The sounds of a Tudor mass service are being recreated in a historic private chapel at a Hampshire country house visited by Henry VIII.
The Vyne country house, which is owned by the National Trust, has created an audio experience in its chapel that immerses listeners in the prayers, chants and movements of clergy and choristers.
The recording recreates a Lady Mass, a service in honour of the Virgin Mary. It features elaborate polyphonic music for boys’ voices by the Tudor composer Nicholas Ludford.
Other sounds include the priest’s voice, the clinking of the thurible used to burn incense, and the rustle of clothing.
Staff from the National Trust created the experience in partnership with academic experts in medieval liturgy, music, and early modern history from the University of Oxford, the University of Southampton and Bangor University.
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn visited The Vyne in 1535 as part of their royal progress.
John Harper, a professor of music and liturgy at Bangor University, said: “What people will hear in The Vyne’s chapel makes use of the texts and music that Henry VIII would have been familiar with all his life, but by 1535 this kind of worship is being challenged across Europe, and 25 years later Latin liturgy in England had been entirely swept away.”
The audio experience is one of several new initiatives taking place at The Vyne, which is undergoing a £5.4m roof conservation project.
The Vyne country house, which is owned by the National Trust, has created an audio experience in its chapel that immerses listeners in the prayers, chants and movements of clergy and choristers.
The recording recreates a Lady Mass, a service in honour of the Virgin Mary. It features elaborate polyphonic music for boys’ voices by the Tudor composer Nicholas Ludford.
Other sounds include the priest’s voice, the clinking of the thurible used to burn incense, and the rustle of clothing.
Staff from the National Trust created the experience in partnership with academic experts in medieval liturgy, music, and early modern history from the University of Oxford, the University of Southampton and Bangor University.
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn visited The Vyne in 1535 as part of their royal progress.
John Harper, a professor of music and liturgy at Bangor University, said: “What people will hear in The Vyne’s chapel makes use of the texts and music that Henry VIII would have been familiar with all his life, but by 1535 this kind of worship is being challenged across Europe, and 25 years later Latin liturgy in England had been entirely swept away.”
The audio experience is one of several new initiatives taking place at The Vyne, which is undergoing a £5.4m roof conservation project.