David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor

Steuart Bedford Steuart John Rudolf Bedford (31 July 1939 – 15 February 2021) was an English orchestral and opera conductor and pianist. He was the brother of composer David Bedford and of singer Peter Lehmann Bedford and a grandson of Liza Lehmann and Her ...

, the grandson of the composer, painter and author

Herbert Bedford Herbert Bedford (23 January 1867 – 13 March 1945) was a composer, author, miniature painter and inventor. He was married to the soprano and composer Liza Lehmann from 1894 until her death in 1918. His grandsons were the conductor Steuart Bedfo ...

and the composer

Liza Lehmann Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918) was an English soprano and composer, known for her vocal compositions.Banfield, Stephen. Grove Music Online' After vocal studies with Alberto Randegger and Jenny Lind, and composition studies ...

, and the son of Leslie Bedford, an inventor, and Lesley Duff, a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

opera singer. From 1969 to 1981, Bedford was Composer in Residence at

Queen's College, London Queen's College is an independent school for girls aged 11–18 with an adjoining prep school for girls aged 4–11 located in the City of Westminster, London. Founded in 1848 by theologian and social reformer Frederick Denison Maurice along wit ...

. From 1968 to 1980, he taught music in a number of London secondary schools. In 1996 he was appointed Composer in Association with the English Sinfonia. In 2001 he was appointed Chairman of the

Performing Right Society PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertake ...

, having previously been Deputy chairman.

Early life and career

Bedford was born in Hendon, London to Leslie Bedford, the director of engineering for the guided weapons division of the British Aircraft Corporation, and Lesley Duff, a soprano singer who worked with the English Opera Group. He was educated at

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

in West Sussex. When he was 19, he acted as a conscientious objector in lieu of performing national service, which was still mandatory in Britain at the time. During this time he worked as a porter at Guy's Hospital, London. Bedford studied music at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

under

Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Char ...

, and later in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

under

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono beg ...

. His studies and early influences included the work of Nono,

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

and

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stea ...

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

(1970) LP notes by Anthony Payne from ''Music for Albion Moonlight'' LP ZRG 638 In the mid-60s, he was a music teacher at Whitefield school in Hendon, before joining Queen’s College in London as composer in residence in 1969. Bedford was a former president of the

Severnside Composers' Alliance Severnside Composers Alliance is an organization founded in 2003 by composer Sulyen Caradon with a number of other composers based in the Bristol, Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for wat ...

and a founding Trustee of the PRS for Music Foundation, which supports the composition of new pieces.

Recording and arranging

In 1969, Bedford was engaged to orchestrate

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

' album ''

Joy of a Toy ''Joy of a Toy'' is the debut solo album of Kevin Ayers, a founding member of Soft Machine. He is accompanied on the LP by pianist and arranger David Bedford as well as his erstwhile Soft Machine colleagues Robert Wyatt and Mike Ratledge, an ...

'', on which he also played keyboards. This led to his role as keyboard player for Ayers' band, Kevin Ayers and the Whole World, who recorded one album, '' Shooting at the Moon'' (1970). On that album, in addition to organ and piano, Bedford plays

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

marimbaphone The marimbaphone (not to be confused with the similarly named marimba) is an obsolete tuned percussion instrument, developed by the J.C. Deagan Company of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. in the early 20th century. The marimbaphone had either shallow steel ...

and guitar. Bedford also contributed to later Kevin Ayers albums as keyboard player and orchestral arranger. Bedford's work with The Whole World led to collaborations with the group's saxophonist

Lol Coxhill George Lowen Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 10 July 2012) known professionally as Lol Coxhill, was an English free improvising saxophonist. He played soprano and sopranino saxophone. Biography Coxhill was born to George Compton Coxhill ...

, with whom he formed the Coxhill-Bedford Duo. The Duo released several singles of old

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

songs featuring Bedford on piano and lead vocal, and Coxhill on saxophone and second vocal, for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

's Dandelion Records label in the early 1970s. One of these singles was released under the pseudonym, Will Dandy and the Dandylettes (covering a medley of

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

songs), with the B-side credited to the Coxhill-Bedford Duo. More tracks by the Duo appear on Coxhill's solo album, ''Ear of Beholder'' (1971) on which they play three songs, including an early version of " Don Alfonso" which Bedford would record again later. Still more Coxhill-Bedford Duo songs can be found on ''Banana Follies'', a 1972

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Avant-garde classical compositions

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

although it was never recorded for release. In 1965 he composed a chamber work for soprano and septet called ''Music For Albion Moonlight'', based on poems by

Kenneth Patchen Kenneth Patchen (December 13, 1911January 8, 1972) was an American poet and novelist. He experimented with different forms of writing and incorporated painting, drawing, and jazz music into his works, which have been compared with those of Will ...

. He continued to set music to Patchen's poems throughout his career, including ''O Now the Drenched Land Wakes'' and ''The Great Birds'', released by

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

on one of their ''Avant Garde'' series of albums in 1968, and ''Instructions For Angels'', released by

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

in 1977. He also composed a number of works for

wind orchestra A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

, beginning with ''Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves'' in 1982, commissioned by the

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has featured ...

. Many of these works have recorded by the wind orchestra of the Royal Northern College of Music, conducted by Clark Rundell, released by Doyen Records UK in 1998. Bedford is noted for the large amount of educational music he wrote for children. The

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

he used was often unconventional, frequently making use of

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...

