ALVIN DEL CHAMBLEE:
An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Chamblee, Alvin Del. | |
| Title: | Alvin Del Chamblee papers, | |
| Dates: | 1952-1974. | |
| Abstract: | Scrapbooks and audio-recorded recitals of an African-American singer, actor, playwright, and painter. | |
| Quantity: | 0.5 cubic feet (1 box), 3 master audio files: WAV (1 GB), and 3 user audio files: MP3 (175 MB). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Alvin Del Chamblee was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Chamblee entered the military in 1943 and served in Wyoming and in Europe. He was injured in combat and received the Purple Heart and an honorable discharge in 1945. Chamblee made his professional debut as a singer in 1947 and later attended the Chicago Conservatory of Music, where he earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees of Music in Voice and Theory.
Chamblee, along with his wife Rosa, moved to St. Paul in 1952. He began a long career in state government, first taking a job with the Veterans Administration and later becoming assistant personnel officer for the U.S. Forest Service. Chamblee continued to pursue an artistic career, however, which soon included not only singing but writing, directing, and acting in numerous plays. In the late 1960s, he took up painting and his works were soon being exhibited in galleries around the Twin Cities.
The Chamblees had two children, Denise (b. 1951) and Derek (b. 1956).
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
Two scrapbooks (1952-1974) containing clippings, programs, letters, photographs, and other memorabilia documenting Chamblee's career as a singer, playwright, director, actor, and painter. Also in the collection are three audio recordings of recitals given by Chamblee in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Alvin Del Chamblee Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 15,399
Location of Master Files:
Digital masters of the audio reels are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.
The original audio reels were disposed after the material was digitally reformatted into wav files.
Processing Information:
Processed by: Lara D. Friedman-Shedlov, July 1999
Digitization and encoding by April Rodriguez, February 15, 2022.
Digital audio transferred from the master audio reels by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes, (February 2022).
Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.
Catalog ID number: 990017357430104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| Box | |||||||||||
| 144.F.4.7B | 1 | Scrapbooks, 1952-1974. 2 volumes. | |||||||||
| The scrapbooks contain clippings; concert, theater and gallery programs; letters; photographs; and other memorabilia documenting Chamblee's career as a singer, playwright, director, actor, and painter. | |||||||||||
| Internet | |||||||||||
| Recital recordings, 1957, 1960, and 1962. | |||||||||||
| Recital pieces include mainly classical selections and spirituals. | |||||||||||
| Alvin Del Chamblee recital, October 25, 1957 1 master audio file (1 hour, 1 minute): WAV (309 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (51.2 MB). | |||||||||||
| Container note: Recital 10/25/57, A. Chamblee are by D. Grose. Track 1 + 2, 1-Thanks be to thee, 2- Where E'er you walk, 3-For behold darkness, 4-The people that walked in darkness, 5-Vittoria Mio Core, 6-Le Nebbie, 7-O Del Mio Dolce Ardor, 8-Chanson Bachique, 9-Chanson Espagnole, 10-Chanson Epique, 11-Clouds and darkness, 12-Lord thou art my refuge, 13-Hear my prayer, 14-God is my shepherd, 15-I will sing new songs, 16-Sleep now, 17-Rain has fallen, 18-Music I heard with you, 19-The rich man, 20-Sailormen, 21-Motherless child. | |||||||||||
 Digital audio | |||||||||||
| Alvin Del Chamblee recital, October 23, 1960 1 master audio file (1 hour, 12 minutes): WAV (367 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (59.3 MB). | |||||||||||
| Container note: Recital Oct 23, 1960. 1-O cessati Di Piagarmi, 2-In questo tomba oscura, 3- Plaisir d'amour, 4-Le Nebbie, 5-Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, 6-Morgen, 7-O Tod!, 8-Wisst ihr wann mein Kindchen, 9-Der Doppelganger, 10-Eri tu che macchiavi, 11-Avant de quitter ces lieux, 12-City called heaven, 13- If he change my name, 14-Let us break bread, 15-Everytime I feel the spirit, 16-Motherless child, 17-Requiem, 18-Sonnet XLIII bachelors thesis, 19-The Nun takes the vail, 20-Rain has fallen, 21-Tally ho!, 22-Balm in Gilead, 23-I heard a forest Praying. Marion P. Seller, accompanist. | |||||||||||
| Digital audio | |||||||||||
| Alvin Del Chamblee Palm Sunday recital, April 22, 1962 1 master audio file (1 hour, 13 minutes): WAV (371 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (64.7 MB). | |||||||||||
| Recital-Pal Sunday 22 Apr 1962. 1-Si Puo Aria Pagliacci-leoncavallo, 2-Comfort Ye, 3-Every Valley Shall be exalted, 4- It is enough-Mendelssohn, 5-Chanson Espagnole, 6-Chanson Epique, 7-Chanson A. Boire, 8-Vision Fugitive-Amrai Herodiade-Massenet, 9-Denn Es Gehet, 10-Ich Wandte Mich, 11-O'Tod Wie Bitter, 12-Wenn Ichmit Menschen, 13-On my journey, 14-Hear the lambs, 15-Swing low, sweet chariot, 16-twelve gates to the city, 17-Secrets of the old, 18-A nun takes the veil, 19-Sleep now, 20-I hear an army, 21-Sailormen | |||||||||||
| Digital audio | |||||||||||
RELATED MATERIALS
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- African American male singers -- Minnesota.
- African American actors -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- African American artists -- Minnesota.
- Concerts -- Minnesota -- Programs.
- Concerts -- Minnesota -- Sound recordings.
- Types of Documentation:
- Photographs.
- Sound recordings.
- Occupations:
- Musicians -- Minnesota.
Collapse
All