Remembering Vaughan Williams

In 2013 the National Trust team at Leith Hill Place, the childhood home of Vaughan Williams, created an immersive experience that enabled visitors to listen to the story of the composer’s life and works by moving through various rooms displaying memorabilia. Designed by Gabrielle Gale, then manager of the house, the ‘Soundscape’ included the voices of actors (see acknowledgements below) describing key stages of Vaughan Williams’s life mixed with selections of his music.

Due to Leith Hill Place being closed for urgent repairs, in late 2021 the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society approached the National Trust with a proposal that the Soundscape be repurposed as an online audio/visual experience – Remembering Vaughan Williams. The soundtrack remains unchanged but is now enhanced with images mainly from the archive of Ursula Vaughan Williams which is managed by the Vaughan Williams Foundation.

Speakers: Virginia McKenna, Sir Richard Stilgoe, Patrick Newberry, Brian Kay, Alison Jermyn, Lindy Alexander.

Remembering Vaughan Williams is in three parts:

Acknowledgements

The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society wishes to thank the following organisations and individuals:

• The National Trust for providing access to the original Soundscape files.
• Gabrielle Gale for providing background on the development of the original audio Soundscape and contact details for the speakers who contributed to the Soundscape.
• The six speakers who all supported the repurposing of the Soundscape: Virginia McKenna, Sir Richard Stilgoe, Patrick Newberry, Brian Kay, Alison Jermyn, Lindy Alexander.
• The Vaughan Williams Foundation for providing access to the images in the Ursula Vaughan Williams Archive.
• ©Courtesy of the Karsh family