Part 15 (1/2)

At first we only used our holadly have had recourse to the black powder, but we had none, and could not get it here As she became every , so that ere obliged to shout to her, Baron Grimm sent his doctor to see her

She is very weak, and still feverish and delirious They do give me some hope, but I have not , but I am quite reconciled to the will of God, and hope that you and my sister will be the same What other resource have we to ether so we cannot be Whatever the resultthat it coood, (however unaccountable they may seem to us;) and I do firmly believe (and shall never think otherwise) that no doctor, no , no misfortune, no casualty, can either save or take away the life of any hu--none but God alone These are only the instruments that He usually employs, but not always; we sometimes see people swoon, fall down, and be dead in a moment When our time does come, all means are vain,-- they rather hurry on death than retard it; thisin the case of our friend Hefner I do not mean to say by this that my mother will or must die, or that all hope is at an end; she may recover and be restored to health, but only if the Lord wills it thus After praying to God with allhts, and, after doing so, I feel more cheerful and ine how much I require comfort Now for another subject Let us put aside these sad thoughts, and still hope, but not too much; we must place our trust in the Lord, and console ourselves by the thought that all hty, as he knows best what is most profitable and beneficial both for our temporal and spiritual welfare

I have co of the Concert Spirituel, which was perforreat applause on Corpus Christi day I hear, too, that there is a notice of it in the ”Courrier de l'Europe,” and that it has given the greatest satisfaction I was very nervous during the rehearsal, for in o so badly You can have no idea of the way in which they scraped and scrah ladly have had it rehearsed again, but so s had been tried over that there was no ti heart and in a discontented and angry spirit Next day I resolved not to go to the concert at all; but in the evening, the weather being fine, I o, detero into the orchestra, take the violin out of the hands of M La Haussaye, the first violin, and lead o well, for all is to His greater honor and glory; and ecce, the sy beside e occurred which I felt sure must please, and there was a burst of applause; but as I knew at the tiht it in once more at the close, and then rose shouts of ”Da capo!” The andante was also liked, but the last allegro stillobserved that all last as well as first allegros here begin together with all the other instruenerally unisono, ht bars, followed instantly by a forte; the audience, as I expected, called out ”hush!+” at the soft beginning, and the instant the forte was heard began to clap their hands The moment the symphony was over I went off in ood ice, told over my beads, as I had vowed, and went home, where I am always happiest, and always shall be happiest, or in the co as he is unood Christian life, and when he s up his children properly

I ence that you perhaps already know--namely, that the unGodly arch-villain Voltaire has died --just like a brute This is his reward! Youhere, for nify as I am actually here I never fail to do th Well, God will ht I have a project in my head, for the success of which I daily pray to God If it be His alhty will, it must come to pass; but, if not, I am quite contented I shall then at all events have done my part

When this is in train, and if it turns out as I wish, you must then do your part also, or the whole ould be incomplete

Your kindness leads me to hope that you will certainly do so

Don't trouble yourself by any useless thoughts on the subject; and one favor Iof you beforehand, which is, not to ask hts more clearly till the tiood libretto for an opera

The old ones, which are the best, are not written in the ; for poetry, which was the only thing of which France had reason to be proud, beco which requires to be good here, for music they do not understand There are noo operas in aria which I could write, one in two acts, and the other in three The two-act one is ”Alexandra et Roxane,”

but the author of the libretto is still in the country; the one in three acts is ”Demofonte” (by Metastasio) It is a translation interspersed with choruses and dancing, and specially adapted to the French stage But this one I have not yet got a sight of

Write to , or Hullmandell's sonatas I should like to buy theard to Versailles, it never was o there I asked the advice of Baron Griht just as I did The salary is not ed to live a dreary life for six ained, and 's service is forgotten in Paris; and then to becoood appointment would be most welcome to me, but only that of a Capellmeister, and a well-paid one too

Now, farewell! Be careful of your health; place your trust in God, and then you will find consolation My dearest hty If He still spares her to us, as I wish He , but if He takes her to Hiuish, misery, and despair can be of no avail Let us rather subhty will, in the full conviction that it will prove for our good, as he does nothing without a cause Farewell, dearest papa! Do what you can to preserve your health for my sake

