Autograph Letters Signed by Hahn Reynaldo French Composer (8 results)

4to. 1½ pp. on 2 ff. With 2 autograph envelopes. Both to his friend Henri Bloch, concerning the reception of a legacy by the soprano Félia Litvinne, which Bloch and his sister plan to donate to the "Musée de l'Opéra". Hahn promises to address a thank-you letter for this contribution to the opera's literary archive: "Des occupations sans nombre m'ont jusqu'à présent empêché de faire prendre chez vous les reliques de la pauvre Félia dont votre soeur et vous avez bien voulu me faire don pour le Musée de l'Opéra [.]" (8 Jan. 1946). - In the second letter Hahn gratefully mentions, more generally and poetically, the range of items donated from the soprano's former property as "glowing vestiges". Hahn also inquires which name he should set in the inscription installed over Brunhild's weapons: "Le public sera certainement heureux, comme nous le somme nous-mêmes, de pouvoir contempler ces beaux objets, si évocateurs d'une des plus belles incarnations dramatiques et lyriques dont s'enorgueillisse notre théâtre, et ces vestiges éclatants contribueront à perpétuer le souvenir de la grande artiste que fût notre chère Félia Litvinne [.]" (9 Feb. 1946). - Both letters with printed letterhead and vignette of the "Académie Nationale de Musiqe et de Danse".

Various formats. Together 16 pp. With autograph envelopes. Broad ranging correspondence with several letters concerning his collaboration and ultimate rupture with the casinos of Deauville and Cannes. The earliest dated letter, Hamburg, 29 March 1907, is addressed to an editor at the famous Femina magazine who had invited Hahn to a conference, which he could not yet answer. In a letter from 16 June 1922 to the director of the Casino in Cannes named Loiseau, Hahn congratulates him on being rehired and indignantly alludes to a similar process concerning himself: "J'ai été content de votre réintégration. Quant à moi j'ai simplement tenu pour non avenue une radiation que ne justifiait aucun avis préalable []." - On 27 November 1930, Hahn complains about the composer of a piece entitled "Thaïs", not identical with the famous composition of Jules Massenet, who had apparently offered it to the casino in Deauville and angrily requested the return of the scores when Hahn turned his offer down. Hahn, who attached a copy of the composer's letter, refers to the composition as a "masterpiece of nonsense". - On 19 April 1931, Hahn forwarded a copy of an article in Le Soir to his correspondent, reporting on his rupture with the Deauville Casino and comments on it. He further elaborates on his decision in a letter from 23 April 1931, underlining that he quit rather than having been fired, that he wouldn't continue working for the casino in Cannes either, and complaining about the "bores" that he had to deal with in both places: "j'ai volontairement donné ma démission [] en raison de projets de travail et de voyage []." - Joint is a letter by F. André, the director of the Deauville casino, written in response to Reynaldo Hahn's dismissal.

12mo. Together 4 pp. With autograph addresses (2 letters). Correspondence with different female friends, including the English-French actress Meg Villars. The earliest letter, dated February 1903, was to call the recipient's attention to a charity concert of works of Augusta Holmès that Hahn had organized together with Édouard Colonne in order to collect money for the funeral of an impoverished friend in Versailles: "Peut-être êtes-vous au courant d'un concert que j'organise avec Colonne [.] composé des uvres d'Augusta Holmès et dans le but de réunir une somme suffisante pour transporter à Versailles le corps de notre pauvre amie et de l'y ensevelir." - In November 1914, Hahn forwarded a letter by the young Carle Dreyfus (1875-1952), son of the powerful entrepreneur Joseph Dreyfus, asking the recipient to facilitate his journey as a volunteer in the beginning World War: "Le malheureux garçon compte que vous pourrez lui faciliter un voyage dont le but est, hélas, bien douloureux!" - In 1919, Hahn wrote to a Mme Satias-Corrard in Biarritz, who had apparently asked for a photograph of his. He complains about a bad portrait that was circulating despite his interdiction and promises to look for something better to send her: "Je connais depuis longtemps cette élucubration photographique dont j'ai interdit la vente (sans succès, hélas !) Je vais tâcher de trouver un portrait un peu meilleur pour vous l'envoyer, mais tout est en désordre chez moi car je vais déménager []." - Finally, the letter to Meg Villars can be dated with some certainty to 1928 as Hahn announces, in English, his departure for Egypt.

