'This Garden of Death': Concert showcasing compositions on a theme.

In November 2025, Richard Peace and I curated a concert at York Cemetery, presenting compositions by music students from York St John University. The composers were invited to write new works in response to the theme “This Garden of Death”, allowing the setting itself to shape the atmosphere and ideas behind the music.

History.

The phrase “This Garden of Death” comes from the history of York Cemetery itself. More than simply describing a burial ground, it captures the cemetery’s unusual character as a place where death, memory, landscape, and reflection meet. Opened in 1837, York Cemetery was created to answer the problem of overcrowded burial grounds in the city, and over time it has become both a historic site and a place of quiet public encounter. The phrase therefore gave the concert a theme that was at once historical, poetic, and deeply connected to place.

Background.

Richard and I began this concert project through his work with York Cemetery, and from that foundation we decided to create a composers’ showcase that would honour the place itself. We did not want the cemetery to serve merely as a backdrop; instead, we wanted its history, atmosphere, and presence to shape the character of the event.

As part of this process, we met with student composers to discuss the site and shared resources on the cemetery that could offer inspiration and thematic material. We also walked together through the cemetery gardens, giving the students the chance to experience the space for themselves and begin gathering the feelings, impressions, and questions that would later feed into their music.

Composition.

We generated a rich programme of new music from all the hardworking the compsoers contributed to the concert.. Some pieces drew from the history of the cemetery, some from personal stories that became intertwined with the atmosphere of the space, and others from musical ideas sparked by what the composers saw around them. What made the performance so compelling was seeing how one theme could be shaped so differently by each creative voice, turning a shared point of departure into a varied and deeply reflective musical experience.

Richard and I also co-composed a guitar piece titled Here Lies the Leaves, inspired by the garden itself and by those who rest there. Written for two acoustic guitars, the piece moves through a series of changing musical ideas that reflect the experience of walking through the cemetery: each turn offering something slightly different, whether in atmosphere, detail, or feeling. In that sense, the music tries to mirror the act of moving through the garden and noticing something new each time the eye shifts.

Alongside this, I composed a separate piece titled In the Silence for flute, B-flat clarinet, and piano. My work was shaped by the mixture of feelings the space stirred in me. The cemetery felt eerie and beautiful at the same time, yet always peaceful — a place of quiet, even while small sounds and traces of life remain present as you walk through it. I wanted the piece to reflect that tension, using dissonance, silence, and moments of sweeter harmony to create a sense of unease, release, and return.

In both cases, it was a rewarding experience to compose not only from theme, but from the imagery, atmosphere, and lived feeling of the environment itself.

Thanks to York Cemetery for allowing us to use the spectacular space, all the composers, Jude Clark for editing the audio material, Samuel Morais for the Film, and of course Richard Peace for a wonderful collaboration.