Paul Lewis

Fanfare for King Richard III

Never was a king more greatly loved in his lifetime yet more grossly maligned after his death than Richard III.
This is a fanfare to celebrate the discovery of Richard III under a Leicester car park in 2013 and his re-interment in Leicester Cathedral in 2015.
At the age of twelve I was inspired to become a composer by Laurence Olivier's film of Shakespeare's Richard III with William Walton's stirring score, but I never believed that Shakespeare's view of the monarch as a murderous villain was anything other than character assassination performed by 16th century historians anxious to justify the presence of Tudors on the English throne. Happily this opinion is now widely held by historians. Paul Lewis
Duration 1¾ minutes

Also available in a version for brass and percussion - Goodmusic GM141