British composer David Bedford (1937) pursued two parallel careers, one
as an avantgarde composer in the vein of John Cage and one as a popular
composer of epic-length melodic fantasies in the vein of
Mike Oldfield.
A pupil of Lennox Berkeley at London's Royal Academy Of Music and of Luigi Nono
in Venezia, Bedford began by writing music that mirrored the avantgarde
of
the 1960s. Two Poems for Chorus (1963) already displayed his love for
the choir, while
A Dream of the Seven Lost Stars (1965) first betrayed his
passion for astronomy.
Bedford's eccentric taste and sense of humor was on display in
An Exciting New Game For Children Of All Ages, whose development depends
on dice, and in With 100 Kazoos, a piece for audience playing a hundred
toy kazoos.
Music For Albion Moonlight (1970), a chamber work for soprano and septet
composed in 1965, was the first one to be released on record.
The mini-album Garden of Love (Voiceprint, 1997) contains the 1970 piece
for chamber ensemble and rock group (Kevin Ayers, Mike Oldfield, Robert Wyatt,
David Bedford, Lol Coxhill) inspired by William Blake's poetry.
Nurses Songs With Elephants (Dandelion, 1972) collects the title-track,
a minimalistic work for ten acoustic guitars,
Trona (1967) and
Some Bright Stars for Queen's College (1969), a composition for
80 college girls' voices and 27 plastic pipe twirlers.
His music for the opera From Marie Antoinette to the Beatles (1968)
somehow introduced him to the world of rock music, and suddenly he was playing
keyboards for Kevin Ayers.
A young member of that group, Mike Oldfield,
invented a new form with his Tubular Bells, and Bedford decided to
follow his example on Star's End (Virgin, 1974), a suite performed by
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The main difference between him and Oldfield
was that Bedford was educated at using orchestras and choirs, was more familiar
with minimalism and other modern compositional techniques, and was more
interested in cosmic themes than in folk themes.
In the meantime, Bedford continued composing avantgarde pieces such as
Tentacles Of The Dark Nebula (Argo, 1974), composed in 1969;
The Sword of Orion (1970);
Some Stars Above Magnitude 2.9 (1971).
Star Clusters Nebulae And Places In Devon (Voiceprint, 1983) contains
the title-track for choir and orchestra, composed in 1971, and also
The Song Of The White Horse, composed in 1977 for the television.
Twelve Hours of Sunset (NMC, 1998) contains the title-track
for orchestra and chorus, composed in 1974, and also Alleluia Timpanis,
Symphony No.1, and the Concerto for Recorder.
On the popular front, The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (Virgin, 1975),
scored for choir, keyboards, violin, percussions, and narrating voice,
was a fresh and humble piece that dispensed with Star's End's grandeur.
The Odyssey (Virgin, 1976), inspired by scenes of Homer's poem,
was an instrumental tour de force. The longest and most impressive "panel" was
The Sirens, that relied on one of his favorite tricks, the female choir.
Almost as mesmerizing was
Instructions For Angels (Virgin, 1977), a series
of variations on a renaissance theme for keyboards, guitar and orchestra.
Back on the avantgarde front, Bedford wrote a children's opera trilogy,
Fridiof's Saga (1980), based on Scandinavian legends;
Ocean Star a Dreaming Song (1981);
Of Stars Dreams and Cymbals (1982);
the opera Rigel 9 (Charisma, 1985);
An Island in the Moon (1986).
Seascapes (1986) and Frameworks (1989) provide students of music with a "skeleton" to compose their own orchestral works.
The Wind Music of David Bedford (Doyden, 1998) contains Praeludium, Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves, Canons and Cadenzas, Sea and Sky and Golden Hill (1985), Ronde for Isolde (1985).
Bedford also began writing film scores: The Killing Fields (1984),
Absolute Beginners, etc
David Bedford's electronic keyboards painted one last
cosmic fresco on Great Equatorial (Voiceprint, 1994).
The 1990s began with Stories from the Dreamtime (1991), for 40 deaf
children and orchestra.
Highlights of the decade were works for choir and strings such as
A Charm of Grace (1995), A Charm of Joy (1996) A Charm of Blessings (1997).
His activity picked up speed in the second half of the decade with:
Tiddalik the Frog for string trio (1997),
Oh Eva Hear My Lament (1997),
Inventress of the Vocal Frame (1997),
Lift Up Your Heads (1997),
String Quartet No. 2 (1998),
At the Sign of the Crumhorn (1998),
Requiem for brass band (1998),
Oboe Concerto (1998),
The Sultan's Turret for symphony orchestra (1999),
the operas The Prostitutes' Padre (1998) and My Mother My Sister and I (ClassicPrinti, 1999).
Bedford died in october 2011 at the age of 74.
