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Derek Bell Collection
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Personal Papers

This series contains music papers, financial documents, religious papers, family history material as well as material relating to Derek Bell’s death. The files within the series have been arranged chronologically. Within this series there are three files and two subseries. The first subseries, ‘Music Papers’, has been divided into four files. The first contains papers relating to his music education in the Royal College of Music, London, England and Trinity College Dublin, as well as material relating to teaching and the study of composition. The remaining three files contain papers about the musical instruments played by Bell during his solo, orchestral and ensemble career - the piano, the pedal and Irish harp, the oboe, cimbalom [dulcimer] and heckelphone. Receipts and financial documents relating to touring with The Chieftains and the purchase of musical instruments can also be found in this series. The second subseries contains religious papers mostly dating from the 1990s. This subseries is divided into three files, the first relates to the guru Gideon Fontalba and the second and third relate to Bell’s interactions with two spiritual organisations the Church of Self Realization and Arcane School, London, England. The two remaining files in this series contain papers relating to family history research into the Bell family and material acquired by Bell’s widow, Stefanie Bell, after his death in 2002.

Personal Correspondence

Handwritten and typed letters and cards from various relatives and friends to Derek Bell and a series of letters from Derek Bell to Mary ?, Evansville, Indiana, United States of America. Letters from Bell’s mother, father and sister are personal in nature and mostly date from when he was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America. One of these letters is addressed to him ‘c/o American Wind Symphony Orchestra’ (3 July 1963). There are three letters from his parents written while visiting his sister in Cuzco, Peru. His father, William Bell, describes hearing Peruvian harps ‘the harps out here are a dead loss. Big ones about 8 ft. high, carried in hand occasionally, or crude little ones tinkled by blind Indians’ (13 Oct 1968); letters from Derek Bell to Mary ? are conversational in tone with many references to Bell’s work with The Chieftains including the release of a number of CDs including Tears of stone , Mystic harp II and Christmas in Rome . There are also references to his solo work and masterclasses. Includes descriptions of a recording session with soprano Monserrat Caballé in Barcelona (30 May 1998); The Chieftains recording ‘two pieces for the new Babe II film’ (20 Sep 1998); an amusing description of his ‘lunch with President Clinton in the House of Representatives’ (31 Mar 2000) and Bell’s attendance at the 100th birthday party of the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s harpist, Sidonie Goossens (12 Oct 1999); letters dating from June 2000 congratulate Bell on being awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II. Another letter references the death of Bell’s harp teacher Artiss [de Volt] (16 Sept 2000). Undated letters from Bell’s nephew William ? have many musical references especially to Bell’s career with The Chieftains; includes an undated letter from snooker player Alex Higgins. Undated correspondence has been placed at the back of the file.

Performance Set lists and Related Material

Original handwritten and photocopied set lists containing tune and song titles, the key of the piece, the approximate time the piece will take to play, the number of ‘verses’ to be performed and some contain song words. In most cases it is not clear which performance the set list relates to. Includes the set list for the film score Tristan and Isolde [1980].

Performance Reviews

Original and photocopied newspaper clippings with reviews of Derek Bell’s performances, the majority dating from 1970 to 1986 from various publications including the Belfast telegraph, Ballymena observer, The Times [London, England], News letter [Belfast], Brunswick news [Georgia, United States of America], Irish times [Dublin] and the Orcadian, [Orkney, Scotland]. The majority of the reviews are from the Belfast telegraph and are written by ‘Rathcol’.

Performance and Rehearsal Invitations

Request from various organisation to Derek Bell to perform or rehearse. Includes a request from the general secretary of CEMA, Tyrone House, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast to Bell to play piano at a concert by the Lydian Singers in Neillsbrook Hall, Randalstown, [Co Antrim] ‘the work to be performed is Elijah and the conductor will be Douglas Armstrong’ (30 Apr 1958); information and script for the pre-recording of a radio programme for the Northern Ireland Home Service called ‘Music from Ulster’ with ‘Derek Bell (oboe and cor anglais), Norman Henry (baritone), Henrietta Byrne (soprano) and May Turtle and Havelock Nelson (pianos)’ (19 Jun 1958); rehearsal times and duty sheets for various orchestras including ‘City of Belfast Orchestra’ (9 Apr 1964) and ‘BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra’ (17 Oct 1967); letter from Marcella De Cray, Treasurer & 1979 Conference Director, American Harp Society, San Francisco, California, United States of America, inviting Bell to be a guest artist at the 16th Annual Conference of the American Harp Society’ (15 Jan 1979); copy of a letter from Liam Ó Conchubhair to Maureen Gallagher, Producer, BBC, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast referring to a ‘recital at Garron Tower’ (13 Jun 1992) includes a setlist of tunes and songs to be performed; an invitation from Christine Burns, Cork to Derek Bell to attend the ‘First Annual Cork Dulcimer Festival’ (Apr 2002).

