OVERVIEW

A Sense of Place is an interactive sound and light piece created to reflect the 2000 year old link between two of the most important sites in the City of York – York Minster originally the site of the Roman Legionary Headquarters and the symbolic heart of the City, and Bootham Bar, one of the four main gates of the Roman legionary fortress and still used as an entrance to the city today.

While these two sites remain true to their original architectural intent, around them York has dramatically changed and developed to the modern City we experience today. A Sense of Place looks at aspects of the story of York over these past 2000 years from the perspective of these two architectural focal points and interprets them through an immersive sound and light installation.

THE PIECE

At the heart of the piece is the Minster itself, which over a period of two nights has been measured and recorded to provide an acoustic fingerprint of how it shapes sound through its long, dense and dramatic echoes. This allows aspects of the piece to accurately sound as if they were being played within the nave of the Minster itself, transforming the interior of Bootham Bar into a representation of the Minster – a building many times its size. Wherever possible the recordings used in the work have been sourced from locations in and around the City and all directly reflect the story that is being told in sound and light.

A Sense of Place tells this story through three distinct sections, between which the sound of present day York can be heard, hinting at how history helps to determine our own place in the world:

The Place Where the Yew Trees Grow - reflects the foundation and naming of Roman York as Eboracum.
Bedern – is inspired by the traditional tune of York, dating from 1615, and is a lament to a specific site within the city walls that at its height in the 13th century was the seat of the Vicars Choral (responsible for celebrating masses in the Minster for the souls of their dead patrons), to the mid 19th century when it was a slum and a ghetto for Irish immigrants, and the location for ‘The Ragged School’ for ‘the poorer classes’ where many of the children who attended met a pitiful end at the hands of one particular headmaster.
The Railway King - recalls the life and death of George Hudson who brought the railways to York. Upon his death in 1871 his body was brought back to the city from London on a railway carriage, and was there processed through the streets to the sound of the tolling Minster bell as people gathered to wish him a final farewell

ACCESS

There is no wheelchair access to the first floor of Bootham Bar. For those who cannot access the first floor space, a CD audio recording is available to listen to in the City of York Council Reception at 9 St Leonard’s Place (across the road from Bootham Bar and opposite the Theatre Royal).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

‘A Sense of Place’ has been commissioned by the York Renaissance Project, which aims to refresh, re-interpret and breathe new life into York's historic urban environment while inspiring and showcasing the creative talent within the city. For information on this and other stars of Renaissance: Illuminating York, visit: www.renaissanceyork.org.uk