108

Paris, July 9, 1778

I HOPE you are prepared to receive with firence My last letter of the 3d ood news could be hoped for That very saht, my mother fell asleep peacefully in the Lord; indeed, when I wrote to you she was already in the enjoyment of heavenly bliss, for all was then over I wrote to you in the night, and I hope you and ht but very necessary deception; for, judging of your grief and sorrow by my own, I could not prevail on ence; but I hope you have now sue to hear the worst, and that, after at first giving way to natural and only too just anguish and tears, you will eventually submit to the will of God, and adore His inscrutable, unfathomable, and all-wise providence You can easily conceive what I have had to endure, and what courage and fortitude I required to bear with coracious God bestowed this boon on me I have, indeed, suffered and wept, but what did it avail? So I strove to be comforted, and I do hope, my dear father, that my dear sister and you will do likewise Weep, weep, as you cannot fail to weep, but take cohty has ordained it, and how can we rebel against Hioodness, for she died a happy death Under these heart-rending circus that consoled me--my entire and steadfast subht of her easy and blessed death, which made me feel that in a moment she had become so happy; for how far happier is she now than we are! Indeed, I would fain at thatproceeded my third source of consolation--namely, that she is not lost to us forever, that we shall see her again, and live together far more happily and blessedly than in this world The time as yet we know not, but that does not disturb me; when God wills it I am ready His heavenly and holy will has been fulfilled Let us therefore pray a pious Vater unser for her soul, and turn our thoughts to other

I write this in the house of Madame d'Epinay and M Grimm, horeeable prospect, and am as happy as it is possible to be under reat aid in restoring my tranquillity, to hear that my dear father and sister submit with calmness and fortitude to the will of God, and trust Him with their whole heart, in the entire belief that He orders all for the best My dearest father, do not give way! My dearest sister, be firm! You do not as yet know your brother's kind heart, because he has not yet had an opportunity to prove it Remember, my loved ones both, that you have a son and a brother anxious to devote all his powers towell that the day must come when you will not be hostile to his wish and his desire,--not certainly such as to be any discredit to him,--and that you will do all that lies in your power to ether as peacefully, honorably, and contentedly as it is possible to do in this world, and at last in God's good tiain above--the purpose for which ere destined and created

I received your last letter of the 29th, and see with pleasure that you are both, thank God! in good health I could not help laughing heartily at Haydn's tipsy fit Had I been there, I certainly should have whispered in his ear ”Adlgasser!” It is really disgraceful in so clever ahis duties at a festival instituted in honor of God; when the Archbishop too and his whole court were present, and the church full of people, it was quite aboanist of the church of the Holy Trinity) played the organ in the afternoon at the Litany, and the Te Deum laudamus, but in such a dreadful ht he was about to undergo the fate of the deceased Adlgasser [as seized with paralysis when playing the organ] It turned out, however, that he was only rather intoxicated, so his head and hands did not agree”] This is one of -- those coarse, slovenly, dissipated courtcould possibly live! instead of being glad to associate with them, he must feel ashamed of them It is probably from this very cause that musicians are neither loved nor respected with us If the orchestra were only organised like that at Mannheim! I wish you could see the subordination that prevails there--the authority Cannabi+ch exercises; where all is done in earnest Cannabi+ch, who is the best director I ever saw, is both beloved and feared by his subordinates, who, as well as himself, are respected by the whole town But certainly they behave very differently, have good et drunk) This can never be the case in Salzburg, unless the Prince will place confidence either in you or ive us full powers, which are indispensable to a conductor ofevery one is master--so no one is master If I were to undertake it, I should insist on exercising entire authority The Grand Cha to say as toto music Not every person in authority can become a Capellmeister, but a Capellmeister must becoain in Mannheim Madame Cannabi+ch and also her husband correspond with me If what I fear were to come to pass, and it would be a sad pity if it did,--namely, that the orchestra were to be much diminished,--I still cherish one hope

You know that there is nothing I desire ood in money,--no matter where, provided it be in a Catholic country You fenced skilfully indeed with Count Stahre, to whom the father had ”opened his heart,” and told hi's reinstateotiated at the tihout the whole affair; only continue as you have begun, and do not allow yourself to be deluded; uard if by any chance you enter into conversation with that silly goose---; [FOOTNOTE: He probably alludes to the Archbishop's sister, Countess Franziska von Walles, who did the honors of her brother's court, and who, no doubt, also interfered in this ar and honey on her lips, she has gall and ood in her head and in her heart It is quite natural that the whole affair should still be in an unsettled state, and s must be conceded before I could accept the offer; and even if every point were favorably adjusted, I would rather be anywhere than at Salzburg

But I need not concern myself on the ranted, as I ask a great deal Still it is not ier hesitate, but solely for the happiness of being with you

If the Salzburgers wish to have ethas died the usual prelatical death; but I had not heard that the Prelate of the Holy Cross [in Augsburg] was also dead I grieve to hear it, for he was a good, honest, upright er [see No 68] beingelse; indeed, I do not knoho else could have got it; and what better prelate could we have for oes by Brussels to Aix-la-Chapelle and Spa, and thence to Mannheiive me immediate notice of his arrival, for we s to you and tofor a very long time of my pupil in composition; very true, but what can I say about her?

