fmb-1839-04-23-06

            Leipzig 23 April 1839. My dear Sir
I cannot sufficiently express to you how sorry I was to learn by your last letter that you decline to make those alterations of which I pointed out my ideas to Mr. Chappell and which of course were not derised from a propensity to comic parts in a serious plot, and less still from a desire to find fault with a poem written by you, and in which I admire so many and most exquisite beauties, but only from a feeling, of which I could not get rid from a kind of instinct, which however wrong it might be spoke loud enough not to be overheard, and of which I tried to explain the reason as well as I could in those lines to Mr. Chappell. Finding however that you entirely differ in opinion about every one of the above mentioned alterations, and giving your experience and view of the subject the preference to my own, (as indeed I ought to do and always shall) I gave the matter all the consideration it deserved perused the opera with Your remarks and your last letter once more as minutely as I could and tried to overcome the objections which again and again occurred to my mind. I am sorry to say I have not been able to do so, and as you positively affirm that the subject ought not to be treated differently I begin to fear that the subject is not such as I could hope compose with success. Indeed I am afraid I should not do justice to your verses if I was to set them to music under the impression which I have of the Opera, and of which I have not been able to get the better; and my talent, I know, is not great enough to produce something worthy of yourself and your country and the demands which I make if I should force myself to the task without feeling the impulse & being compelled by it. Believe me that nothing could have been more according to my longfelt wishes than to compose an Opera by you, and that I cannot give up this hope but with greatest reluctance. However I would not be true to you & myself if I had not stated to you my sincere view of the question, and I hope by the sincerity of this avowal you will believe me how deeply I regret it and how truly I hope & wish to find another opportunity of composing your beautiful verses and a subject, about which our opinions and feelings perfectly agree, and which will hold out a chance for my composing it as successfully as all your works deserve, and as my powers may allow me to do.
I shall not be able to cross over to England; businesses of every kind will not allow me to do so; but let me hope for some future period when I shall meet you & when we may talk over all that which I can but imperfectly express in writing.
Believe me alwaysvery truly yours
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Leipzig 23 April 39          

            <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-1839-04-23-06" xml:space="default"> <teiHeader xml:lang="de"> <fileDesc> <titleStmt> <title key="fmb-1839-04-23-06" xml:id="title_e4fa8123-ee91-49e0-8419-7822877ab75a">Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy an James Robinson Planché in London <lb></lb>Leipzig, 23. April 1839</title> <title level="s" type="incipit" xml:id="title_00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000">I cannot sufficiently express to you how sorry I was to learn by your last letter that you decline to make those alterations of which I pointed out my ideas to Mr. Chappell and which</title> <title level="s" type="sub" xml:id="title_a0ed67da-221e-49cc-bcfc-cbf1bc2aad59">Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Correspondence Online (FMB-C)</title> <title key="unknown" type="precursor">noch nicht eingetragen</title> <title key="unknown" type="successor">noch nicht eingetragen</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. 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April 1839</title> <incipit>I cannot sufficiently express to you how sorry I was to learn by your last letter that you decline to make those alterations of which I pointed out my ideas to Mr. Chappell and which</incipit> </msItem> </msContents> <physDesc> <p>4 beschr. S.; Adresse, Zusätze von fremder Hand auf der Adressenseite: »[London.]«, von zweiter Hand: »23. April 1839.«</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> <additional> <listBibl> <bibl type="printed_letter">Planché, Recollections and Reflections, Bd. 1, S. 293 f.