185 To Johann von Herbeck
Weymar, June 12th, 1857
Dear Sir and Friend,
On my return from the Aix-la-Chapelle Musical Festival—which may be considered successful on the whole, from the very fact that opponents do not conceal their dissatisfaction—I find here your kind letter, for which I send you my warmest thanks. My excellent cousin and friend, Dr. Eduard Liszt, had already informed me of your kind willingness to undertake the instrumentation of my Vocal Mass: I am entirely in accord with the various sketches you so kindly lay before me in your letter, and only beg you, dear sir, to complete this work according to your own best judgment, without any small considerations. I certainly should not wish the organ to be absent from it, but it is a perfectly correct idea to give those passages in the Kyrie, Suscipe deprecationem, Crucifixus, and others besides,
[A score appears here]
to the wind exclusively. When I expressed to my cousin my wish to place the instrumentation of the Mass in your hands, it was because I was convinced beforehand of the excellence of your work. The examples which you have given me in your letter show me that I was not wrong, and I shall rejoice most sincerely when the moment arrives for us to go through the whole score together. Eduard intends to visit me here towards the end of August, and if it is possible for you to come to Weymar at the same time with him, and to stay a few days in my house, it will be very agreeable to me.
On the 3rd, 4th, and 5th September the Jubilee festivities of the Grand Duke Carl August will take place here, on which occasion I propose to perform several of my later orchestral compositions, and also the chorus “An die Kiinstler.” [“To Artists.”] Eduard will give you a more detailed programme of the Festival later on. Should you, however, be prevented from being present at it, it needs no special assurance to you that your visit will be very welcome to me any day, and I will do my best that you shall not suffer from ennui in Weymar. [Herbeck accepted the invitation.]
May I also beg you to send me, when you have an opportunity, and if possible very soon, the parts of your Quartet, [D minor, unpublished] which pleases me so much, and which, both in its mood and in its writing of the different parts, is so eminently noble and finely sustained. In case you have not been able to arrange for the copying of the parts, it will be a pleasure to me to get them copied here. Our Weymar quartet, Messrs. Singer, Stor, Walbruhl, and Cossmann, is competent for this work, and you will, I trust, be satisfied with the performance. Unfortunately Cossmann’s illness has prevented our usual quartet-productions for some months past, and Cossmann was also unable to take part in the Aix-la-Chapelle Musical Festival. But yesterday he told me that in a few days he should be able to take up his bow again, and therefore I want them to set to work on your Quartet at once.
To our speedy meeting then, and once more best thanks from yours in all friendship,
F. Liszt