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/ kalebeul / 2006 / 01 / 25 / c19th noise pollution /

C19th noise pollution

Trevor | 25 January 2006 8:46 AM | Benito Pérez Galdós, Liberals & locals, Of music

Nightfall in Madrid, which was apparently notorious (Pérez Galdós, Rosalía, ca 1872):

In the house a sepulchral silence reigned, but outside the noise was unbearable: carriages came and went without cease; a girl cried the lottery every five minutes, informing the public, “Tomorrow’s the last day to get your tickets. 10 reals for a décimo [tenth part of a lottery ticket]!”; a street band paid deafening tribute to a butcher opposite; a corps of Freedom Volunteers went by at the same time as a priest on his way to administer extreme unction, his sad bell silencing for a brief moment all other noise. Don Juan was unaware of the passing of the priest and the volunteers, in his absorption failing to distinguish the various components of the street chorus.

You’re lucky if it’s this quiet even at dawn in downtown Barcelona. Today, for example, the barrel organ mentioned previously by Galdós has been replaced by a gypsy with an immense sound system mounted on a shopping trolley, and sometimes he gets up early.

Original
En la casa, el silencio era sepulcral, pero fuera, el ruido era insoportable: los coches iban y venían sin cesar; una muchacha pregonaba cada cinco minutos la lotería, diciendo al público: “Mañana es último día de billetes. Hay décimos a 10 reales”; una murga felicitaba del modo más estrepitoso al carnicero de enfrente; un batallón de Voluntarios de la Libertad pasaba al mismo tiempo que el Viático, cuya triste campanilla puso en silencio por breve instante a los demás ruidos. D. Juan no hizo alto en que pasaba el Viático, ni el batallón, porque en su abstracción no distinguía los varios rumores de aquel coro callejero.

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