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.
