威尼斯的伊勒登特教堂继1592年启用以来，每年都要举办大型的音乐盛典。最近，历史学家们却就这个教堂展开了激烈的讨论：教堂里的回音壁是如何完美清晰地再现庆典时演奏的复杂音乐的呢？

A New York University doctoral student named Braxton Boren decided to find out. He recorded a choir within a non-echoing chamber.

Next, he fed that audio into a computer simulation that he built based on the dimensions and materials of the church. The muddled reverberations matched actual acoustic measurements taken within the empty church, demonstrating that the simulation was accurate. 
纽约大学的一名博士生博伦·布拉克斯顿决定弄清这个问题。首先，他在一个没有回音功能的演奏厅内录下合唱的声音。接着将声音输入根据教堂的规模和材质建立的电脑模拟系统。这个模拟系统发出的声响完美精确地再现了教堂中实际测到的声音。
Finally, Boren recreated what the music sounded like when the church was filled with sound-absorbing tapestries and people.  The new simulation reduced reverberations from seven seconds long to three and a half, making the music much clearer.
最后，博伦模拟教堂内人头攒动并挂有吸声的挂毯的情形重新加工了声音。新的模拟方法将回响时间由5秒减少到了3.5秒，从而使音乐的声音更加清晰了。

And so Boren settled the argument. Although to some historians he was preaching to the choir.
虽然有历史学家认为博伦在吹捧合唱团，但因为博伦的研究结果，他们的讨论可以告一段落了。