?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000
LETTER CONTAINING MAGNIFICENT FAIR COPY OF HIS "MAY SONG" MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY, FELIX. Autograph Letter Signed, including an Autograph Musical Manuscript, to philologist Adolf Friedrich Stenzler ("Dear [Stenzler's name in a Brahmic script]"). The letter, in German, recalling their last meeting on Blackfriars Bridge [London], expressing pleasure at the ability of young musician Eduard Granek, giving news of common acquaintances, and hoping to meet again. The manuscript, written at bottom of page two, a fair copy of his "May Song" (Op. 34, No. 1), 28 bars notated on three systems of three hand-drawn staves, with holograph title, tempo directive, and lyrics, in German. 2 1/2 pages, 4to, written on a folded sheet, address panel on terminal page; few closed separations at folds, small holes at fold intersections with minor loss to text on third page, minor loss from seal at upper edge of third page, faint bleed-through throughout, remnants of hinging along upper and lower edge of first and terminal pages. Düsseldorf, 21 June [1834: from docketing]
". . . So it has now been a year since we parted on Blackfriars Bridge, and then it will soon be 10 years, and then etc. That's the trouble with time--it passes so utterly and completely. . . . Eduard [Granek] is an excellent player; he took up my difficult English instrument as if it were entirely tame. Furthermore, he is an undemanding, good fellow. I just hope he comes to like it in Düsseldorf . . . . But we won't really be constituted until Rosen (iko jan) and you (achi) and Klingman [two bars of music on tiny stave] and I [bar of music on tiny stave] resume having breakfast together. Indeed, Rosen is now a professor again, his close friend Spring Rice a minister, and now quite the talking point. The only question is whether the daughters are still learning German. . . . I probably should have asked Rosen himself about that, for I often teased him about this story; but since his last trip through here, when he stayed with me, I have written to him only once, which is quite inexcusable. This is due to my incredible laziness regarding correspondence, and only dear letters such as yours can jolt me out of it. The worst of it is that one ends up getting out of practice and can no longer think of anything to write about--that's the case with me now. Consequently, I shall copy a song for you that I recently wrote, which you should sing. [May Song] ". . . You say you wanted to see, often to hear about us; just do it, and let us hear about you. You could write Indic, but no one in Düsseldorf would understand it. . . ." From the Jimmy Van Heusen Collection.
