Tudor, Stuart and Georgian era wills were the inspiration for a packed public event this week that fused history and original music.
An Evening of Stories and Songs: Wills as Windows onto Past Lives brought together composer, lyricist and performer Chris Hoban with historian Dr Laura Sangha and a collection of songs that drew upon some of the stories behind these historic documents.
Their 'duet', staged at the Devon and Exeter Institution, drew a capacity audience and has been made possible by a Creative Fellowship orchestrated through Arts & Culture at the University of Exeter. These bring together academics with artists and creative practitioners to find innovative ways of engaging the public with research.
In this case, the event showcased a major investigation being led by Exeter's Department of Archaeology and History entitled The Material Culture of Wills: England 1540-1790. Funded by The Leverhulme Trust, it is examining an unprecedented number of historic documents held by The National Archives to understand how material culture developed during an era of increasing commercialisation and trade.
"Wills are remarkable documents that often reveal hidden histories," says Dr Sangha, Associate Professor of Early Modern History, and co-investigator on The Material Culture of Wills. "For many people, their will is the only record they have left behind. But while they are deeply evocative, wills can also be frustratingly mysterious, a mere glimpse into a person's life. Through this partnership with Chris, we have attempted to fill in the gaps, and capture the relationships, love, light and humour within them."
The four-year Material Culture of Wills project is using specialist AI software to auto-generate transcriptions of 25,000 wills and has recruited a team of 'citizen social scientists' who are checking and verifying the data and potentially highlighting significant discoveries.
Dr Sangha and Hoban have been looking at documents together, as part of their six-month fellowship called Wills as Windows onto Past Lives. This has included some of those stored at The National Archives in Kew, such as the 120-page document belonging to Bess of Hardwick, said to be the second wealthiest woman in England at her death.
From this, Hoban, a Devon-based musician, performer and lyricist, who has regularly written for and performed with South West folk/roots artists Show of Hands, as well as previously working alongside renowned musicians Billy Bragg, Jarvis Cocker and KT Tunstall, has drawn inspiration to write around a dozen songs. He performed a selection of these solo and with a host of musicians, including several drawn from the Devon Philharmonic Orchestra and the University's symphonic orchestra. Dr Sangha introduced each with some historical context from the will.
"Some voices require careful attention in order to be 'heard', while others blaze from the rooftops!" Hoban says. "The challenge for me was to create verses about the material culture of wills, without making them sound like an inventory or shopping list! There is a balance to be struck, and I hope these songs succeeded in illuminating the lives of the testators, and did so with a little humour and lightness of touch."
