Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix

thanking him for his work which Colonel von Webern gave him a few days earlier in Berlin, analyzing the features of it which attract and rivet the reader, discussing his notion of considering the work as a link between drama and opera, rejecting the possibility of a musical setting as this would damage the impression of the whole, any such attempt being inadvisable for the poet as well as the musician, observing that the piece is essentially a drama in which music can and may only play a subordinate role, pointing out, for example, that the singing match of the two poets and that of the poet with the devil, indeed all such lyrical passages, ought simply not to be sung, but spoken to the occasional accompaniment of harp chords, admitting that it seems above all important to preserve the work's character as a drama and not to give it any overtones of melodrama or opera; in the second half of the letter Mendelssohn concerns himself in detail with two points in the drama (regarding Klingsor and Ofterdingen's sudden envy towards Eschenbach), with which he, not as a musician but as an insignificant member of the audience ("als Partikelchen des Publikums"), is not in agreement, suggests possible alterations, and concludes by noting that it was because so much in the poem had drawn him in and made his talent dear to him that he has written with complete honesty about it

...Das Stück ist wesentlich ein Drama und die Musik kann und darf nur als untergeordnetes Hilfsmittel (wie dies auch bei vielen anderen Dramas der Fall ist) auftreten. So meine ich z.B. dass sowohl der Wettgesang der beider Dichter, als der des Dichters mit dem Teufel, ja überhaupt alle lyrischen Stellen der Art, welche der Sänger und Dichter vorzutragen haben, durchaus nicht gesungen werden dürfen...



 5 pages, 4to, modern pencil annotation to upper margin of first page, Leipzig, 20 February 1843, two small holes and a tear to upper margin of final leaf, some splitting along horizontal folds, creasing to some corners

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."

A long, detailed and illuminating letter on the dramaturgical and musical issues raised by his correspondent's drama Der Sängerkrieg, which evidently treated of the same famous legend of the Minnesänger contest at Wartburg as Wagner's contemporary opera Tannhäuser (premiered in Dresden in October 1845). The composer who expressed in the present letter such conservative views on the respective roles of music and words in opera is unmistakably the same who is known to have singled out for approval in Tannhäuser only a canonic passage in the second finale. Only two letters from Mendelssohn to Neumann are known; this one is a reply to Neumann's of 26 January 1843.

We gratefully acknowledge the kind assistance of Dr. Ralf Wehner in our cataloguing of this lot