Derek Bell (musician)
Encyclopedia
George Derek Fleetwood Bell, MBE
(October 21, 1935 – October 17, 2002) was an Northern Irish
harpist, pianist
, oboist
, musicologist, and composer
, best known for his accompaniment work on various instruments with The Chieftains
.
, Northern Ireland
. Because he had been misdiagnosed at an early age as having a disease that would lead to blindness, his parents gave him a musical upbringing. Bell was something of a child prodigy, composing his first concerto
at the age of 12. He graduated from the Royal College of Music
in 1957. While studying there, he became friends with flautist
James Galway
. Between 1958 and 1990 he composed several classical works, including three piano sonatas, two symphonies, Three Images of Ireland in Druid Times (in 1993) for harp
, strings and timpani
, Nocturne on an Icelandic Melody (1997) for oboe d'amore
and piano
and Three Transcendental Concert Studies (2000) for oboe
and piano
. Bell had mastered and held an exquisite collection of several instruments, including various harp
s, harpsichord
, piano
, cymbalom, and all the members of the oboe family of instruments (musette, oboe
, cor anglais
, bass oboe
) and the heckelphone
As manager of the Belfast Symphony Orchestra he was responsible for maintaining the instruments and keeping them in tune. Out of curiosity, Bell asked Sheila Larchet-Cuthbert to teach him how to play the harp
. As time went on, he had many harp teachers. In 1965 he became an oboist and harpist with the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra. He had been known to be able to skilfully play the pedal harp
, neo-Celtic harp, and wire-strung Irish-Bardic harp. Bell served as a Professor of Harp at the Academy of Music in Belfast.
Bell had been briefly featured in the 1986 BBC documentary, The Celts, in which he discussed the role and evolution of the harp in Celtic Irish and Welsh society. Aside that, video clips of him only exist in the form of minor interviews and performances with The Chieftains.
is well documented as having been played in Ireland in the eighteenth century and is even mentioned by James Joyce
as an instrument he heard being played in the street. Derek Bell introduced a small cimbalom (a hammered dulcimer from Central and Eastern Europe), which he christened tiompan after the medieval
Irish instrument.
, an 18th century blind Irish harpist. At that time Carolan's music was virtually unknown, though today almost every album of harp music contains one of his compositions. Working with Derek on the project were several members of The Chieftains
. Bell became friends with the leader of the Chieftains, Paddy Moloney
. For two precarious years he recorded both with the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra and with The Chieftains, until finally becoming a full-time member of the Chieftains in 1975.
at every public performance. He favoured socks with novelty designs, such as images of Looney Tunes
characters. He wore scruffy suits, often with trousers that were too short. He was eccentric and told obscene jokes. The title of his 1981 solo album Derek Bell Plays With Himself has a conscious double-entendre. While touring in Moscow
he grabbed his alarm clock and put it in his pocket while rushing to catch a plane. He was then stopped by the Soviet police on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon. Paddy Moloney affectionately called him "Ding Dong" Bell. He relished the eclectic collaborations, such as those with Van Morrison
, Sting and the Chinese Orchestra
. In 1991 he recorded with his old friend James Galway
. He was awarded an MBE
in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to traditional music.
, also known as J. Donald Walters (Walters is also an avid composer of music for the Irish harp). Bell and some associates visited Kriyananda at his spiritual centre in Ananda village in Nevada City, California
. Bell wrote a preface to an edition of Kriyananda's book Art As a Hidden Message. He writes, "After reading it, I decided to get in touch with him... I also visited Ananda several times, the beautiful village Kriyananda himself founded in 1968... I offered to record some of Kriyananda's music". His first album the "Mystic Harp" with Kriyananda was well reviewed by the New York times - "This is a lovely, light album full of charm and innocence [...] The Mystic Harp will take you to places that stretch from the innocence of childhood to the mystery and otherworldliness of the spiritual." His final album was also with Kriyananda, the Mystic Harp vol II, a collection of compositions in a new age
style, for solo harp, quite different from the traditional and classical compositions for which he was otherwise known. In August 2002, only weeks before his death, Bell visited Kriyananda. Although Bell was born a Protestant, he became a Buddhist later in life.
on October 17, 2002. He is remembered at Cambridge House Grammar School
, Ballymena
, as House Patron of Bell House.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(October 21, 1935 – October 17, 2002) was an Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
harpist, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, oboist
Oboist
An oboist is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the cor anglais, oboe d'amore, shawm and oboe musette....
, musicologist, and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, best known for his accompaniment work on various instruments with The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
.
As classical composer and virtuoso
Bell was born George Derek Fleetwood Bell in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Because he had been misdiagnosed at an early age as having a disease that would lead to blindness, his parents gave him a musical upbringing. Bell was something of a child prodigy, composing his first concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
at the age of 12. He graduated from the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in 1957. While studying there, he became friends with flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
James Galway
James Galway
- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...
. Between 1958 and 1990 he composed several classical works, including three piano sonatas, two symphonies, Three Images of Ireland in Druid Times (in 1993) for harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, strings and timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, Nocturne on an Icelandic Melody (1997) for oboe d'amore
Oboe d'amore
The oboe d'amore , less commonly oboe d'amour, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, between the oboe itself and the cor...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and Three Transcendental Concert Studies (2000) for oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. Bell had mastered and held an exquisite collection of several instruments, including various harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s, harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, cymbalom, and all the members of the oboe family of instruments (musette, oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, cor anglais
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
, bass oboe
Bass oboe
The bass oboe or baritone oboe is a double reed instrument in the woodwind family. It is about twice the size of a regular oboe and sounds an octave lower; it has a deep, full tone not unlike that of its higher-pitched cousin, the English horn. The bass oboe is notated in the treble clef, sounding...
