisele’s new piece, so my brain is freer. That stress is really normal, but do not forget that what happens when your book is released immediately is infinitely less important than what happens re: it over the long term, and remember that it’s all about word of mouth always, and that takes time. ** Steve Erickson, I fear it must be way too easy to feel weary at your dad’s age. I hope he feels better pronto. You couldn’t pay me enough money to watch ‘The Northman’, not after that shithole he called ‘The Lighthouse’. Great about the Slant Magazine gig That’s a good venue. I check it frequently. ** Bill, The Crouch-inclusive post is coming up in exactly two weeks. Goytisolo’s worth it. A lot of people especially recommend ‘Count Julian’, and I might as well. ** Okay. We have a very stressful Presidential election here tomorrow, as you might know, so I thought I would resurrect this soothing post about Paris, or I guess I mean soothing to peruse since Paris was probably even more stressful back then than it is at the moment. Nonetheless … See you on Monday.