Some of the country’s leading musical talents will be helping audiences re-evaluate the beauty and historical significance of one of Suffolk’s most iconic houses this evening as part of the Bury Festival.

Cellist Natalie Clein has teamed up with sound designer Simon Fisher Turner and Guillemots lead singer, Fyfe Dangerfield to create a new world inside the National Trust’s Ickworth House.

Arriving after opening hours, audiences can explore the house, choosing their own journey through a specially created sound installation which gives a contemporary twist on the life, art, people and history in this evocative space.

The installation entitled Resonances, features a new soundtrack by composer Simon Fisher Turner, renowned for his work with Derek Jarman on The Last King of England and Caravaggio. Inspired by the rich history of the building, it features snatches of music and sound by composer/sound designer Matthew Fairclough which frame haunting voices and conversations created by director Richard Williams and students from the Drama Centre.

After exploring the rooms, the audience will be drawn into the main performance where a new commission by renowned author Jeanette Winterson, who wrote Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, will capture the spirit of the project, connecting the installation into a live acoustic performance by leading cellist Natalie Clein.

One of the UK’s most celebrated cellists, Natalie Clein’s programme captures the essence of the chamber music heard in the houses, whilst linking it to the present. A true virtuoso with a captivating stage presence, her programme will feature some of Bach’s Solo Cello Suites as well as the premiere of a new work by Fyfe Dangerfield (leader of the Guillemots) commissioned for the project.

Nick Wells, director of Bury Festival, said that Resonances seeks new ways to engage with this fascinating house, bringing it to life – using music, soundscapes and lighting to alter our responses to them.

“The installation has been carefully curated to create a sense of the families who resided there and events in the past. Ickworth House was inspired by the monuments of Rome, and condemned by the wife of Frederick, 4th Earl of Bristol as a ‘stupendous monument to folly’. The house was never intended for use as a home, rather it was designed to display treasures collected during 30 years of continental travel. The foundations were laid in 1795, but Lord Bristol’s collection was captured by invading Napoleonic troops in Rome and he spent the rest of his life abroad trying fruitlessly to get them back. Lived in by the Hervey family (infamous socialites to this day), the house contains paintings – including one by Vel�zques - Huguenot silver, Regency furniture and china.

Resonances is a unique blend of art and history, music, lighting and sound design. It is part of the Bury Festival. There is still limited ticket availability call 01284 769505 or book online at www.buryfestival.co.uk