) and the heckelphone
Heckelphone
The heckelphone is a musical instrument invented by Wilhelm Heckel and his sons. Introduced in 1904, it is similar to the oboe but pitched an octave lower.-General characteristics:...
As manager of the Belfast Symphony Orchestra he was responsible for maintaining the instruments and keeping them in tune. Out of curiosity, Bell asked Sheila Larchet-Cuthbert to teach him how to play the harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
. As time went on, he had many harp teachers. In 1965 he became an oboist and harpist with the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra. He had been known to be able to skilfully play the pedal harp
Pedal harp
The pedal harp is a large and technically modern harp, designed primarily for classical music and played either solo, as part of chamber ensembles, as soloist with or as a section or member in an orchestra...
, neo-Celtic harp, and wire-strung Irish-Bardic harp. Bell served as a Professor of Harp at the Academy of Music in Belfast.
Bell had been briefly featured in the 1986 BBC documentary, The Celts, in which he discussed the role and evolution of the harp in Celtic Irish and Welsh society. Aside that, video clips of him only exist in the form of minor interviews and performances with The Chieftains.
Bell as dulcimer player
The hammered dulcimerHammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
is well documented as having been played in Ireland in the eighteenth century and is even mentioned by James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
as an instrument he heard being played in the street. Derek Bell introduced a small cimbalom (a hammered dulcimer from Central and Eastern Europe), which he christened tiompan after the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Irish instrument.
The Chieftains
On St Patrick's Day in 1972 Bell gave a performance on radio of the music of Turlough O'CarolanTurlough O'Carolan
Turlough Carolan, also known as Turlough O'Carolan, was a blind, early Irish harper, composer and singer whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. He was the last great Irish harper-composer and is considered by many to be Ireland's national composer...
, an 18th century blind Irish harpist. At that time Carolan's music was virtually unknown, though today almost every album of harp music contains one of his compositions. Working with Derek on the project were several members of The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
. Bell became friends with the leader of the Chieftains, Paddy Moloney
Paddy Moloney
Paddy Moloney is one of the founders of the Irish musical group The Chieftains and has played on every one of their albums.He was born in Donnycarney in Dublin. His mother bought him a tin whistle when he was six and at the age of eight he started to learn the Uilleann pipes. He also plays button...
. For two precarious years he recorded both with the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra and with The Chieftains, until finally becoming a full-time member of the Chieftains in 1975.
Eccentricity
Bell was the only member of the band to wear a tieNecktie
A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck...
at every public performance. He favoured socks with novelty designs, such as images of Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
characters. He wore scruffy suits, often with trousers that were too short. He was eccentric and told obscene jokes. The title of his 1981 solo album Derek Bell Plays With Himself has a conscious double-entendre. While touring in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
he grabbed his alarm clock and put it in his pocket while rushing to catch a plane. He was then stopped by the Soviet police on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon. Paddy Moloney affectionately called him "Ding Dong" Bell. He relished the eclectic collaborations, such as those with Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, Sting and the Chinese Orchestra
Chinese orchestra
The term Chinese Orchestra can refer to either:* The ancient Chinese Orchestra, or* The modern Chinese Orchestra-The ancient Chinese Orchestra:...
. In 1991 he recorded with his old friend James Galway
James Galway
- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...
. He was awarded an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to traditional music.
Eastern religions
From the early 1960s Bell was a friend of Swami KriyanandaSwami Kriyananda
Swami Kriyananda , born J. Donald Walters , is a direct disciple of the yogi Paramhansa Yogananda and founder of Ananda, a worldwide movement of spiritual intentional communities based on Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies ideal...
, also known as J. Donald Walters (Walters is also an avid composer of music for the Irish harp). Bell and some associates visited Kriyananda at his spiritual centre in Ananda village in Nevada City, California
Nevada City, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Nevada City had a population of 3,068. The population density was 1,399.7 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Nevada City was 2,837 White, 26 African American, 28 Native American, 46 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 40 from other races,...
. Bell wrote a preface to an edition of Kriyananda's book Art As a Hidden Message. He writes, "After reading it, I decided to get in touch with him... I also visited Ananda several times, the beautiful village Kriyananda himself founded in 1968... I offered to record some of Kriyananda's music". His first album the "Mystic Harp" with Kriyananda was well reviewed by the New York times - "This is a lovely, light album full of charm and innocence [...] The Mystic Harp will take you to places that stretch from the innocence of childhood to the mystery and otherworldliness of the spiritual." His final album was also with Kriyananda, the Mystic Harp vol II, a collection of compositions in a new age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
style, for solo harp, quite different from the traditional and classical compositions for which he was otherwise known. In August 2002, only weeks before his death, Bell visited Kriyananda. Although Bell was born a Protestant, he became a Buddhist later in life.
Death
Bell died of cardiac arrest in Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
on October 17, 2002. He is remembered at Cambridge House Grammar School
Cambridge House Grammar School
Cambridge House Grammar School is a mixed, controlled grammar school in the County Antrim town of Ballymena, Northern Ireland within the North Eastern Education and Library Board area.-General:...
, Ballymena
Ballymena
Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census....
, as House Patron of Bell House.
Solo Discography (excluding accompaniment with The Chieftains)
- Carolan's Receipt (1975)
- Carolan's Favourite (1980)
- Derek Bell Plays With Himself (1981)
- Musical Ireland (1982)
- Ancient Music For The Irish Harp (1989)
- Mystic Harp (1996)
- A Celtic Evening with Derek Bell (1997)
- Mystic Harp (Volume II) (1999)
External links
- Biography from the Amoris International publishing house