In this paper we employ a new method, which enables one to calculate time correlation functions of vibrational relaxation by fits in the frequency domain, in the study of picosecond vibrational dynamics, that is, vibrational dephasing and vibrational frequency modulation. This method is applied to the molecular glass former salol in bulk, in a dilute CCl 4 solution and in restricted geometries after confining it in nanoporous silica glasses of various pore sizes. The important finding is that the vibrational dynamics of the confined molecules becomes faster with decreasing the pore size. An attempt is made to rationalize this effect by invoking the cooperativity issue related to the sluggish dynamics as the glass transition is approached. The removal of many-body effects by trapping the molecules in less-crowded environments seems to be the key factor. The obtained results are described in the light of recent spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics studies performed on this liquid.