Lot n° 224
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MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY FÉLIX (1809-1847).
L.A.S. "FMB" with autograph musical manuscript, Leipzig January 31, 1836, to his friend Carl
KLINGEMANN; 4 pages in-8.
Important letter with the complete manuscript of the Sonntagslied.
Karl KLINGEMANN (1798-1862) was secretary of the Hanover Legation (Legationsrath) in London. A close friend of Mendelssohn, he exchanged a lot of correspondence with him. Translator and poet, he wrote the lyrics of several vocal works composed by Felix Mendelssohn, including this Sonntagslied.
Mendelssohn expressed his joy at receiving letters from his friend, urging him to write as often as possible. He is grateful for his love ("Habe tausend Dank dafür,
Du Alter, und für alles Liebe, was Du mir darin sagst danke ich Dir heute und eigentlich schon lange innerlich von ganzem Herzen").
He does feel now that he must continue his existence, but it seems so bare and sad that it is hopeless, and that is why the days pass so quickly now, because one looks much like the other and he has little to look forward to ("Daß ich meine Existenz fortsetzen werde und fortsetzen muß, fühle ich jetzt auch wohl wieder; aber so bald ich etwas darüber nachdenke, kommt sie mir so kahl und öde vor, dass ich verzweifeln möchte, und darum verfliegen mir jetzt die Tage so schnell, weil der eine ziemlich wie der andere aussieht, und ich wenig davon zu erwarten habe.)
Sometimes he becomes very funny and happy again, but it never really sticks, and then he feels all the more sad. Activity is the only thing that helps and makes him feel good, since he has to make music every eight days, and sometimes very good music.
("Ich bin auch schon zuweilen wieder ganz lustig und vergnügt gewesen, aber es wollte niemals recht vorhalten, und mir wurde dann nur um so trauriger zu Muth. Beschäftigung ist das einzige was mir hilft, und so ist mir meine Stellung hier sogar förderlich, da ich alle acht Tage Musik, und mitunter recht gute, machen muß"). The people of Düsseldorf are already beginning to prepare the music festival, and in a few days he must send the first part of his oratorio Paulus to
Simrock for printing, and there is still much to do ("Auch fangen schon die
Düsseldorfer an, wegen des Musikfestes zu treiben, und in wenig Tagen muß ich den ersten
Teil des Paulus an Simrock zum Druck schicken, und daran gibt es noch mancherlei zu tun"). He hopes that Klingemann will come to the Düsseldorf Music Festival; that he will do so out of love for him. He knows that some of the things in
Paulus will please his friend, even if he is still uncertain about the impression of the whole ("daß einige Sachen im Paulus Dir Freude machen werden, weiß ich ganz sicher, wenn ich auch über den Eindruck des Ganzen noch ungewiß bin"). In any case, the execution will be as one would hope, and this is of great importance to him. He urges Klingemann to stay with him as long as possible, fearing that he will be in a great hurry and busy during the festival.
He mentions several of their mutual friends: the Frankfurt lawyer and organist Friedrich
SCHLEMMER, the conductor Julius RIETZ, also a composer and cellist, who was then his assistant in Düsseldorf, the little
David (the violinist Ferdinand DAVID) and his sister the pianist Louise DULCKEN, the English composer William HORSLEY, the Czech pianist and composer Ignaz MOSCHELES, then living in London, or the orientalist Friedrich
ROSEN (whose sister Klingemann would later marry). He also talks about his works: his Octet, which was just played at the Sunday concert in a very masterly way; he played the viola himself to the acclamation of the musicians and his heart was beating wildly as he played the viola for the first time in public ("ich trug zum
Jubel der Musiker die zweite Bratsche vor und hatte Herzklopfen, als ich zum erstenmal vor dem Publikum Bratsche spielte "). He has sent him his Melusina Overture arranged for four hands, and will send him the score as soon as it is published; he is anxious to know Klingemann's opinion on the definitive version of the overture ("was
Du über meine definitive Version der Ouvertüre schreiben wirst"). He would like to know if Mrs.
Moscheles has received the songbook ("ihr Liederbuch"); two months ago he sent the score of his Psalm with its piano reduction for Moscheles and Klingemann; he hopes that he liked his Romance without words in F major and his lied on a poem by HEINE in A flat major, which he considers to be one of his most beautiful [Auf flügeln des Gesanges, published, like the
Sonntagslied, in the Sechs Gesänge op.
34] ("ich vor etwa zwei Monaten nebst der
Partitur meines Psalms und dem Klavierauszug für Moscheles und dich absandte, richtig empfangen hat, und ob Du das Lied ohne Worte aus f-dur magst, das ich hinein geschrieben.
Das von Heine aus as-dur halte
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