Important Manuscripts, Continental Books and Music
Important Manuscripts, Continental Books and Music
Auction Closed
June 11, 02:50 PM GMT
Estimate
3,000 - 4,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
BERLIOZ, HECTOR
Long autograph letter signed, to [Hubert Ferrand] ("Mon cher ami"), WITH 3 BARS OF AUTOGRAPH MUSIC, 21 August [1829]
alluding to his emotional state, describing his heart as a virgin forest kindled by lightning, recounting his present difficulties concerning his Prix de Rome entry [the cantata La mort de Cléopâtre], relating in frank detail conversations with Boïeldieu, who finds his music unintelligible, and with Auber whose best advice to him was that he write a plainer kind of music, otherwise the public will fail to understand it and the music sellers won't buy it, confiding his wish that his friend might hear the scene [from his cantata] where Cleopatra muses on the welcome her shade will be accorded by the entombed Pharaohs, comparing this to the scene [in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet] where Juliet reflects on her burial in the Capulet vaults, PROVIDING A 3-BAR MUSICAL EXAMPLE to illustrate his point, mentioning that he will be going home where he foresees new quarrels with his father, stating that he lives only for music, giving his trenchant views on Rossini's William Tell, which he notes has a few nice numbers, also referring to Spontini, who has fallen out with the king of Prussia and whose lack of success with his last work is killing him, and other matters
"...Au milieu de tout cela, mon père se lasse de me faire une pension dont je ne puis me passer; je vais retourner à la Côte, où je prévois bien de nouvelles tracasseries, et pourtant je ne vis que pour la musique, elle seule me soutient sur cet abîme de maux de toute espèce. N'importe, il faut que j'y aille, et il faut que vous veniez me voir; songez donc que nous nous voyons si rarement, que ma vie est si fragile, et que nous sommes si près!..."
5 pages, 4to (21.2 x 16.5cm), the autograph music on single, hand-drawn staves, annotated with the words "Oh! Shakespeare! Shakespeare!", with some cancellations, the date year possibly added in another hand, [Paris,] 21 August [1829], traces of mount to third leaf
A remarkable letter from the turbulent formative years of Berlioz's life, which find the composer struggling with his unrequited passion for the actress Harriet Smithson, the opposition of his parents to his chosen artistic path and with an uncomprehending musical establishment. It was only in the following year, with his fourth Prix de Rome entry that Berlioz was finally awarded the palm. Berlioz's correspondent Hubert Ferrand was a librettist and long-time friend of the composer.
LITERATURE:
Correspondance générale 134 (the autograph not traced).