8vo. Together 3 pp. With autograph addresses. Charming correspondence with the conductor and composer Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht. In a letter dated July 1912, Hahn invites Inghelbrecht to dinner, although he warns him that his apartment is quite a mess, "where there are no plates, chairs or glasses, where the folding screens are in the pianos and the decanters are in the beds." - On 28 May 1927, Hahn asked Inghelbrecht to send him tickets for a dress rehearsal via a mutual friend named Maillard or the musicologist and sinologist Louis Laloy, "whom no one is supposed to ignore." - Finally, on 13 May 1941, Hahn expresses his disappointment at not having been able to see Inghelbrecht during a recent trip to Marseille: "J'en ai été fort déconfit". The letter is complete with a musical quotation, inscribed to an "amie poétesse," probably Inghelbrecht's wife or another female relative.

8vo and 12mo. Together 24 pp. Highly interesting correspondence with the literary historian and librettist Léonel de la Tourrasse (18611930), concerning their only collaboration, the Pastorale de Noël. Hahn composed the piece on a libretto by Tourrasse and Charles Gailly de Taurines, who adapted the 15th-century Mystère de la Passion by Arnoul Gréban. The fate of the piece was somewhat unfortunate, as the planned premiere around Christmas 1901 in the newly built Salle Humbert de Romans fell through for political reasons. - The earliest letter in the correspondence dated Hamburg, 4 November 1901, concerns the negotiations for the publication of the piece by Heugel: "Je vous ai télégraphié hier pour que vous alliez causer avec Heugel. De loin, il est difficile de s'entendre, et il m'a été impossible de précipiter mon départ []". A few days later, on 10 November, Hahn announces that while Madeleine Lemaire was interested in having the piece performed at her famous salon in spring, he was ready to go forward with the planned Christmas-premiere at the Salle Humbert de Romans, which was the performance hall of catholic music schools: "Madeleine Lemaire avait l'intention de monter La Pastorale chez elle au printemps, mais quel que fût le charme de cette perspective, il n'est pas permis d'hésiter, et je suis tout prêt à marcher." At the same time, Reynaldo Hahn was worried about the reception of the piece and its composer in the context of a catholic institution. His fear was that the premiere could be interpreted as alignment with criticism of the government of president Émile Loubet that was in conflict with some catholic orders and organizations, especially the Assumptionists. Hahn describes himself as "very Christian" and catholic but underlines that he is "not at all clerical" and greatly admires "the present government". In a milieu of clerical critics of the government, he would be "like this devil in the font; a respectful devil, however, and completely harmless." - Two more letters from early December 1901 concern the orchestration, the necessary copies of the partition, and rehearsals ahead of the planned premiere that was ultimately canceled on 15 December. - Further letters in the correspondence concern meetings, rehearsals, and an insufficient theater suggested for a performance but they cannot be connected with certainty to specific events, especially a performance in the salon of Madeleine Lemaire in December 1906 and the belated public premiere at the Théâtre des arts on 23 December 1908. - A long letter to a friend from 12 March 1946 with reflections on music is added to the collection.

8vo. Together 12 pp. With 2 autograph envelopes. Interesting collection of letters to various correspondents, including the famous physician Vincent Griffon, the composer and organist Henri Büsser, and the music critic Arthur Pougin. - In the earliest datable letter to Griffon from 1898, Hahn reminds his friend of his promise to give him the opportunity to attend the process against the Italian-French murderer Saviero-Angelo Carrara (18631898), who would be condemned to death and guillotined on 25 June 1898. Vincent Griffon (18721911) was a colleague of Marcel Proust's brother Robert, which is probably the connection to Marcel Proust's lover and close friend Reynaldo Hahn, and chief physician at the La Santé prison in Paris. - The letter to Henri Büsser, then organist at Saint-Cloud in Paris, was to decline an invitation to a morning concert due to other commitments: "Mais il faut que j'aille à Paris et cela dérange mes plans. J'en suis inconsolable." - In thanking Arhur Pougin for some of his criticisms, Hahn lauds his love for the "beautiful music of the past" and describes himself as someone, who wants to "revive it": "Si tout le monde avait comme vous l'amour de la belle musique d'autrefois, la tâche serait moins ingrate pour ceux qui tentent de la ressusciter. [] Vos articles m'ont fait grand plaisir et je suis très heureux de votre approbation []". - Addressing an unnamed friend who was probably also a publisher, Hahn announces to visit him in his shop and find a solution as soon as he will have recovered from an illness: " Nous trouverons certainement un moyen de nous arranger []." - In a letter dated 4 November 1905, Hahn informs a member of the Dumont-Saint-Priest-family about the availability and publisher of his "Variations chantantes sur un air ancien pour violoncelle et piano" from 1905: "Mes Variations ont paru chez Heugel et vous les obtiendrez le plus facilement du monde. Je me serais fait un plaisir de vous les envoyer, mais je suis à la campagne []". - The first of the two much later letters concerns an application to the singing class of Armand Narçon at the Paris Conservatory. The final letter in the collection dated 20 May 1939 is addressed to Marcel Proust's childhood friend, the physician Abel Desjardins, son of the like-named historian.

