Obit: Chieftains member Derek Bell (1935-2002)

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Helen
Date: 21 Oct 17 - 05:59 AM

Well keberoxu, I think the research on Caroline Townshend has your name written all over it. I look forward to reading your book when you publish it! :-)

Helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: keberoxu
Date: 20 Oct 17 - 02:53 PM

How generous of you, Helen! Thanks for linking to the thread!

Just want to underline one name.

An extraordinary woman named Caroline Townshend had a lot to do with the harp revival in question. Also spelled Townsend, makes for a little confusion.

Ms. Townshend deserves to be singled out as she was not one of the nuns. She came from a well-to-do family and turned out to be dedicated to the cause behind the Easter Rising. The more I learn about Ms. Townshend, the more she amazes me.

In fact I still have not isolated the thing that caused Ms. Townshend to decide, suddenly, that she must have a harp and learn how to play it. She seems not to have been under anyone else's influence in this, it was initiated by her.

She ended up finding a harp of some sort in Wales, and worked from there. Some of the leading names in the harp revival have their studies and influences traced back to Caroline Townshend.

Guess it's too late for someone to research her?

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Helen
Date: 20 Oct 17 - 01:57 PM

This is the thread about the Irish nuns and the harp revival:

'All the dear Spinning Eileens' (Irish harpists)

Helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 19 Oct 17 - 03:16 PM

Yes, the nuns, that';s often my first thought when I hear soem Irish harpers.

There are many lovely players though, perhaps I should have mentioned Siobhan Armstrong, Cormac de Barra perhap. Janet Harbison came to mind as well, for a lifelong dedication perhaps. Which made me think, they were talking about a new organisation they were in the process of establishing earlier this year, that may be of interest : Cairde na Cruite : Friends of the Harp

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Helen
Date: 19 Oct 17 - 02:50 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions on harpers and their music. It looks like I'm about to expand my music collection.

And thanks for nothing, telling me about the wonderful live events you have seen! Spare some sympathy for this Antipodean who has limited access to her favourite acts. LOL

Peter, you said: "I know what you're saying Helen. Personally I find harp players tread a thin line between what I like and what I can't stand but that perhaps is true for all players."

There have been other threads about the Irish harp revival initiated by some of the Irish nuns so the music which came out of that would not have been raunchy or raucous, but I think we can be thankful that the revival occurred because there are now so many amazing harpers and so many styles of music.

Helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Oct 17 - 11:39 AM

Sorry, I got Sileas confused with the Poozies in my last post. It was of course the Poozies whose lineup evolved, not Sileas. We were graced several times by both in the 1990s.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 18 Oct 17 - 09:50 AM

Maire ni Chatasaigh again often her collaborations are nice. but I like some of her solo work.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 18 Oct 17 - 09:49 AM

'I love the gutsy, raunchy players like Derek Bell...'

I know what you're saying Helen. Personally I find harp players tread a thin line between what I like and what I can't stand but that perhaps is true for all players.

Some have their musicality shining through, hearing Paul Dooley play Carolan on the wirsestrung harp first gave me a better appreciation of Carolan's music. Laoise Kelly is always great, most recently her collaboration with piper Tianan Duinchin.

I should perhaps have mentioned Deirdre Granville, in combination with her sister Aoife.


Guest posting only allows two links in a post so I cut/paste a little section to the next post. Pics linked are my own.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 17 - 09:21 AM

Reinhard, thanks for the link, wonderful music.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Reinhard
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 07:49 PM

I saw Mary and Patsy as Sileas and with the Poozies a few times in the 1990s in Germany - wonderful memories...

Nowadays my favourite harper is Rachel Newton, be it with her own band, with The Shee or with The Furrow Collective.

The Eggshell Brewery / Up the Lum

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 07:08 PM

I asked Maire ni Chathasaigh to play Carolan's Farewell To Music for me at Welcombe Village Hall a good few years ago now and she graciously obliged. A wonderful person. I learned a lot from her Carolan Albums CD. We have a wonderful harp player here on Mudcat and I have one of her albums, which is lovely. I hope she won't mind if I tell you that she's Bonnie Shaljean! I learned a lot from the Chieftains' albums, especially from Derek Bell's playing, though I often found the rather overwhelming piping of Paddy Maloney a bit of a trial. Personal taste, not criticism. We managed to get Sileas to Bude at least three or four times, the lineup evolving but always with Mary Macmaster and Patsy Seddon. Those were the days!

