Meanwhile Remember Me Most Kindly To Your Wife, And Dispose
Entirely - Without Ceremony - Of
Yours most sincerely,
F. Liszt
Weymar, September 6th, 1854
121. To Bernhard Cossmann, Schloss Chanceaux bei Loches in
Touraine
Weymar, September 8th, 1854
Dear Friend,
Whilst you are promenading at your leisure beneath the fine oaks,
beeches, birches, horse-chestnuts, etc., of Chanceaux, I have the
sotte chance [Silly opportunity] of gaping chanceusement
[doubtfully] to the crows of Weymar, where we have certainly no
Chanceaux, but pretty well of gens sots [stupid people] im Loch
[In this hole. All plays upon words, and given therefore in the
original.] (near Loches!!). This almost attains to the height of
punning of our friend Berlioz, does not it? - I should not be able
to keep on such heights, and therefore I hasten to descend to
more temperate regions (des regions plus temperees),-"le Clavecin
bien tempere of J. S. Bach," for example, or to some "Beau lieu"
with or without marque au nez (Marconnay). [A play on words. The
name of the Intendant of the Weimar Court theater was Beaulieu-
Marconnay.] (I implore you to keep this execrable improvisation
to yourself, for, in my position as Maitre de Chapelle, I should
run the risk of being fined by the "Hofamt" [office in the royal
household] for allowing myself such an application of Berlioz's
treatise on instrumentation - but I really don't know what
tarantula of a pun is biting me at this moment!)
Mr. de Beaulieu has just done two graceful acts for me, for which
I am very grateful.
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