8vo. Together 11 pp. Charming private correspondence with a close female friend, discussing a broad range of topics, including health and family matters, the Dreyfus-affair, gourmet food, often sent by the recipient, the upcoming publication of the cycle Les Rondels (1899) and concerts of Hahn's compositions. Hahn's excitement for good food can be illustrated by this particularly charming remark, thanking his correspondent for a ham and detailing its preparation and the wine he will serve it with: "Épatant, ce cuissot ou plutôt ce jambon car c'est le terme exact. Il sera mariné avec amour et mangé avec une sauce Romaine. Un âpre Clos-Vougeot mêlera ses aromes à la sapidité de la venaison" ("The haunch, or ham for that matter, is amazing. It will be lovingly marinated and eaten with a Roman sauce. A harsh Clos-Vougeot will mingle its aromas with the sapidity of the venison"). - Well preserved.

Various formats. Together 31 pp. With autograph addresses (2 letters). Interesting correspondence with the dramatist and librettist Maurice Donnay, surrounding their collaborations on the 1-act piece Une revue and, especially, the operetta Malvina. - Une revue premiered at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin on 28 October 1926. In a letter that can be dated to a relatively early phase of the project, Hahn either comments on a prologue that Donnay had sent him or asks for one to be added: "J'aime, comme vous, la logique, mais un prologue qui prépare ou justifie la narration des faits antérieurs est une chose fort admise et qui n'a rien de choquant." - The collaboration between Hahn, Donnay, and Henri Duvernois on Malvina started sometime in early 1932, when Hahn wrote from Aix-les-Bains: "I am delighted to be working with you again under the auspices of our dear Malvina" (transl.). Several letters concern the elaboration of the libretto and Hahn's work on specific pieces. Hahn and his collaborators were hoping for a premiere at the Théâte de la Gaîté already in the winter of 1932/33. However, when Hahn was informed that the director of the Gaîté Georges Bravard was hoping to switch to the Opéra-Comique, he "momentarily lost all hope", as he wrote on 12 November 1932, until he learned that Bravard didn't get the job: "Dès lors, j'ai perdu momentanément tout espoir de voir Malvina passer cet hiver à la Gaîté [.] et ayant un besoin urgent de gagner quelque fric, je me suis mis à d'autres besognes []. Il s'agit donc de se remettre à Malvina !! Car son sort est lié à celui de la Gaîté, le seul théâtre où elle soit vraiment à sa place." - Despite the renewed enthusiasm, Malvina would only premiere on 23 March 1935 at the Gaîté and failed largely with the audience regardless of positive reviews. In a long letter from Hamburg that can be dated to 1935, Hahn doesn't hide his disappointment following the last show and complains bitterly about the Gaîté as having become "an utterly vulgar" theater: "Votre bonne et charmante lettre m'est arrivée deux jours avant le dernier soupir de Malvina, qui a terminé sa trop courte existence jeudi dernier. Après une presse éclatante et le succès de générale que vous avez constaté, elle a fait quelques premiers pas incertains, puis elle a titubé et malgré de vagues redressements [.] elle est tombée pour ne plus se relever. Je l'ai assistée autant que j'ai pu [.] par une somme d'argent dont j'ai fait joyeusement le sacrifice, à la publicité. Mais tout fut inutile. On s'amusait, on riait, on applaudissait une fois là, mais on ne venait pas. La Gaîté est devenu un théâtre tout à fait vulgaire".