It would have been a pleasure to me to place
at your disposal a musical personnel, which has been justly
spoken of with praise, for the performance of your "Stabat Mater"
and other of your compositions, which we should have great
pleasure in applauding. Let me hope that you will not always be
so rigorous towards us, and pray accept the expressions of high
esteem and respect with which I shall always be, dear and honored
friend,
Your Excellency's very obedient servant,
F. Liszt
Weymar, January 10th, 1857
173. To Johann Von Herbeck in Vienna
[Hofcapellmeister (Court conductor), and an excellent conductor
(1831-1877). - The above letter, as well as a later one addressed
to the same musician, was published in "Johann Herbeck. Ein
Lebensbild von seinem Sohne Ludwig." Vienna, Gutmann, 1885. - Date
in Herbeck's handwriting.]
[Received January 12th, 1857]
Dear Sir,
On my somewhat delayed return to Weymar I find your friendly
letter, for which I send you my
sincere and warmest thanks. I am very much pleased to learn from
you that you have succeeded, thanks to your careful and
intelligent preparation, in making such a good effect with the
"Faust" (Student) Chorus. [It was the first choral composition
which was conducted by Liszt in Vienna, and with the very same
Mannergesangverein which Herbeck conducted.] This light little
piece has been pretty successfully given several times by
Mannergesangvereinen [Vocal societies of male voices] in Cologne,
Berlin, etc., and even in Paris. When I published it fifteen
years ago, I did not think much about making allowance for any
possible laxity in the intonation of the singers; but today, when
my experience has taught me better, I should probably write the
somewhat steep and slippery passage as follows: -
[Here, Liszt illustrates with a vocal score musical excerpt at
the point where the singer sings "Die Ko-chin hat ihr Gift
gestellt, da ward zu eng ihr in der Welt, etc."]
Probably this version would also be more effective - with the
alteration in the last verse (in honor of prosody!): -
[Here, Liszt illustrates with a vocal score musical excerpt at
the point where the singer sings "ha, sie pfeift auf dem letzten
Loch."]
I shall venture shortly to send you (by Herr Haslinger), my dear
sir, a couple of other Quartets for male voices to look through.
If, after doing so, you think you may risk a public performance
of them, I leave the matter entirely in your hands.
There is not the slightest hurry about the Mass, [For men's
voices. On the occasion of the Mozart Festival in Vienna in 1856,
conducted by Liszt, he had played portions of this Mass to
Herbeck, and the latter felt himself, as he wrote to Liszt,
"electrified by the spirit of this work and its creator," and set
himself "at the same time the artistic duty of a worthy rendering
of this Song of Praise."] and I fear that the preparation of this
work will cost you and your singers some trouble. Before all else
it requires the utmost certainty in intonation, which can only be
attained by practicing the parts singly (especially the middle
parts, second tenor and first bass) - and then, above all,
religious absorption, meditation, expansion, ecstasy, shadow,
light, soaring - in a word, Catholic devotion and inspiration. The
"Credo," as if built on a rock, should sound as steadfast as the
dogma itself; a mystic and ecstatic joy should pervade the
"Sanctus;" the "Agnus Dei" (as well as the "Miserere" in the
"Gloria") should be accentuated, in a tender and deeply elegiac
manner, by the most fervent sympathy with the Passion of Christ;
and the "Dona nobis pacem," expressive of reconciliation and full
of faith, should float away like sweet-smelling incense. The
Church composer is both preacher and priest, and what the word
fails to bring to our powers of perception the tone makes winged
and clear.
You know all this at least as well as I do, and I must apologize
for repeating it to you. If the extent of the chorus allows of
it, it might perhaps be desirable to add a few more wind
instruments (clarinets, bassoon, horns, indeed even a couple of
trombones) to support the voices more. If you think so too,
please send me a line to say so, and I will at once send you a
small score of the wind instruments. [Herbeck himself undertook,
at Liszt's desire (which, as he wrote, filled him with joy and
pride), to write the instrumental accompaniment to the Mass.] You
shall have the vocal parts from Jena immediately. For today
accept once more my best thanks, together with the assurance of
the highest esteem of
Yours ever,
F. Liszt
174. To Professor Franz Gotze in Leipzig
[The celebrated singer in Leipzig (1814-88); was a pupil of
Spohr's, and was first violinist in the Weimar Hofcapelle, then
went on to the stage, and both as a lyric tenor and as a singer
of Lieder was incomparable. He was the first who publicly went in
for Liszt's songs, in which his pupils imitated him.]
Dear Friend,
In consequence of an invitation of the directors, I shall have
the honor of having several of my works performed at the concert
on the 26th February for the Orchestral Pension Fund in Leipzig,
and very much wish that you would do me the kindness to sing two
of my songs ("Kling leise, mein Lied" and "Englein du mit blondem
Haar"), and to rejoice the public with your ardent and
beautifully artistic rendering of these little things.
Fraulein Riese is so good as to bring you the new edition of my
six first songs (amongst which is the "Englein" in A major) - a
couple more numbers will shortly follow.
Grant me my request, dear friend, and rest assured beforehand of
the best thanks, with which I remain,
