fmb-1838-12-29-03

            Leipzig, 29th Dec., 1838. My dear Sir,
The questions I put to you about Mr. Planché’s opera, and which you wished to have written down, for thinking of them, were materially these.
I expressed a doubt whether a poem so entirely consisting of serious personages, without a more lively character in it (or a characteristic, romantic, comical, &c., &c., one), would be able to give sufficient interest to the English public as they now are in the theatres. I wished to know your opinion on that subject, as you are not less interested in it than I am myself. When Mr. Planché first proposed the story, I was pleased to find it one of the Middle Ages, because had it been earlier (Roman, for instance), anything like characteristic occupation, or parts (like soldiers, boatmen, &c. ), could not have been introduced to vary as much as possible the incident and style throughout.
I thought, when I only had the two first acts, that for instance Marrant was to be a character which could be considered as forming a contrast to the nobler ones, which are so beautifully drawn, that he would give occasion to a brighter, more characteristic, perhaps more comical style, at least to a more contrasted one. I missed something which gave an insight into the time and the customs of that time, not only in the heroical sphere.
As it is, he (Marrant) gradually disappears from the action; and I do not know if the uniformity of sentiment which now pervades the whole, necessary as it may be, would be able to produce that animation amongst the hearers, which they always seem to feel when a series of different and equally striking characters is developed before them. I admired the concerted pieces, and the poetry throughout, and think it most beautiful. It suggested to me in several places musical ideas, which I noted down while reading, and found then how adapted to music these flowing and expressive verses are. The only wish I had was the one I uttered before; some character or other that might bring more stirring passions into action, create a greater contrast, and also a greater suspense, till it is brought to issue.
All this is already expressed and asked in a letter of mine, which you will now find in London, as it was sent during your absence. I hope before all things that these objections will not make you think me too assuming, or asking for impossible things. I thought it right, with so important a work, to go as safely as might be, and try to express my feelings and the objections I might have rather beforehand, than to feel them during the task, and when it is too late to be remedied. Whether, and how that can be done (if you admit the justice of my remarks), is the question to which I most anxiously await your answer.
Your obedient servant,
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.          

            <TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0 ../../../fmbc_framework/xsd/fmb-c.xsd" xml:id="fmb-1838-12-29-03" xml:space="default"> <teiHeader xml:lang="de"> <fileDesc> <titleStmt> <title key="fmb-1838-12-29-03" xml:id="title_d4dee06b-e226-4ca6-a637-22356be07361">Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy an William Chappell in Leipzig <lb></lb>Leipzig, 29. Dezember 1838</title> <title level="s" type="incipit" xml:id="title_ea449af5-6b6e-4517-983d-21555c39901c">The questions I put to you about Mr. Planché’s opera, and which you wished to have written down, for thinking of them, were materially these. I expressed a doubt whether a poem so entirely consisting of</title> <title level="s" type="sub" xml:id="title_dcbeebaa-4fb5-46e1-a656-22b5207d7d08">Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Correspondence Online (FMB-C)</title> <title key="not_yet_determined" type="precursor">noch nicht ermittelt</title> <title key="not_yet_determined" type="successor">noch nicht ermittelt</title> <author key="PSN0000001">Mendelssohn Bartholdy (bis 1816: Mendelssohn), Jacob Ludwig Felix (1809-1847)</author><respStmt><resp resp="writer"></resp><persName key="PSN0000001" resp="writer">Mendelssohn Bartholdy (bis 1816: Mendelssohn), Jacob Ludwig Felix (1809-1847)</persName></respStmt><respStmt resp="transcription"> <resp resp="transcription">Transkription: </resp> <name resp="transcription">FMB-C</name> </respStmt> <respStmt resp="edition"> <resp resp="edition">Edition: </resp> <name resp="edition">FMB-C</name> </respStmt> </titleStmt> <publicationStmt> <publisher>Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Correspondence Online-Ausgabe (FMB-C). Institut für Musikwissenschaft und Medienwissenschaft. