Stories, Sites, and Sounds: Dido Belle - A Musical Voyage
Join members of the Chineke! Junior Orchestra in a musical exploration of the life of Dido Belle. Keep going to watch their composition, filmed at Kenwood House where she lived.
The Creators of 'Dido Belle - A Musical Voyage'English Heritage
In this story, we follow Danya, Jamaal, Kitan, and Nayan as they learn about Kenwood House, and the history of one inhabitant in particular: Dido Belle.
KenwoodOriginal Source: Kenwood
Dido Belle (1761-1804)
Dido was the daughter of naval officer Sir John Lindsay and Maria Belle, a previously enslaved woman. Despite prejudices about her race and parentage she had an aristocratic upbringing at Kenwood House, in the care of her great-uncle.
This portrait of Dido and her cousin Elizabeth depicts them more as equals, which was extraordinary in this period.
KenwoodOriginal Source: Kenwood
Our quartet was excited to play in the music room at Kenwood House due not only to the reputation of the property for hosting concerts and live music in recent years, but also by being able to record our film in the Music Room where Dido Belle herself may have played.
Stories, Sites, and Sounds Zoom WorkshopEnglish Heritage
Dido’s exceptional story and the 18th century Baroque period when she lived meant there was a rich selection of music for us to draw inspiration from.
The score brings together an adaptation of music by Black composer Joseph Bologne (Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges), with traditional styles from the period, such as the Sea Shanty, to chart Dido's story.
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And finally, filmed in Dido's childhood home, here are Danya, Jamaal, Kitan and Nayan performing their original composition.
Watch and learn more about our other ‘Stories, Sites, and Sounds’ compositions: 'In Memory of SFB' and 'Life of the Munshi'. You can also see more about how these projects were created here.
Head to the Shout Out Loud project page to find out more. If you want to know more about Kenwood House, including how to visit, all the information can be found here.
Learn more about the Chineke! Junior Orchestra by visiting their website, or by reading their story here on Google Arts and Culture.
The portrait of Dido Belle featured in our cover image was created by Mikéla Henry-Lowe, and forms part of English Heritage's 'Painting Our Past' series.
Stories, Sites, and Sounds is part of Shout Out Loud, English Heritage’s national youth engagement programme. Shout Out Loud is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Kick the Dust programme.
