Autograph letter signed "C.Sns," quite possibly to his librettist
- SIGNED
3 pp. of a bifolium. Octavo (ca. 159 x 101 mm). Dated "Sunday." On black-bordered ivory mourning stationery. In French (with translation).
Saint-Saëns writes that his correspondent "has done well to be insistent" about the ending of an unidentified work, and has implemented the necessary corrections.
"This ending was necessary. 'L'ombre abrite' is impossible. I put 'dans l'ombre, près del la fenêtre', and I substituted 'doux enfant' for 'jeune enfant'. That is obvious, I know, but it is a platitude. Never, neither in prose nor in verse, should one put a useless adjective. By finishing short and simple, my piece gains a lot from this addition."
Small annotation to blank final page.
Slightly worn and soiled; creased at folds. "Like Mozart, to whom he was often compared, [Saint-Saëns] was a brilliant craftsman, versatile and prolific, who contributed to every genre of French music. He was one of the leaders of the French musical renaissance of the 1870s." Sabina Teller Ratner et al. in Grove Music Online.
Saint-Saëns writes that his correspondent "has done well to be insistent" about the ending of an unidentified work, and has implemented the necessary corrections.
"This ending was necessary. 'L'ombre abrite' is impossible. I put 'dans l'ombre, près del la fenêtre', and I substituted 'doux enfant' for 'jeune enfant'. That is obvious, I know, but it is a platitude. Never, neither in prose nor in verse, should one put a useless adjective. By finishing short and simple, my piece gains a lot from this addition."
Small annotation to blank final page.
Slightly worn and soiled; creased at folds. "Like Mozart, to whom he was often compared, [Saint-Saëns] was a brilliant craftsman, versatile and prolific, who contributed to every genre of French music. He was one of the leaders of the French musical renaissance of the 1870s." Sabina Teller Ratner et al. in Grove Music Online.