, thus letting his works be performed by children and others who cannot read conventional notation. In the liner notes to the album ''Viola Today'' (1974) by Karen Phillips, it is stated that in the score of Bedford's ''Spillihpnerak'' (1972) there is "(a) page consisting of a drawing of a

lysozyme Lysozyme (EC 3.2.1.17, muramidase, ''N''-acetylmuramide glycanhydrolase; systematic name peptidoglycan ''N''-acetylmuramoylhydrolase) is an antimicrobial enzyme produced by animals that forms part of the innate immune system. It is a glycoside ...

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

which the performer is asked to interpret". Finnadar Records (1974) LP notes by Karen Phillips from ''Viola Today'' LP by Karen Phillips, SR 9007 Bedford took a similar approach for his 1972 work, '' With 100 Kazoos'', in which an instrumental

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * Ensemble (album), ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the ...

is joined by the audience who are invited to play

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifi ...

s. The audience members were presented with various space-themed illustrations, and asked to interpret them using their kazoos. The piece was intended to be conducted by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

, but he rejected it, with Bedford stating "He rejected my piece on the grounds that audiences would be stupid and would fool about with their kazoos in the other pieces too". Bedford composed a 35-minute choral suite, commissioned by the

...
, "Twelve Hours of Sunset", based on Roy Harper's song of the same name, from his 1974 album '' Valentine'', which Bedford orchestrated. The suite was given its live premiere at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London on 8 August 1975, by the

BBC Singers The BBC Singers are a British chamber choir, and the professional chamber choir of the BBC. One of the six BBC Performing Groups, the BBC Singers are based at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in London. The only full-time professional British ...

, BBC Choral Society and

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

, with

Simon Lindley Simon Lindley (born 10 October 1948) is an English organist, choirmaster, conductor and composer. He was Leeds City Organist from 1976 to 2017 (named City Organist Emeritus in Summer 2017) and is Organist Emeritus of Leeds Minster, having been o ...

on organ, conducted by John Poole, as part of the 75th

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

. Another performance for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

was on 29 August 1997, on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, by the

Crouch End Festival Chorus Crouch End Festival Chorus (CEFC) is a symphonic choir based in north London which performs in a range of musical styles, including traditional choral repertoire, contemporary classical, rock, pop and film music. Led by musical director David ...

and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with Jacques van Steen conducting, as part of a 60th birthday tribute to Bedford, who was also interviewed. He continued to combined skilled and non-skilled musicians in other works such as ''Seascapes'' (1986), combining a full symphony orchestra with school children, and ''Stories from the Dreamtime'' (1991), written for 40 deaf children and orchestra, as well as unconventional performance techniques such as requiring a singer to scream into a piano. The score to ''The Song of the White Horse'' (1978) instructs the choir to inhale

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

gas to be able to reach the highest notes near the end of the piece.Oldfield Music Records (1983) LP notes from ''Star Clusters, Nebulae and Places in Devon / The Song of the White Horse'' LP, OM 1 Science fiction was a repeated area of interest for Bedford. ''The Tentacles of the Dark Nebula'' has words taken from Arthur C. Clarke's short story ''Transcience'', recorded by tenor

Peter Pears Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears ( ; 22 June 19103 April 1986) was an English tenor. His career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years. Pears' musical career started ...

with Bedford conducting the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

. The title of ''Star's End'' was taken from

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's book ''

Second Foundation ''Second Foundation'' is the third novel published of the ''Foundation'' Series by American writer Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press. ''Second Foundation'' consists of two ...

''. ''Rigel 9'' is a play based on the book by

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

, featuring background music composed and recorded by Bedford. Bedford's music has been described as

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

. He was known for his use of

atonality Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a s ...

harmonic A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...

stasis, and rich

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...

Personal life

Bedford enjoyed sci-fi, was a keen astronomer and enjoyed cricket, all of which inspired his work. Bedford died of lung cancer in October 2011 and was survived by his third wife, his seven children, and his brother Steuart. Steuart died in 2021. After his death, a number of commemorative performances took place, including one of his later works for children ''The Wreck of the Titanic'' which was performanced nine times at venues across England during early 2012. The performance at

the SAGE Gateshead Sage Gateshead is a concert venue and musical education centre in Gateshead on the south side of the River Tyne in North East England. Opened in 2004 and occupied by North Music Trust it is part of the Gateshead Quays development which include ...

included choirs from four North East primary/junior schools. In November 2018

broadcast a recording of a concert performed by the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

, conducted by

Michael Seal Michael Seal (born 3 May 1970) is a British orchestral conductor and classical violinist. Since 2011 he has served as the Associate Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), having served previously as the orchestra's Assistan ...

, marking what would have been Bedford's 80th year. The programme included his orchestration of Mike Oldfield's ''Tubular Bells'', with

Steve Hillage Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo sound recording and reprodu ...

on guitar, his 1981 reworking of his ''Alleluia Timpanis'', and his ''Symphony No. 1''.

References

External links

David Bedford official website
originally published in the Kevin Ayers

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

''Why Are We Sleeping'' August 1994
Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
The LSSO performed on the album ''Instructions for Angels'' * * *
midomi.com Details of "Rigel 9" album at Midomi.com

Mike Oldfield discography: Hergest Ridge, at Tubular.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, David 1937 births 2011 deaths Lehmann family 20th-century English composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century classical composers 21st-century British male musicians British music educators British conscientious objectors English classical composers English male classical composers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Charisma Records artists Deutsche Grammophon artists EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists People educated at Lancing College People from Hendon