Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix

ABOUT HIS ORATORIO LOBGESANG (HYMN OF PRAISE) OP.52, describing his furious reaction on learning that the Philharmonic orchestra were going to perform his unrevised version, and that Novello had offered the score to Moscheles, explaining that his revisions, which include four new pieces, express his original idea in a much clearer and better fashion, and that a repetition of the old version would be a real insult for him, and threatening never to speak to Novello again; in the letter Mendelssohn also refers to his family's plans for his mother's birthday, which falls on the same day as his letter, describes some future concerts at Leipzig, at one of which Schröder-Devrient will take part, referring to the weary and feeble audience and performers, mentioning the antipathy of David's wife to Leipzig, and other matters

...Du glaubst nicht, wie mich eine solche Aufführung so schrecklich ärgern würde, weil Du die neuen Sachen nicht kennst. Das ganze Stück wird dadurch wirklich ein anderes, und kommt meiner ursprünglichen Idee so viel näher, drückt sie so ungleich deutlicher und besser aus, dass mir jede Wiederholung des alten, ein wahres Unrecht, eine Wahre Beleidigung antut...



4 pages, 4to (25.5 x 19.4cm), integral autograph address panel, intact red seal with Mendelssohn's monogram ("FMB"), pencil annotation to first page, no place, 15 March 1841, old repair to small seal tear, slightly affecting one word, tiny red ink mark on third page, slight fading to ink

K. Klingemann, ed., Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdys Briefwechsel mit Legationsrat Karl Klingemann (Essen, 1909), pp. 259-261; Sämtliche Briefe edited by Tomkovic, Koop & Schmidler, vol 8 (2013), no.3073.

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A lengthy and most informative letter to Mendelssohn's close friend Carl Klingemann.

Mendelssohn's Lobgesang, a discussion of the plans to perform which in London occupies a good part of the letter, was written in 1840 to commemorate what was held to be the quatercentenary of the discovery of the book-printing process. Following the first performance of the work in June 1840, Mendelssohn commenced upon a refashioning of the score, which was published the following year with the title 'Symphonie-Cantate'.