| “My music contains my personality, my most intimate and vulnerable experiences; all my anger is there, all my sorrow is there, it is full of substance and depth, the pain and joy of my life. I aim not to produce music for the sake of music, but music for the sake of expression and when it is done this music contains the deepest, saddest most beautiful feelings of my heart.” |
- B. K. Campbell
Written By: Ronald L. Lepp
B. K. Campbell's "Redemption Elegy" Sample
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DOWNLOADING, DISTRIBUTING, PASTING ON OTHER WEBSITES, UTILIZING THIS MATERIAL IN ANY WAY (INCLUDING UNAUTHORIZED BROADCASTING) IS PROHIBITED BY LAW.
Inspired by the opening notes of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” (heard
after the death of his father) B. K. Campbell became obsessed with
Classical music. It has been his most consistent passion. To understand
and appreciate his music it is necessary to know about his life. This is
because his music is the product of his life.
Benjamin Kristofer Campbell was born into a broken home, his father
left when he was three leaving his mother to raise three children.
As a boy Campbell showed no signs of musical talent, he would rather
play with toys than create music. At 12 Campbell rebelled. He fought
with his mother, drank and walked the streets. He was kicked out because
of his behavior. Full of sorrow and anger he eventually dropped out of
school and lived on the streets. He stayed with friends and slept outside.
At 14 Campbell made contact with his father. It was decided that he
should live with him in Vancouver Canada. This made him happy. All his
life Campbell longed to live with his father. They got along well and did
everything together, catching up on missing years. But their happiness
was short lived. Campbell’s father had a troubled past, he came from a
broken home. As a man he had spent a third of his life in prison. He also
battled drug and alcohol addiction.
A Dream world fell Apart
Shortly after Campbell moved in with his father his grandmother died.
After his grandmothers death Campbell’s father starting using drugs.
Campbell was caught in the middle of his father’s destructive behavior.
The boy’s world seemed to change overnight. Campbell’s father quickly
fell apart. The joy and comfort they once found in each other no longer
existed. Drugs became the only important thing to Campbell’s father.
Distance grew between them but neither knew how to bridge the gap.
Campbell was hurt by the actions of his father- "it was hard to see him
waste his life."
Campbell spent his days begging for change on the street because his
father wasted their provisions on alcohol and drugs. He lived on bread
and soup because it was all he could afford. He had no friends and no
additional resources.
In spite of what happened, Campbell loved his father. There where
countless times Campbell found his father passed out or bruised from
fighting. He would boil something on the stove to make sure his father
had something to eat. All of this forced him to grow up very fast.
One night, in a drunken rage, Campbell’s father tried to throw himself
from a window. Campbell managed to restrain his father. The authorities
intervened and he watched as they prepared to take him away.
Campbell's father looked over and said, “I love you son”. Campbell did
not watch as they put his father into the police car. He went back upstairs
to an empty apartment. Two days later he boarded a bus and headed
back to the home of his mother in the United States.
It was not long after returning home that Campbell received a terrible
phone call. All he heard was, “your father has died of a heroin
overdose…” Campbell was in shock. At 15 he took the loss hard. In the
back of his mind he planned to return and live with his father, but his
hopes where shattered by reality.
The Day the Artist Was Born
Campbell descended into depression; he started walking the streets
contemplating the reality of death. He slept in the rain hoping to catch
pneumonia so he could join his father. At one point he cut his wrist
attempting to kill himself. Entering his own world he was introverted and
withdrawn.
While walking the streets he heard a beautiful sound coming from a
nearby house. It was the sound of a piano playing the “Moonlight
Sonata”. Campbell was able to identify with the music. It articulated the
sorrow he felt. In those notes he realized he could do more than just
endure his pain, he could express it. If there were no words there was
music.
At 16 Campbell’s struggles were far from over but music had entered his
life. He began to study. At every opportunity he played the piano, pinging
out the notes of the “Moonlight Sonata”. Soon he began to play his own
music - music he carried in his heart. Hearing the "Moonlight Sonata"
taught him the power of music, that it could turn sorrow into beauty and
make the misunderstood understood.
Fighting To Maintain Stability in His Life and Mind
Even after the discovery of music (1996) Campbell continued to struggle.
His life was hard. He composed music but his mind was full of confusion.
At 18 he attempted suicide. He sliced through his Median nerve causing
permanent nerve damage in his right hand. He was committed to a mental
hospital for 48 days. During his time there he gazed out the window while
listening to Barbers “Adagio for Strings”.
After he was released from the hospital Campbell returned to the home of
his mother, it appeared that he was stable, but the reality was short lived.
His mental state collapsed and he went back on the streets. Alone and
battling the same demons Campbell devised a plan to end his life by
drinking himself to death. He woke up in strange places and started
talking to himself. His most intimate and personal relationships had been
shattered. The prospect of developing his music seemed naive and
unrealistic. There was nothing left to live for. He was a burden to
everyone including himself.
On the verge of death from drinking and sleeping outside he stumbled
onto the property of a Church. He was permitted access to the building.
He stopped drinking and began playing. Still recovering from the damage
he did to his hand; and fighting mental instability Campbell poured
himself into his music. He composed from his heart. In dark corridors he
found relief from the events of his troubled life. He has no formal
training, just his creative mind and melancholy heart.
heart.