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin</publisher> <address> <street>Am Kupfergraben 5</street> <placeName> <settlement>10117 Berlin</settlement> <country>Deutschland</country> </placeName> </address> <idno type="URI">http://www.mendelssohn-online.com</idno> <availability> <licence target="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)</licence> </availability> <idno type="MSB">Bd. 6, 2182</idno></publicationStmt> <seriesStmt> <p>Maschinenlesbare Übertragung der vollständigen Korrespondenz Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdys (FMB-C)</p> </seriesStmt> <sourceDesc source="edition_template_printout" xml:id="sourceDesc_a1b4a00d-f339-4be0-830c-2c0544fff806"> <bibl type="printed_letter">Planché, Recollections and Reflections, Bd. 1, S. 289-291. </bibl> <msDesc> <msIdentifier> <country>-</country> <settlement>-</settlement> <institution key="RISM">-</institution> <repository>-</repository> <collection>-</collection> <idno type="signatur">-</idno> </msIdentifier> <msContents> <msItem> <title key="fmb-1838-12-29-03" type="letter" xml:id="title_53749bfd-0b69-445e-8de8-91070f422ddc">Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy an William Chappell in Leipzig; Leipzig, 29. Dezember 1838</title> <incipit>The questions I put to you about Mr. Planché’s opera, and which you wished to have written down, for thinking of them, were materially these. I expressed a doubt whether a poem so entirely consisting of serious personages, </incipit> </msItem> </msContents> <physDesc> <p>Adresse. – Kursivierungen in der Vorlage wurden durch Unterschreichung dargestellt.</p> <handDesc hands="1"> <p>Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy</p> </handDesc> <accMat> <listBibl> <bibl type="none"></bibl> </listBibl> </accMat> </physDesc> <history> <provenance> <p>-</p> </provenance> </history> </msDesc> </sourceDesc> </fileDesc> <encodingDesc><projectDesc><p>Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Correspondence Online-Ausgabe FMB-C: Digitale Edition der vollständigen Korrespondenz Hin- und Gegenbriefe Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdys auf XML-TEI-Basis.</p></projectDesc><editorialDecl><p>Die Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Correspondence Online-Ausgabe FMB-C ediert die Gesamtkorrespondenz des Komponisten Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy 1809-1847 in Form einer digitalen, wissenschaftlich-kritischen Online-Ausgabe. Sie bietet neben der diplomatischen Wiedergabe der rund 6.000 Briefe Mendelssohns erstmals auch eine Gesamtausgabe der über 7.200 Briefe an den Komponisten sowie einen textkritischen, inhalts- und kontexterschließenden Kommentar aller Briefe. Sie wird ergänzt durch eine Personen- und Werkdatenbank, eine Lebenschronologie Mendelssohns, zahlreicher Register der Briefe, Werke, Orte und Körperschaften sowie weitere Verzeichnisse. Philologisches Konzept,  Philologische FMB-C-Editionsrichtlinien: Uta Wald, Dr. Ulrich Taschow. Digitales Konzept, Digitale FMB-C-Editionsrichtlinien: Dr. Ulrich Taschow. Technische Konzeption der Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Correspondence FMB-C Ausgabe und Webdesign: Dr. Ulrich Taschow.</p></editorialDecl></encodingDesc> <profileDesc> <creation> <date cert="high" when="1838-12-29" xml:id="date_c0fcfedd-a4c2-472f-9351-cd39afe7605d">29. Dezember 1838</date></creation> <correspDesc> <correspAction type="sent"> <persName key="PSN0000001" resp="author" xml:id="persName_5f23882b-0ba7-4d56-84b4-17dcbd28f75b">Mendelssohn Bartholdy (bis 1816: Mendelssohn), Jacob Ludwig Felix (1809-1847)</persName><note>counter-reset</note><persName key="PSN0000001" resp="writer">Mendelssohn Bartholdy (bis 1816: Mendelssohn), Jacob Ludwig Felix (1809-1847)</persName> <placeName type="writing_place" xml:id="placeName_1c93f9e7-0955-43b4-aa4f-394baf6e97a7"> <settlement key="STM0100116">Leipzig</settlement> <country>Deutschland</country></placeName></correspAction> <correspAction type="received"> <persName key="PSN0110351" resp="receiver" xml:id="persName_b59efe71-2935-4394-a18d-983eef078372">Chappell, William (1809-1888)</persName> <placeName type="receiving_place" xml:id="placeName_d3bdc451-38de-44c7-804b-4e29abe2198e"> <settlement key="STM0100116">Leipzig</settlement> <country>Deutschland</country> </placeName></correspAction> </correspDesc> <langUsage> <language ident="en">englisch</language> </langUsage> </profileDesc> <revisionDesc status="draft">  </revisionDesc> </teiHeader> <text type="letter"> <body> <div type="address" xml:id="div_4d59611e-e1cc-4791-92e7-0b462186e794"> <head> <address> <addrLine>Wm. Chappell Esq.,</addrLine> <addrLine>Hotel de Bavière.