From one audible past to another, the same listening protocol?

To initiate scientific dialogue between the members of the project L'écoute du théâtre [ECHO] (UMR THALIM) and the team Arquivos Sonoros de Teatro (University of São Paulo and FAPESP-São Paulo Research Foundation), this article addresses a delicate question that the Franco-Brazilian partnership can illuminate: to what extent can the concepts and methods of Sound Studies and French work on sound facilitate understanding of other cultures, while enriching understanding of one's own? Taking into consideration Sterne’s own reflections in his book, The Audible Past, I shall call on our extensive experience to propose the beginning of a response and a work program.