Wagner, Richard.

containing two distinct drafts of the work:
1) the practically complete draft of the entire work, 8 pages, on 2 bifolia; and  
2) a more fully-developed draft of the orchestrally-accompanied section (bars 318 to 634), 4 pages, on 2 separate leaves  



including subsequent reworkings of various sections, showing many different layers of working dated at various points by the composer, notated in dark brown ink with corrections and additions in pale brown and red ink, and pencil, on up to thirty-one hand-drawn staves per page, with numerous cancellations, alterations, revisions, deletions, erasures and corrections and with several additional sketches, some passages written only sketchily, with only the melodic and bass lines, other sections written in more fully, with many passages different from the final version, without pagination



12 pages, large folio (c. 41.5 x 32.5cms), including the short sketch on page 4, modern morocco-gilt folder, gilt lettered: "Richard Wagner Original-Manuskript Das Liebesmahl der Apostel 1843", no place, [Dresden], 14 May to 16 June [1843], some browning and staining, outer leaves a little damp- and dust-stained, edges frayed,

WWV 69 II; R. Wagner, Sämtliche Werke. Band 16, Chorwerke, edited by R. Kapp (1993), pp.426-429.

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

1) The first complete draft of the work

Folio 1 recto: bars 1-128; dated at the head of the score "14 Mai" and after the words "da solche Labung uns erquicken soll?" dated "15 Mai", with numerous alterations and revisions, including the addition of new material in pencil from bar 117.

Folio 1 verso: bars 129-196, with numerous alterations, some additions and revisions in pencil and red ink.

Folio 2 recto: bars 197-237; the bars 239-240 evidently added later. This is followed by a sketch of two bars then bars 241-292, much of it written in double-value notation compared with the published version and the remainder showing very little similarity with the final score; with additions in red ink. This is followed by two sketches marked "Gebet", without text, some of which resembles the harmonic progressions of bars 269ff, comprising eighteen bars in all

Folio 2 verso: a sketch of seven bars of unidentified material; otherwise blank

Folio 3 recto: bars 241-292, marked "Gebet", being another draft, the material now closer to the final version, seventeen bars deleted, additions in pencil of eight bars, followed by a draft in ink of bars 293-318 which leads into an orchestral interlude longer than in the final version (319-327) and then a draft of bars 328-339

Folio 3 verso: bars 340-445, followed by a passage of five bars (not used in the final version, where it is replaced by the chorus); the harmonic line only sketched in, parts of the vocal line differs from the publication; additional material in red ink

Folio 4 recto: bars 454-548, with numerous alterations in red ink and pencil and many differences from the later version, with the numbers "21" to "31" added in pencil (indicating the page divisions in the full score)

Folio 4 verso: bars 549-635 (approximately); an early version of the final bars, lacking the orchestral postlude, bearing some relationship to the final text, an additional passage of eight bars added at the end in red ink, dated "5 Juni" near to the penultimate system.

2) A second draft, for the orchestrally-accompanied part of the work, somewhat more fully-developed than 1) and partly in score, notated mainly in 4- and 5-stave systems
Folio 5 recto: bars 318-404, being a fuller and more complete draft of the above, with additions in pencil, (incuding page numbering of the full score).

Folio 5 verso: bars 405-487, a fuller version than above and closer to the final text; much of the orchestral figuration in red ink.

Folio 6 recto: bars 448-554, ditto

Folio 6 verso: bars 556-634 (final eleven bars not drafted here, passages often and eight bars deleted, numerous alterations and corrections, accompaniment at the end somewhat different from the final version; dated at the end "16 Juni".

This is the composing manuscript of Wagner's most substantial choral work, a biblical scene on the subject of the First Pentecost

The work lies at the beginning of a very important thread that runs through Wagner's creative life - leading, through Lohengrin (1850), right up to his final opera, Parsifal (1882). The dramatic potential of a theatrical presentation of sacred phenomena fascinated Wagner, and is central to both operas. In Lohengrin, although that opera contains impressive choruses, the idea of the Holy Grail is transformed into pure instrumental music, most memorably in the Act 1 prelude. Das Liebesmahl der Apostel connects more obviously with the diatonic male choruses found in Parsifal, which presents sacred ideal directly in the face of the chromaticism of sin. The male choruses are treated here in a similar fashion to those in Parsifal, with the voices frequently singing in unison, and even featuring similar rhythms. This theme was nearly transformed into his most ambitious work of all: in 1848, before drafting the text of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Wagner wrote his poetic sketch Jesus von Nazareth, which provides one of the greatest might-have-beens in the history of Opera.

This manuscript shows two stages in the composition process, described by Kapp in the critical commentary to the complete edition as the "Erster..." and "Zweiter Gesamtentwurf".  

This substantial choral work was composed in 1843, between the operas Der fliegende Holländer (1841) and Tannhäuser (1843-1845).  Wagner's autograph manuscripts of these operas (as also Rienzi) have, for various reasons, been lost or destroyed.