Performance

This series is divided into two subseries ‘Solo and orchestral performance’ and ‘The Chieftains’. This reflects the two diverse aspects of Bell’s career in music. The series contains material relating to the organisation of rehearsals, performances, tours and recordings. Also includes performance related ephemera such as programmes, posters and flyers as well as memorabilia and awards. There are many newspaper and magazine articles about Derek Bell and The Chieftains in this series.

Original Compositions by Derek Bell

Undated and incomplete manuscripts:
Allegro Vivace for piano
Ballet suite for piano
Canon
Concerto
Concerto (the violet rag) for harp and orchestra
Concerto for piano
Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra
Fantasy - sonata for violin and piano
Hedgehog No. 5
Lost Things (after the Gospel according to St Thomas) for voice and piano Nocturne for piano
Sonata No. 1 for piano and percussion
Sonata No. 2 for piano
The Voice of Spring (E. W. Cole) for choir, oboe, harp and strings
Young Love for tenor, flute, oboe, harp and strings

Dated manuscripts:
Concerto No. 1 for piano and accompanied by orchestra (1950)
Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra. (1950)
Concerto No. 3 for piano and orchestra. (1951)
Sonata No. 1 for violin with piano accompaniment (1953)
Sonata No. 1 for clarinet (B flat) and piano (1953)
Sonata No. 1 for piano. Opus 16. (1953)
Two pieces for piano (1954)
Piano Sonata No. 2 Op.11 (1954)
Suite for oboe and piano (1954)
Gavotte (1955)
Serenade for string trio (1955)
Symphony in E flat (Sinfonia Tragica) (1955)
Recitative, Nocturne, Intermezzo and Finale for viola and piano (1955) Sonata No. 1 for oboe solo (or english horn or oboe d'amore or heckelphone) (1956) Infant Joy (songs of innocence) for two sopranos and piano (1957)
Waltz (Variation on the Agincourt Song) for xylophone, harp and string quartet. (1957) Ballade Pastorale for oboe and piano (1958)
Three Concert Studies for oboe (doubling cor anglais) and piano (1958, revised 2000) Toccata Burlesca, a transendental etude for oboe and piano (1958)
Toccata in A major for organ (1959)
Pastoral Overture for orchestra and piano (1960)
Piano Sonata (Summer 1960/1961/1962)
Four Short Romantic Melodies for violoncello and piano (1963)
A Shelley Song for soprano and piano (1964)
Improvisation and Finale for organ solo (1969)
Carolan’s Receipt for three Irish harps (1971-1972)
Sonata no. 4 'The Ascension of Milareba' for solo piano (revised 1975)
Dance Rhapsody no.1 for solo piano (revised 1981)
Variations and Musical Quotations on the well-known TV jingle: ‘Come on, Northern Ireland, come on’ for mezzo-soprano, Lambeg drum, bodrán, organ, choir and symphony orchestra (1985)
Nocturne on an Icelandic Melody for oboe d'amore and harp (1985)
Romance in Taiwan for Erh-hu and piano (1986)
Symphony No. 2 ‘The Violet Flame, Compté de Saint Germain’ for harp obbligato, and large symphony orchestra, with piano, organ and wordless chorus (1990)
Three Images of Ireland in Druid Times for voice, mixed choir and symphony orchestra (1992)
Divertissement Variations on a Tune: A day in the life of Paddy the Irishman for chamber ensemble (1997)

Oboe, Cimbalom and Heckelphone

Includes original and photocopied letters from Liya and Elise ? to Derek Bell and John Leach about the manufacture and purchase of a cimbalom (2 May 1974); Hungarian cimbalom catalogue (27 Feb 1996); photograph of a cimbalom; typescript of an article ‘The heckelphones’ (Oct 1998); typescript of an article by Michael Finkelman ‘The bass oboe’ (Oct 1998); letter from Gildas Jaffrennou, Ploeren, France to Derek Bell which includes the article ‘The Celtic hammered dulcimer’ (22 July 1994); and a handwritten article by Derek Bell ‘The tiompán in ancient Ireland’.
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