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Helen
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 02:20 PM

Peter, you're right about the fadas.

Maire ni Chathasaigh


Scroll down to play this track:

The Chieftains: Ceol Bhriotanach

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Helen
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 02:13 PM

Hi Guest & Guest, Peter Laban,

I'm a magpie when it comes to listening to music. There are very few styles of music that I don't like, but for harp music, I agree about M?ire N? Chathasaigh, who plays some of the music with her sister Nollaig Casey on a favourite CD of mine called Lead the Knave. It has my all time fave Carolan tune called Michael Ward (which is also known as Michael O'Connor)on it.

Apart from Derek Bell, and any of The Chieftains music I can find, my other go-to for harp is a Scottish duo called Sileas, which is Mary McMaster and Patsy Seddon. As I said 15 years ago on this thread: I am allergic to "soppy, slushy type of harp music which is everywhere" but I love the gutsy, raunchy players like Derek Bell & Sileas. My adjective for Sileas is "raucous".

The Little Cascade (Sileas) (1987)

Sileas plays this tune differently to Alan Stivell.

Then, just to mix it up a bit, I am also a Pogues fan.

Helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 12:58 PM

Sorry that was my post, Mudcat doesn't seem to digest fadas very well at the moment but instead renders them ?

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 09:56 AM

Thank you "other Guest". I will look those up and give a listen, again, thanks.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 07:09 AM

For harp you may want to listen to Paul Dooley, Mair N? Chatasaigh, Grainne Hambly, Kathleen Loughnane (with or without Dord?n), Michelle Mulcahy and Laoise Kelly, among others.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 06:24 AM

Hello Helen . I have a number of Alan Stivell's CDs and I do like Reflections very much.
thanks for the heads up on the Chieftans.
May I ask what else you listen to and might wish to recommend ?

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Helen
Date: 17 Oct 17 - 05:54 AM

Hi Guest, yes The Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, and Stivell's other album called Reflections are two of my faves as well.

On The Chieftains CD called The Chieftains Collection: The Very Best of the Claddagh Years, Vol. 2, there is a track called Ceol Bhriot?nach. It's a medley of about 3 tunes, I think. It is also on The Chieftains 5 album. Every time I hear the start of the track it takes me by surprise and I have to look at the track title to figure out why it is so familiar.

If you can find it, it will probably do your head in too.

Helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Oct 17 - 10:03 AM

It is also one of my favourite albums along with The Renaissance of the Celtic Harp by Alan Stivell. I have a number of albums by the Chieftans as well, my favourite is The Chieftans 5. I play all of these regularly, after all these years they still amaze me.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Andrez
Date: 16 Oct 17 - 07:40 AM

I still listen to Carolans Receipt too Helen and get where you are coming from about this wonderful musician and his music.

Cheers,

Andrez

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell (1935-2002)
From: Helen
Date: 15 Oct 17 - 12:03 PM

Hi all,

I was reading the In Memoriam list, and clicked on the Derek Bell link to remind myself of the date that he passed away.

Coincidentally it's fifteen years ago tomorrow (it's early morning 16 October here in Oz). Is it really so long ago?

Derek Bell's Carolan's Receipt is the first album of his that I ever bought. On vinyl, and then upgraded to CD many years later. It is still one of my all time favourite albums in my collection. Over the years I have added other CD's by The Chieftains and by Derek Bell and I am amazed at their individual and collective skills.

This is my current obsession, which I rediscovered when I recently and belatedly upgraded my vinyl record to CD of Boil the Breakfast Early:

The Chieftains - Mrs. Judge

The tune changes in the second half to a different time signature, and Derek starts it off with a lively harp rendition and is then joined by the other instruments. The more I listen to this tune, the more I love it.

Derek Bell is gone but never forgotten.

Just imagine how it was before we had music recordings. Imagine hearing such beautiful music only once or a few times in your life and never hearing it again. You would have to try to keep it in your memory and wish with all your heart that you could hear it even just once more.

We are blessed with the joy of being able to hear it over and over again, and that's what I do. I play the Derek Bell and The Chieftains CD's over and over in the car, at work and at home. I never get tired of them. I am constantly discovering new joys in listening to them.

Vale Derek Bell - now teaching the angels how to play the harp.

Helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: MartinRyan
Date: 25 Oct 02 - 05:05 PM

Cat lovers among you may enjoy the Death Notice for Derek in this morning's Irish Times. It included the following:

"....dearly loved husband of Stefanie and loving friend of his cats Blackie, Cheeky and Spotty.....

.....No flowers please. Donations in lieu, if desired, to the Cats Protectin League...."

He'll be missed.

Regards

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: 53
Date: 21 Oct 02 - 09:57 AM

I've never heard of him but my sympathies go out to the family.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Pied Piper
Date: 21 Oct 02 - 08:25 AM

A man with a great sense of humour.
Who else would have titled an album "Derek Bell plays with himself".
Sadly mist. PP

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: GUEST,Wolfgang
Date: 21 Oct 02 - 08:06 AM

A sad loss and a big loss

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: GUEST,van lingle
Date: 20 Oct 02 - 07:22 AM

"Serene, beautiful and melodic", well said, Ard. I was always amused by the thought of the man with his suits and ties and impish smile. He was my first introduction to the music of O'Carolan so I owe him big. vl

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: alison
Date: 20 Oct 02 - 05:51 AM

great minds Helen.... I played Carolan's Welcome for him at my gig on Friday.....


slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: GUEST,BigDaddy
Date: 20 Oct 02 - 03:21 AM

It's not a word I sling around often, but I feel truly "blessed" to have seen him (with the Chieftains) five times since the mid-seventies. He could make us smile, or bring a tear. And he obviously enjoyed what he was doing. A fond farewell to a lovely man. We'll not see his like again.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Helen
Date: 19 Oct 02 - 09:15 PM

Just as I thought, Fibula. I'm allergic to the slushy stuff as well - unless I just want a soporific - better than chamomile tea for sending me off to sleep.

helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Helen
Date: 19 Oct 02 - 06:50 AM

Well, I played (haltingly) Carolan's Farewell to Music for him, but it felt more right when I played Carolan's Welcome. It seems to me that though we farewell him here, Carolan was probably welcoming him in heaven.

Helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Kaleea
Date: 19 Oct 02 - 05:45 AM

I was also stunned when I opened my email & got the obit which was sent by a friend on the other side of the Atlantic. I went to our local session, & mentioned it to a couple of folks who knew his work. We did have to play a few tunes in tribute to him & the music he has inspired in us all for many years. When there is an artist such as Derek Bell, in such an amazing "band" as The Chieftains, whose albumns we run out & get hot off the shelves, it is quite a blow. Then to consider his contributions to the world of Music, it gives one pause to think of the music we will not hear because he has joined the ranks of Heaven's Musicians. I can only believe that if we think of him & listen very carefully, we might hear a few strains of the wildest jam session ever! (Contact your local Spiritualist for details! she said l-ing-ol)

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: The Pooka
Date: 19 Oct 02 - 02:19 AM

Amen, Jimmy C. And, such a good memorial lyric. / Another, albeit not strictly harpist -

But remember his fingers, they once did move sharper,
To raise up the memory of his dear native land.

God bless Derek Bell.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Jimmy C
Date: 19 Oct 02 - 01:23 AM

Very sad news indeed and so sudden. It's amazing how someone who looked like an auditor or a bank teller could still stand out in the crowd. He will be sorely missed but thanks to his recordings and books he will be with us for years to come. A real class act.

" The minstrel boy to his rest has gone, with his wild harp slung behind him "

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Fiolar
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 08:15 AM

One of the greats of the music scene gone. I had the privilege of seeing him and the Chieftains in two concerts and his playing was just magic. I'll bet he had that elfin grin when they produced that solo record oddly named "Derek Bell Plays with Himself." He'll have little rest in the great hereafter when he meets all the other great musicians and compares notes. Ar Deis De le na hAnam.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Brían
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 07:26 AM

His humor which is so often mentioned shone through on the stage in little musical jokes. I recall him strutting over to the piano during the DROWSEY MAGGIE finale in Portland, Maine and playing long passages of Scott Joplin.

Beannacht Dé lena anam!

Brían

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 06:50 AM

Like Alison I never saw him as a natural in the Chieftain's lineup, though he deserved the acclaim it brought him. He was a magnificent harpist and a fine pianist as well. (Studied with James Galway at the Royal College of Music). (By the way, Ard Mhacha, it's Sir James Galway, of course, just as it was Derek Bell MBE. They should have had more sense!)

