Specially commissioned soundscapes and compositions created by music students at ذكذكتسئµ (ذكذكتسئµ) Leicester will surround the tomb of Richard III to mark the tenth anniversary of the laying to rest of the last English monarch to die in battle.
Four short pieces by ذكذكتسئµ students will create an intimate, immersive sonic experience centred around the King’s limestone tomb in Leicester Cathedral.
The students, all of whom are in the final year of a Bachelor of Arts in Music Technology at ذكذكتسئµ, have each created a short work inspired by the remarkable story of how the remains of Richard III, lost for more than 500 years, were rediscovered in a car park in Leicester, confirmed as those of the King using DNA testing, and finally reinterred in the city’s cathedral on 26 March, 2015.
The students had privileged access to the oral hostory archive of those historic events. and also made new recordings of other sounds such as church bells, various instruments and voices, and captured others such as the timeless sound of water running in a stream close to the Bosworth battlefield where Richard died, on 22 August 1485.
The site-specific sound installation involves eight-channel surround sound processing to create an intimate and evocative sonic experience around the tomb of the dead king.
Composer Leigh Landy, Professor of Contemporary Music, and head of ذكذكتسئµ’s Music, Technology and Innovation Research Centre, said: “One of the greatest strengths of our research centre here at ذكذكتسئµ is how we make music with any sounds rather not just notes, and then distribute that sound in space.”
“It’s great for these students to have the opportunity of this real life, relevant artistic challenge to contribute to something that the whole city is celebrating. It’s wonderful,” said Professor Landy.
The Last Plantagenet: Stories in Sound installation will play between 6.30 and 10pm, from March 12 inside Leicester Cathedral. Entry is free, and a café and licenced bar are also available.
The story of the rediscovery of the body of Richard III sparked global interest when remains were unearthed in a Leicester car park.
Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485. His body was carried to Leicester where it was displayed before being buried by the Franciscan monks of the Greyfriars Church. All trace of the grave perished along with the friary itself in the dissolution of the monasteries ordered by Henry VIII.
In 2012, more than 500 years after he died, a dedicated team of experts and archaeologists located the remains of More than five hundred in Richard III beneath a city centre car park where Greyfriars once stood.
DNA extracted from the skeleton was matched to that of two living descendants from Richard III’s family tree. Together with information about the age and condition of the skeleton at time of death, and results of radiocarbon dating, experts were able to show beyond doubt that the body from the carpark really was that of King Richard III, the last Plantagenet King.
On 26 March 2015, a global audience of around 350 million people watched a televised service in which King Richard’s remains were reinterred in Leicester Cathedral. The service was presided over by the Archbishop of Catnterbury and attended by members of the present-day royal family.
More information about music courses at ذكذكتسئµ can be seen here: Undergraduate Music courses at ذكذكتسئµ, Leicester
Posted on Monday 10 March 2025