Gounod, Charles

the full score elegantly notated in dark brown ink on up to twenty-four pages per page, with alterations, deletions and erasures, some leaves cut away and replaced (pp.29-32), a few markings and the rehearsal letters added in pencil by another hand, the words from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, comprising five sections: (i) 'Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo' in E minor, (ii) 'Via Sion lugent' in A minor, (iii) 'O vos omnes qui transitis per viam' in C major/minor, (iv) 'Vide, Domine, afflictionem meam' in E minor, and (v) 'Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Convertere ad Dominum tuum' in E Major; inscribed and dated at the end ("Ch. Gounod, Londres, 4 avril/71")

65 pages, paginated by the composer, folio (c.35 c 27cm), 24-stave paper by Lard-Esnault of Paris, written on 17 bifolios, the 8th bifolium with stubs from extracted leaves and 2 leaves added, blank at end, later silk stitching, London, March-April 1871, modern green folding box, gilt titles to cover and spine (overall size: c.38.5 x 29.5cm), browning on title and final blank, a few tears to margins from earlier stitching holes



 

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."

This is Gounod's personal and heartfelt response to the disasters and indignities suffered by his homeland during the Franco-Prussian War of 1871.  Gounod's Gallia was performed at the first important concert inaugurating the newly-constructed Royal Albert Hall on 1 May 1871, along with Sullivan's On Shore and Sea and works by Hiller and Pinsuti.  The occasion was the official opening of the first Annual International Exhibition in London, but Gounod was inspired to write this élégie biblique as his emotional response to the the indignities suffered by his homeland in the Franco-Prussian War (his own home at St Cloud had been destroyed).  He later wrote "I had the idea of representing France as not only conquered and crushed, but outraged, insulted and violated by the insolence and brutality of the enemy.  I remembered Jerusalem in ruins, the lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah and, on the first lines of his Lamentations, wrote the biblical elegy called Gallia...The composition came immediately to me as a complete work; it exploded in my head like an artillery shell...".