</bibl> </listBibl> </additional> </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="1839-04-23" xml:id="date_38c8998a-c164-4991-aba6-6e8f94d48183">23. April 1839</date></creation> <correspDesc> <correspAction type="sent"> <persName key="PSN0000001" resp="author" xml:id="persName_fe5fc98d-c114-4630-afa9-240a553b20af">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_c30387f8-5cc7-4a55-b8f2-949521f1a13e"> <settlement key="STM0100116">Leipzig</settlement> <country>Deutschland</country></placeName></correspAction> <correspAction type="received"> <persName key="PSN0113896" resp="receiver" xml:id="persName_1208e9b7-f80d-477a-8169-1948ab7120c9">Planché, James Robinson (1796-1880)</persName> <placeName type="receiving_place" xml:id="placeName_e5b51f0c-99fa-4b85-85b1-a99c536dc0f8"> <settlement key="STM0100126">London</settlement> <country>Großbritannien</country> </placeName></correspAction> </correspDesc> <langUsage> <language ident="de">deutsch</language> </langUsage> </profileDesc> <revisionDesc status="draft">  </revisionDesc> </teiHeader> <text type="letter"> <body> <div type="address" xml:id="div_6fdbda84-f5d4-4a96-bb06-6e25881f33cd"> <head> <address> <addrLine>J. R. Planché</addrLine> <addrLine>Esqure</addrLine> <addrLine>20 Brompton Crescent.</addrLine> </address> </head> </div> <div type="annotation" xml:id="div_f210c79c-6ee3-4630-a27f-6ae27af50117"> <note type="other-third-party-annotation" xml:id="note_fd9b83b3-79c1-42b7-8617-2ed30839428b">auf der Adressenseite: »[London.]«, von zweiter Hand: »23. April </note> </div> <div n="1" type="act_of_writing" xml:id="div_6cbcac59-cff1-4d16-99b3-53e7ae209b6e"><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="1839-04-23" xml:id="date_e4de68ff-5921-46f2-b5e9-414ad46fe791">23 April 1839.</date></dateline><salute rend="left">My dear Sir</salute><p style="paragraph_without_indent">I cannot sufficiently express to you how sorry I was to learn by your last letter that you decline to make those alterations of which I pointed out my ideas to <persName xml:id="persName_a03ab24f-efaa-4077-b874-495490aed210">Mr. Chappell<name key="PSN0110351" style="hidden">Chappell, William (1809-1888)</name></persName> and which of course were not derised from a propensity to comic parts in a serious plot, and less still from a desire to find fault with a poem written by <hi rend="underline">you</hi>, and in which I admire so many and most exquisite beauties, but only from a feeling, of which I could not get rid from a kind of instinct, which however wrong it might be spoke loud enough not to be overheard, and of which I tried to explain the reason as well as I could in those lines to <persName xml:id="persName_6808212e-7179-4531-8624-75b917b0290c">Mr. Chappell<name key="PSN0110351" style="hidden">Chappell, William (1809-1888)</name></persName>. Finding however that you entirely differ in opinion about every one of the above mentioned alterations, and giving your experience and view of the subject the preference to my own, (as indeed I ought to do and always shall) I gave the matter all the consideration it deserved perused the opera with Your remarks and your last letter once more as minutely as I could and tried to overcome the objections which again and again occurred to my mind. I am sorry to say I have not been able to do so, and as you positively affirm that the subject ought not to be treated differently I begin to fear that the subject is not such as I could hope compose with success. Indeed I am afraid I should not do justice to your verses if I was to set them to music under the impression which I have of the Opera, and of which I have not been able to get the better; and my talent, I know, is not great enough to produce something worthy of yourself and your country and the demands which <hi rend="underline">I</hi> make if I should force myself to the task without feeling the impulse &amp; being compelled by it. Believe me that nothing could have been more according to my longfelt wishes than to compose an Opera by you, and that I cannot give up this hope but with greatest reluctance. However I would not be true to you &amp; myself if I had not stated to you my sincere view of the question, and I hope by the sincerity of this avowal you will believe me how deeply I regret it and how truly I hope &amp; wish to find another opportunity of composing your beautiful verses and a subject, about which our opinions and feelings perfectly agree, and which will hold out a chance for my composing it as successfully as all your works deserve, and as my powers may allow me to do.</p><p>I shall not be able to cross over to England; businesses of every kind will not allow me to do so; but let me hope for some future period when I shall meet you &amp; when we may talk over all that which I can but imperfectly express in writing.</p><closer rend="left" xml:id="closer_fa6627aa-0a4f-4e31-bb1b-1926eeb01bb1">Believe me always</closer><signed rend="right">very truly yours</signed><signed rend="left">Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy</signed><dateline rend="left">Leipzig <date cert="high" when="1839-04-23" xml:id="date_b636a4a7-9879-4b83-a171-75e05e6892f1">23 April 39</date></dateline></div></body> </text></TEI>