(b. 1980)
Iain Bell was born in London in 1980. He is primarily a choral composer of vocal works including opera and orchestral song. In 2013 Bell premiered his first opera, ‘A Harlot’s Progress’ in Vienna. Bell has worked and continues to work closely with Diana Damrau, the German soprano who was cast as the lead role in ‘A Harlot’s Progress’. In 2014 Iain Bell composed his second opera as an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ by the Houston Grand Opera. The work, directed by Simon Callow was a huge success and later nominated at the International Opera Awards in 2015. In December 2015, ‘A Christmas Carol’ received its UK premiere at the Welsh National Opera. Bell worked closely with the Welsh National Opera again in 2016 with his third opera ‘In Parenthesis’. This opera is an adaptation of the 1937 First World War poem by David Jones which had such an impact, won the applause of Yeats and T.S Eliot. ‘In Parenthesis’ has also been performed at the Royal Opera House. In 2018 the New York City Opera commissioned Iain Bell to pen the Opera ‘Stonewall’
Iain Bell Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
A Christmas Carol
No Timpani + 2 percussion
1) tubular bells, tambourine, suspended cymbal on low C timpani, sleigh bells, wind chimes 2) suspended cymbal, triangle, glockenspiel, high wood block, low wood block, snare drum
__________________________________________________________________________________
A Harlot's Progress
Timpani + 2 percussion
Glockenspiel, tubular bells, large suspended cymbal, triangle, anvil, whip
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Hidden Place
Timpani + 3 percussion
Glockenspiel, medium suspended cymbal, triangle
__________________________________________________________________________________