Sales catalogue 579: Maggs Bros

Date:
1932
Reference:
WA/HMM/CM/Sal/13/123
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sales catalogue 579: Maggs Bros. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    119/184 (page 105)
    15760 MEYERBEER (JACOB, 1791-1804). Famous Composer. THIRTY AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED (IN FRENCH AND GERMAN) CO VARTISIS, MUSICIANS, MUSICAL CONDUCTORS, AND LEADING MEMBERS OF PARIS SOCIETY. 47 pages, 4to. Dated from Paris, Berlin and Ems, between 1827 aud? Teo2. (SEE ILLUSTRATION, PLATE No. VII). £21 An extremely interesting and important collection of letters chiefly on musical matters. He regrets he would be unable to conduct the rehearsals of ‘‘ The Prophet ”’ in Naples, and gives detailed instructions concerning some changes he would propose in the part of ‘‘ Bertha ’’ (in ‘‘ The Pro- phet ’’), if the part were to be played by Mme. Miolan Carvalho. Meyerbeer thanks Costa, Director of Music at Covent Garden, for the great pains he has taken over the rehearsals of his overture for the Concert of the London Exhibition, and sends him a copy of this work in recognition of his wonderful performance. He refers in grateful terms to the conductor of a military band who had given a splendid rendering of Meyerbeer’s ‘‘ Torch Dance,’’ also mentioning “‘ Le Pardon de Ploérmel ’”’ and ‘‘ L’Etoile du Nord.’’ He refers to the forthcoming representation of ‘‘ Il Crociato in Egitto ’’ at the Scala Theatre in Milan, and mentions his opera ‘‘ Marguerite,”’ and promised to work ‘‘ with heart and soul’’ at the ‘‘ Nymphe du Danube ”’ to have it ready as quickly asi possible. One of Meyerbeer’s letters is addressed to the well-known writer Henri Blaze de Bury, who had written a play on Goethe’s youth, for one act of which Meyerbeer had composed the music. Jn this letter the composer points out the difficulties of rehearsing such a piece in a short time and advised his friend to postpone the performance until the summer (1861). He also asks him to send him the whole piece “‘ as it is of utmost importance to me to know the finished piece in order to _ see whether the preceding and the following acts justify the character of my music which I only composed after the general outline of the play which you had given to me.”’