Jules Massenet. Fine autograph manuscript signed of the two songs "Lui et elle", 1887

Jules Massenet

Fine autograph manuscript of Lui et Elle, two songs for voice and piano, signed ("J. Massenet")

A MAGNIFICENT COMPOSING MANUSCRIPT, also functioning as the Stichvorlage, notated in dark brown ink on up to four three-stave systems per page, marked up by and for the printer in pencil, the first song also dated and signed at the end ("Paris Mercredi matin 21 Septr/87. J. Massenet"), the second dated and inscribed on the first and last pages ("Paris. Jeudi 20 oct:/87. 5.^h du matin triste matinée...Paris 3.^h Jeudi 20 oct: je suis très fatigué de ce travail"), with a number of deletions, erasures and corrections

9 leaves, folio (35 x 27cm), 24-stave paper, continuous autograph foliation (the last four leaves containing the second song originally foliated "1" to "4"), written on one side of each leaf only, the separate leaves on guards, contemporary vellum boards, red morocco label gilt to upper cover ("Manuscrit"), Paris, September-October 1887, browning to outer sides, upper hinge split; with a separate, modern (1954) edition of the songs

WRITTEN UNDER THE SPELL OF MASSENET'S FAVOURITE SOPRANO, THE AMERICAN COLORATURA SIBYL SANDERSON (1864-1903), whom the composer had met a few months earlier in the spring of 1887.

Rumoured to have been more than just a muse to the composer, Sanderson created the title roles of Esclarmonde (1887) and Thaïs, (1894), also being a celebrated interpreter of Manon in Massenet's most enduring opera. The present two songs, which set verses by Thérèse Maquet, reflect the intense feelings of the composer for the delightful young singer (according to the music critic Artur Holde in the preface to the modern edition included in this lot). With their elevated melody and masterly structure the songs rank among Massenet's finest. They were first published in 1890 by Hartmann.