Understanding The Music
It is not possible to separate B. K. Campbell's life from his music. It is
this way with all great art. The more you understand the artist the more
you understand his art. And good music requires a serious inquiry; we
cannot relate if we don’t listen. So let us ask ourselves what Campbell is
trying to say; For once we know his music we know his heart.
after the death of his father) B. K. Campbell became obsessed with
Classical music. It has been his most consistent passion. To understand
and appreciate his music it is necessary to know about his life. This is
because his music is the product of his life.
Benjamin Kristofer Campbell was born into a broken home, his father
left when he was three leaving his mother to raise three children.
As a boy Campbell showed no signs of musical talent, he would rather
play with toys than create music. At 12 Campbell rebelled. He fought
with his mother, drank and walked the streets. He was kicked out because
of his behavior. Full of sorrow and anger he eventually dropped out of
school and lived on the streets. He stayed with friends and slept outside.
At 14 Campbell made contact with his father. It was decided that he
should live with him in Vancouver Canada. This made him happy. All his
life Campbell longed to live with his father. They got along well and did
everything together, catching up on missing years. But their happiness
was short lived. Campbell’s father had a troubled past, he came from a
broken home. As a man he had spent a third of his life in prison. He also
battled drug and alcohol addiction.
A Dream world fell Apart
Shortly after Campbell moved in with his father his grandmother died.
After his grandmothers death Campbell’s father starting using drugs.
Campbell was caught in the middle of his father’s destructive behavior.
The boy’s world seemed to change overnight. Campbell’s father quickly
fell apart. The joy and comfort they once found in each other no longer
existed. Drugs became the only important thing to Campbell’s father.
Distance grew between them but neither knew how to bridge the gap.
Campbell was hurt by the actions of his father- "it was hard to see him
waste his life."
Campbell spent his days begging for change on the street because his
father wasted their provisions on alcohol and drugs. He lived on bread
and soup because it was all he could afford. He had no friends and no
additional resources.
In spite of what happened, Campbell loved his father. There where
countless times Campbell found his father passed out or bruised from
fighting. He would boil something on the stove to make sure his father
had something to eat. All of this forced him to grow up very fast.
One night, in a drunken rage, Campbell’s father tried to throw himself
from a window. Campbell managed to restrain his father. The authorities
intervened and he watched as they prepared to take him away.
Campbell's father looked over and said, “I love you son”. Campbell did
not watch as they put his father into the police car. He went back upstairs
to an empty apartment. Two days later he boarded a bus and headed
back to the home of his mother in the United States.
It was not long after returning home that Campbell received a terrible
phone call. All he heard was, “your father has died of a heroin
overdose…” Campbell was in shock. At 15 he took the loss hard. In the
back of his mind he planned to return and live with his father, but his
hopes where shattered by reality.
The Day the Artist Was Born
Campbell descended into depression; he started walking the streets
contemplating the reality of death. He slept in the rain hoping to catch
pneumonia so he could join his father. At one point he cut his wrist
attempting to kill himself. Entering his own world he was introverted and
withdrawn.
While walking the streets he heard a beautiful sound coming from a
nearby house. It was the sound of a piano playing the “Moonlight
Sonata”. Campbell was able to identify with the music. It articulated the
sorrow he felt. In those notes he realized he could do more than just
endure his pain, he could express it. If there were no words there was
music.
At 16 Campbell’s struggles were far from over but music had entered his
life. He began to study. At every opportunity he played the piano, pinging
out the notes of the “Moonlight Sonata”. Soon he began to play his own
music - music he carried in his heart. Hearing the "Moonlight Sonata"
taught him the power of music, that it could turn sorrow into beauty and
make the misunderstood understood.
Fighting To Maintain Stability in His Life and Mind
Even after the discovery of music (1996) Campbell continued to struggle.
His life was hard. He composed music but his mind was full of confusion.
At 18 he attempted suicide. He sliced through his Median nerve causing
permanent nerve damage in his right hand. He was committed to a mental
hospital for 48 days. During his time there he gazed out the window while
listening to Barbers “Adagio for Strings”.
After he was released from the hospital Campbell returned to the home of
his mother, it appeared that he was stable, but the reality was short lived.
His mental state collapsed and he went back on the streets. Alone and
battling the same demons Campbell devised a plan to end his life by
drinking himself to death. He woke up in strange places and started
talking to himself. His most intimate and personal relationships had been
shattered. The prospect of developing his music seemed naive and
unrealistic. There was nothing left to live for. He was a burden to
everyone including himself.
On the verge of death from drinking and sleeping outside he stumbled
onto the property of a Church. He was permitted access to the building.
He stopped drinking and began playing. Still recovering from the damage
he did to his hand; and fighting mental instability Campbell poured
himself into his music. He composed from his heart. In dark corridors he
found relief from the events of his troubled life. He has no formal
training, just his creative mind and melancholy heart.
heart.
Understanding The Music
It is not possible to separate B. K. Campbell's life from his music. It is
this way with all great art. The more you understand the artist the more
you understand his art. And good music requires a serious inquiry; we
cannot relate if we don’t listen. So let us ask ourselves what Campbell is
trying to say; For once we know his music we know his heart.