She will never be a composer; all labor is vain with her, for she is not only vastly stupid, but also vastly lazy

I had previously answered you about the opera As to Noverre's ballet, I only wrote that he e a new one He wanted about one half to complete it, and this I set to music

That is, six pieces are written by others, consisting entirely of old trumpery French airs; the symphony and contre-danses, and about twelve more pieces, are contributed by reat applause I a et for it: but this was only a friendly act towards Noverre Herr Wendling left this last May If I were to see Baron Bach, I ood eyes, for he is not here but in London Is it possible that I did not tell you this? You shall find that, in future, I will answer all your letters minutely It is said that Baron Bach will soon return here; I should be glad of that for many reasons, especially because at his house there will be always opportunity to try things over in good earnest Capell an opera The French are, and alill be, downright donkeys; they can do nothing theners I talked to Piccini at the Concert Spirituel; he is always most polite to me and I to him e do by chance meet Otherwise I do not seek much acquaintance, either with him or any of the other composers; they understand their work and I h I already wrote to you of the extraordinary success my symphony had in the Concert Spirituel If I receive a coh, but this I shall notpretty well accustoe were not so detestable for ; even Gerers--but they do not deserve the na, but screah their noses and throats I aiven at the Concert Spirituel M Le Gros (the director) is ah I used to see him every day) I have not been near hiRaaff, and thus passed his rooms constantly His servants often saw me, when I always sent hiive the syer the opportunity to do so, for how seldoether! One day, when I went to call on Raaff, I was told that he was out, but would soon be home; so I waited M Le Gros came into the room and said, ”It is really quite ayou once reat deal to do” ”I hope you will stay and dine with us to-day?” ”I regret that I cannot, being already engaged”

”M Mozart, we really ive th, ”A propos, are you disposed to write a grand symphony for me for Corpus Christi day?” ”Why not?” ”May I then rely on this?” ”Oh, yes! if Iperformed, and that it will not fare like the sinfonie concertante” This opened the flood-gates; he excused himself in the best way he could, but did not find much to say In short, the syhly approved of; and Le Gros is so satisfied with it that he says it is his very best syood fortune to please him; he declares that it has tooHe derives this opinion fro to clap their hands as loudly, and to be as vociferous, as at the end of the first and last reat favorite WITH MYSELF, as well as with all connoisseurs, areater part of those who heard it It is the exact reverse of what Le Gros says, for it is both simple and short But in order to satisfy him (and no doubt soood in its oay-- each having a different character The last pleases ood opportunity I have, I will send you this sinfonie concertante, and also the ”School for the Violin,” soler's book (”Ton Wissenschaft und Kunst”), and then I hope to have your opinion of theust 15th, Ascension Day, my sinfonie, with the new andante, is to be performed for the second time The sinfonie is in Re, the andante in Sol, for here one must not say in D or in G Le Gros is now all for ; this is the only resource we have I hope you will cause a holy mass to be said in Maria Plain and in Loretto I have done so here As for the letter to Herr Bahr, I don't think it is necessary to send it to me; I am not as yet acquainted with him; I only know that he plays the clarionet well, but is in other respects no desirable coly associate with such people; no credit is derived froive hi me to him--even if he could be of service to ood repute here Many do not know him at all Of the two Staunitz, the junior only is here [Mannheim composer] The elder of the two (the veritable Hafeneder coamblers, and drunkards, and not the kind of people for me The one now here has scarcely a coat to his back

By the by, if Brunetti should ever be dislad to recommend a friend of mine to the Archbishop as first violin; he is a most worthy e, and a er; his name is Rothfischer He is Concertmeister at Kirchhei [see No 91] Entre nous, he is dissatisfied, for he is no favorite with his Prince--that is, his ed me to forward his interests, and it would cause me real pleasure to be of use to him, for never was there such a kind ot my last two letters Let us allude no more to their chief purport All is over; and e to write whole pages on the subject, we could not alter the fact

The principal object of this letter is to congratulate my dear sister on her name-day I think I wrote to you that M Raaff had left this, but that he is my very true and ard I could not possibly write to you, because I did not myself know that he had so ht to begin froed with M Le Gros It just occurs to me that you already know this; but what aain, so I proceed When he arrived, we happened to be at dinner This, too, has nothing to do with the matter; it is only to let you know that people do dine in Paris, as elsewhere When I went home I found a letter for me from Herr Weber, and the bearer of it was Raaff If I wished to deserve the naht here to insert the contents of this letter; and I can with truth say that I a the, which you can see by my letter The third day I found him at home and thanked hier remember e talked about An historian must be unusually dull who cannot forthwith supply some falsehood--I mean some romance Well! we spoke of the fine weather; and e had said our say, ere silent, and I went away Soet, but one day in the week assuredly--I had just seated myself, at the piano of course; and Ritter, the worthy Holzbeisser, was sitting beside reat deal Raaff had never heard me at Mannheireat that nothing could be heard; and HE had such a miserable piano that I could not have done ood, and I saw Raaff sitting opposite ine, I played some preludes in the Fischietti method, and also played a florid sonata in the style and with the fire, spirit, and precision of Haydn, and then a fugue with all the skill of Lipp, Silber, and A; Michael Haydn and Lipp, organists] My fugue-playing has everywhere gained reatest applause