</addrLine> </address> </head> </div> <div n="1" type="act_of_writing" xml:id="div_8a110adb-7e35-4aa4-9a5f-1b278f9846a4"><docAuthor key="PSN0000001" resp="author" style="hidden">Mendelssohn Bartholdy (bis 1816: Mendelssohn), Jacob Ludwig Felix (1809-1847)</docAuthor><docAuthor key="PSN0000001" resp="writer" style="hidden">Mendelssohn Bartholdy (bis 1816: Mendelssohn), Jacob Ludwig Felix (1809-1847)</docAuthor><dateline rend="right">Leipzig, <date cert="high" when="1838-12-29" xml:id="date_04805b29-afd5-44ac-95f3-2a4727a56cb3">29th Dec., 1838</date>.</dateline><salute rend="left">My dear Sir,</salute><p style="paragraph_without_indent">The questions I put to you about <title xml:id="title_a6ce3304-7119-4ad4-9fa7-0ee33cb752e1">Mr. Planché’s opera<list style="hidden" type="fmb_works_directory" xml:id="title_pz7pbrbl-uzir-1wme-89cr-xwkd3bpydgj6"> <item n="1" sortKey="musical_works" style="hidden"></item> <item n="2" sortKey="works_not_executed" style="hidden"></item></list><name key="PSN0000001" style="hidden" type="author">Mendelssohn Bartholdy (bis 1816: Mendelssohn), Jacob Ludwig Felix (1809-1847)</name><name key="PRC0100703" style="hidden">The Brothers (auch: Edward III and the Siege of Calais / Eduard III. und die Belagerung von Calais)<idno type="MWV"></idno><idno type="op"></idno></name></title>, and which you wished to have written down, for thinking of them, were materially these.</p><p>I expressed a doubt whether a poem so entirely consisting of <hi rend="underline">serious</hi> personages, without a more lively character in it (or a characteristic, romantic, comical, &amp;c., &amp;c., one), would be able to give sufficient interest to the English public as they now are in the theatres. I wished to know your opinion on that subject, as you are not less interested in it than I am myself. When <persName xml:id="persName_60bdac87-f2eb-46da-b9f6-404a869ae38c">Mr. Planché<name key="PSN0113896" style="hidden">Planché, James Robinson (1796-1880)</name></persName> first proposed the story, I was pleased to find it one of the Middle Ages, because had it been earlier (Roman, for instance), anything like characteristic occupation, or parts (like soldiers, boatmen, &amp;c.), could not have been introduced to <hi rend="underline">vary as much as possible</hi> the incident and style throughout.</p><p>I thought, when I only had the two first acts, that for instance Marrant was to be a character which could be considered as forming a contrast to the nobler ones, which are so beautifully drawn, that he would give occasion to a brighter, more characteristic, perhaps more comical style, at least to a more contrasted one. I missed something which gave an insight into the time and the customs of that time, not only in the heroical sphere.</p><p>As it is, he (Marrant) gradually disappears from the action; and I do not know if the uniformity of sentiment which now pervades the whole, necessary as it may be, would be able to produce that animation amongst the hearers, which they always seem to feel when a series of different and equally striking characters is developed before them. I admired the concerted pieces, and the poetry throughout, and think it most beautiful. It suggested to me in several places musical ideas, which I noted down while reading, and found then how adapted to music these flowing and expressive verses are. The only wish I had was the one I uttered before; some character or other that might bring more stirring passions into action, create a greater contrast, and also a greater suspense, till it is brought to issue.</p><p>All this is already expressed and asked in a letter of mine, which you will now find in London, as it was sent during your absence. I hope before all things that these objections will not make you think me too assuming, or asking for impossible things. I thought it right, with so important a work, to go as safely as might be, and try to express my feelings and the objections I might have rather beforehand, than to feel them during the task, and when it is too late to be remedied. Whether, and how that can be done (if you admit the justice of my remarks), is the question to which I most anxiously await your answer.</p><signed rend="right">Your obedient servant,</signed><signed rend="right">Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.</signed></div></body> </text></TEI>