No chance now of catching Derek playing at the back of Geordie McAdam's stained-glass workshop in Bangor, Co Down, along with Geordie's bluegrass fiddle. Just catching him there once was a real treat.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: The Pooka
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 06:32 AM

Well. This shocked me. Just too much. One of the very best of our time. Perhaps of any time. Gone from us, too suddenly and too soon.

Well farewell then Derek. We will miss you terribly. / If it's true the angels have harps -- show 'em how it's done.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: The Pooka
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 06:26 AM

Damn. / Unbelievable.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Fibula Mattock
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 04:56 AM

Ah Helen, I'm as sad as the rest that another great musicianer is gone. Aye, it was the slushy stuff I meant - the Chieftains' music is soul-stirring stuff. It's a poor day indeed now that Derek is gone.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Helen
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 02:00 AM

I echo smallpiper's pithy comment.

This is the last thing I expected to read today. Although he has been on my mind in the last couple of days because I made the comment in the Mudcat harpers thread that his harp playing and that of the harp duo called Sileas, i.e. Patsy Seddon and Mary McMaster, are the only people whose harp playing I like - because of what Mooh said - playing harp with the balls it deserves.

Then I noticed in the Secret Santa hints thread that Fibula Mattock said that she is allergic to harp music and I was wondering if she meant that soppy, slushy type of harp music which is everywhere, or whether she would include the gutsy, raunchy players like Derek Bell & Sileas as well.

I'll be getting out my Derek Bell harp records then, for a fitting farewell, as well as playing a few tunes on the Celtic harp for him - especially Carolan's Farewell to Music - a truly lovely tune and the best epitaph for Derek that I know of.

Helen

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Dave Swan
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 12:48 AM

What rotten news.

I was lucky enough to catch the Chieftans in venues large and small and always looked forward to what Mr. Bell would do next. He always appeared to be at play as he did his work.

Condolences to his partners.

Fear no more the heat of the sun...

D

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Mooh
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 11:54 PM

How sad! He always seemed to play the harp with the balls it deserves, and set a fine example for others to follow. Tomorrow, it's the Chieftains all day!

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Mountain Dog
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 10:49 PM

Too soon gone. McGrath has it right, however; the consolation is knowing that Masters Bell and Carolan are gigging together where the heather never fades...

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: smallpiper
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 09:11 PM

BUGGER BUGGER BUGGER!!

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Barry T
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 08:55 PM

I recall a performance here in Victoria a few years ago. Derek wore a local souvenir baseball cap through the entire performance!

Here was this virtuoso of the Celtic harp playing incredible music... juxtaposed against that hat. It's a vision I'll never forget. I smile every time I think of it!

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: alison
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 08:52 PM

what sad news....... saw him a few times playing in Belfast Opera House........

I always thought he looked too straight for the rest of the chieftains......... but the music was great


slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: fat B****rd
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 05:46 PM

Sad indeed, I love the Chieftains. RIP Derek.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: GUEST,toribw who should be working
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 05:29 PM

Damn! Such a sad thing...

I had the honor of meeting him in a rather funny circumstance. The Chieftains were playing in San Antonio, and as they do in most places, they allow some local musicians to play along onstage for the encore. I was lucky enough to be one of them at this particular show.

After we left the stage, I was milling around with some other folks when up comes Mr. Bell, headed straight for me. I stuck out my hand to shake his, he ignored it and hugged me instead, then planted a kiss on both cheeks. I was stunned, but really got a kick out of meeting him.

He was a very kind man. I'm sorry to hear this news.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 05:06 PM

Stunned to hear it. I knew him slightly, met him on the odd occasion for a chat or harp biz, and as the James Taylor song has it "always thought I'd see you again". My last communication from him was an ornately typed (that's the only way you can describe it) letter, full of fun but unprintable gossip and little doodles, which was meant to be about the reissue of the Carolan biography which I was working on at the time. Derek's the only one I know who could so completely express his personality in a medium as neutral as typeface; but his charming quirky self could shine through ANYthing. Too sad to write more because this will turn into a book if I get started telling Derek Stories. As one of the group's members said today, the world is a less interesting place without him. But Heaven will henceforth be MORE interesting now that he and John Doonan have joined the celestial band.

Subject: RE: Obit: Derek Bell
From: RolyH
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 05:02 PM

Not good news

He was a fine player.