Sonic Heritage - NTS Radio special, June 2025

Cities and Memory x NTS Radio: Sonic Heritage. Originally broadcast on NTS Radio in June 2025.Sonic Heritage is the first collection of the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.The project, created by global sound collective Cities and Memory, presents the sounds of 270 UNESCO World Heritage sites and items of intangible heritage – all reimagined by artists from around the world to create a brand new way of experiencing these spaces. In this show, you’ll hear field recordings from 13 World Heritage sites around the world, followed by compositions built from those recordings. There’s everything from iconic spaces like the Sistine Chapel and historic St. Petersburg to natural soundscapes like Te Wahipounamu and traditional Ghanaian textile weaving, with ambient, electronic, spoken word and many other creative approaches to those sounds. You can explore the full collection at https://citiesandmemory.com/heritage.Timecode, tracklisting and credits01.10 Tallinn, Estonia UNESCO listing: Historic Centre (Old Town) of TallinnField recording: Raekoja Square at 10pm by Cities and MemoryComposition: The bell of Reval by Penelope Trappes04.17 Bonwire, GhanaUNESCO listing: Craftsmanship of traditional woven textile KenteField recording: Asante Kente weaving by Emmanuel BaffoeComposition: Warp and weft #4 by Formolo07.31 Avignon, FranceUNESCO listing: Historic Centre of AvignonField recording: New Year's Day bells by Colin HunterComposition: Beautiful iron friend by Simon Holmes12.28 Okarito, New ZealandUNESCO listing: Te WahipounamuField recording: Dawn chorus at Okarito by Janina CastroComposition: The place of greenstone by Cities and Memory 18.09 St. Petersburg, RussiaUNESCO listing: Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of MonumentsField recording: Peter and Paul Fortress carillon by Masha Sha Composition: Russian house by Dermot Fitzsimons21.52 Tikal, GuatemalaUNESCO listing: Tikal National ParkField recording: Dry leaves falling by Erick Ruiz ArellanoComposition: Yum Kaax by Laura Hills25.20 Cornwall, EnglandUNESCO listing: Cornwall and West Devon Mining LandscapeField recording: Head gear, Geevor mine by Paul LewinComposition: Resonances - in the depths by Elissa Goodrich30.20 Venice, ItalyUNESCO listing: Venice and its LagoonField recording: Glass-making demonstration in Murano by Cities and Memory Composition: Glass factory by The Leaf Library35.48 Rome, ItalyUNESCO listing: Vatican CityField recording: Inside the Sistine Chapel by Cities and Memory Composition: Crosswise I strain me like a Syrian bow by Cities and Memory 39.33 Kraków, PolandUNESCO listing: Historic Centre of KrakówField recording: Wieża Ratuszowa by Serge Bulat Composition: Wieża by Ross Reilly43.47 Nara, JapanUNESCO listing: Historic Monuments of Ancient NaraField recording: Morning prayer at Kasuga Taisha shrine by Lisa GermanyComposition: Morning incantation by Jaspal Singh Bhogal48.56 Morelia, MexicoUNESCO listing: Historic Centre of MoreliaField recording: Cathedral bells at Morelia by Erick Ruiz ArellanoComposition: Ultimo sueno by Kamala Sankaram54.06 Edinburgh, ScotlandUNESCO listing: The Forth BridgeField recording: Trains crossing the Forth Bridge by Simon HolmesComposition: The soft entrance by glacis