Bells in Her Music: An Interview with Composer Helen Ottaway

Fun with Bells

The debate around ringing and music is taken to an entirely new level in this fascinating conversation between show host Cathy Booth and composer Helen Ottaway.

Deeply inspired by the sound of bells, Helen’s passion for this shared soundscape has led from the creation of individual musical works to an entire bell-inspired festival! It’s amazing to hear what can happen when composers and ringers come together to exchange knowledge and enthusiasm across different art forms, contexts and places.
Be inspired, listen to the recordings and maybe even download the ringtone - but don’t get so carried away that you forget to turn your mobile off before that peal …
Top Five Takeaways

• Why not get in touch with existing festivals to see if there’s a way your tower could get involved
• Given the heritage aspect of ringing, the National Lottery is a good source of funding for creative projects www.heritagefund.org.uk
• Check out the Ring Out Festival website for more inspiration https://www.rooklanearts.org.uk/ringout/
• Interested in finding out more about Helen’s work? Here are some good links to start with https://soundcloud.com/helen-ottaway/sets/ring-ring-bell-1 , https://helenottaway.bandcamp.com/album/ring-ring-bell , https://www.artmusic.org.uk/projects/ring-ring-bell/ and https://helenottaway.blog/
• If you’ve not already got a bell related ringtone, why not try one of these out https://www.zedge.net/find/ringtones/Artmusic or https://www.zedge.net/find/ringtones/Frome%20Carillon

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART). To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth
Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

Chapters

1. Comparing composing music with composing bell ringing methods (00:00:00)

2. Introduction to Helen Ottaway (00:00:31)

3. Helen's Connection with Bell Ringing (00:00:51)

4. Influence of Bells in Helen's Work (00:01:18)

5. Bells as inspiration for music (00:01:38)

6. Helen's Journey to Becoming a Composer (00:02:36)

7. Formation of 'Three or Four Composers' (00:04:42)

8. Sunken bells at Dunwich incorporated into music (00:05:59)

9. Helen's Interest in Bell Ringing Methods (00:07:42)

10. Musicality in Bell Ringing (00:09:04)

11. Recollection of Meeting Matthew Higby's Mother / Millennium Night Watch service piece (00:10:11)

12. Helen's Project for the 2012 Olympics (00:12:49)

13. Ringtones produced as part of the Project (00:15:28)

14. Involvement of Whitechapel Bell Foundry (00:18:05)

15. 'A Field in May' (00:19:06)

16. The Frome Festival (00:21:31)

17. The Frome Carillon (00:23:33)

18. Meeting the Frome branch of the Bath and Wells Association (00:24:20)

19. Contents of the Frome Festival (00:25:08)

20. Involvement of the Charmborough Ring in the festival (00:28:02)

21. The Finale Concert of the Project (00:28:40)

22. Feedback and Responses of bell ringers to the concert piece (00:31:52)

23. Tips for Bell Ringers Considering a Similar Project (00:34:17)

24. Ringtones (00:37:43)

25. Conclusion and Further Resources (00:39:20)

26. Full Circle Mix by Helen Ottaway (00:40:34)