MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY, FELIX. (1809-1847). German composer, and one of the most gifted musicians of the 19th century. AMusQS. (“Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy”). 1p. Oblong Large 8vo. (6” x 9”). Leipzig, December 16, 1835. Six measures from his Three-Part Canon in D major, with six lines in his hand quoting the last stanza of Goethe’s poem “Eins und Alles” (“One and All”). In German with translation.

“Es soll sich regen, schaffend handeln,
Erst sich gestalten, dann verwandeln,
Nur scheinbar steht’s Momente still,
Das Ewige regt sich fort in allen,
Denn alles muss in Nichts zerfallen,
Wenn es im Sein beharren will.”

[“It must remain in motion, actively creating,
First forming, then transforming;
It appears still only for a moment.
The eternal lures everything onward:
Because all things must decay into nothing,
If they want to persist in being.”]

From his first meeting with German poet, novelist, and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 1832) in November 1821 – through his teacher, Carl Zelter, the poet’s good friend – until his own premature death 26 years later, Mendelssohn was profoundly influenced by the great German master. “For Mendelssohn, Goethe was an important figure in the question of identity – both in relation to his assimilation into German society and in terms of his artistic identity. In his writing and in person Goethe offered Mendelssohn important lessons on how an artist ought to conduct himself. The high standards he set were the usual basis for the attainment of durable distinction in any life or art: openness, courage and complete commitment to one’s art,” (“‘An old man young or a young man old?’: On Goethe’s Friendship with Felix Mendelssohn,” Musicologie sans frontières, Bodley). Goethe’s poem “Eins und Alles,” which explores such themes, was part of his Pariah trilogy, published the same year he met Mendelssohn.

Goethe’s writings were, in fact, among the composer’s main literary inspirations. Goethe’s poems Meeresstille (Calm Sea) and Glückliche Fahrt (Prosperous Voyage) inspired Mendelssohn’s 1828 Overture ‘Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage,' Op 27 and Goethe’s Faust, of which Mendelssohn knew whole passages by heart, was the basis not only for the splendid 1843 cantata Die erste Walpurgisnacht, Op. 60 but also for numerous piano fantasias. His posthumously published lieder “Trinklied: So lang man nüchtern ist” also drew on Goethe for inspiration.

Slight wear with signs of professional restoration partially visible in the upper left portion. An important association and an outstanding example penned in Mendelssohn’s calligraphic hand on what would have been Beethoven’s 65th birthday. In overall fine condition.