Weber, Carl Maria von Weber.

to the poet Karl Kannegiesser in Prenzlau (Berlin), referring to the occasion of the premiere of Der Freischütz, when he was told only too late that Kannegiesser had been in Berlin at the time, Weber goes on to discuss a number of projected settings of Kannegiesser's poems and confesses that he has yet to compose 'An die Unbekannten' just because he likes the poem so much, and he feels that, as the second verse is somewhat too personal, the piano militates against setting the words by its very precision ("...An die Unbekannten habe ich noch nicht komp.  So sehr es mir gefällt.  Der 2te Vers ist mir etwas zu viel Person, das Clavier verjagt die Töne durch seine Bestimmtheit..."); Weber assures Kannegiesser he is free to set "Weihnachtsliedchen" (...der Dichter ist ja der erste Ergänzer..."), and explains that although he has not yet written out his own setting of 'Der Harfner', he has not lost the poem ("...der Harfner...ist noch nicht aufgeschrieben. Aber er ist weder verlegt noch verlohren..."), as he is very organized regarding music, just not with letter-writing, and apologising for not writing to him in nearly two years,  1 page, 4to (c.23 x 18.5cms), integral autograph address-leaf, with a later manuscript copy in German, tear affecting the text but without loss, Dresden, 28 April 1822

Sale in our rooms, 8/9 April 1968, Lot 431.

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
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This is a significant letter where Weber considers the problems in setting poems to music.  Karl Kannegiesser (1781-1861) wrote texts for two Weber songs, "Sehnsucht" ("Wiehnachtslied") and "Elfenlied", published as Op.80 nos 2 and 3 in 1824.  Despite Weber's assurances however, "Der Harfner" never appeared and may never have been composed.  For Weber's earlier letter to Kannegiesser, discussing these settings in 1820, see the sale in these rooms, 22 May 2003, Lot 210.  Kannegiesser, a schoolteacher in Berlin, and later in Breslau, made the first German verse translation of Dante's Divine Comedy.