FRANCK CESAR: (1822-1890) Belgian-born French composer and pianist of the Romantic period. A ...

FRANCK CESAR: (1822-1890) Belgian-born French composer and pianist of the Romantic period. A very good content A.L.S., `Cesar Franck´, four pages, 8vo, Villa Poyé, Combs-la-Ville-Quincy, n.d. [September 1885], to French Composer and colleague Emmanuel Chabrier, in French. Franck deeply thanks his correspondent and refers with enthousiasm to his opera Hulda, and states in part `Mille et mille fois merci de vos bonnes lettres et de ce que vous avez fait pour moi. Grace à vous j´ai été admirablement reçu par Mr. Verdhurt. Je lui ai fait entendre toute ma partition, je le crois épris de mon oeuvre et j´ai les plus grandes espérances, non pour cette année mais pour l´année prochaine. Mon vif désir, mon cher Chabrier, serait de vous faire faire connaissance avec ma Hulda. Il ne faut pas que l´oeuvre en faveur de laquelle vous avez plaidé si éloquemment vous reste plus longtemps inconnue´ (Translation: "Thank you a thousand times for your kind letters and for what you have done for me. Thanks to you I was admirably received by Mr. Verdhurt. I played my entire score to him, I believe he is in love with my work and I have the greatest hopes, not for this year but for next year. My keen desire, my dear Chabrier, would be to introduce you to my Hulda. The work in favor of which you have pleaded so eloquently must not remain unknown to you any longer.") Further Franck tries to find the way to meet his colleague Chabrier, stating in part `Je sais que vous travaillez beaucoup dans votre retraite. Si cependant vous deviez dans le courant de ce mois de Septembre passer un jour ou deux à Paris et qu´il vous soit possible de distraire deux ou trois heures de votre temps en ma faveur...´ (Translation: "I know you work a lot into your retirement. If, however, during this month of September you were to spend a day or two in Paris and it was possible for you to divert two or three hours of your time in my favor...") Before concluding Franck reports on the performance of the ballet of Hulda, saying `J´ai eu une bonne exécution du ballet de Hulda à Anvers, ils ont été chaudement applaudis´ (Translation: "I had a good performance of the Hulda ballet in Antwerp, it was warmly applauded") Small overall age wear and toning, mostly to edges, with minor corner crease, otherwise G.

Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) French Composer and Pianist.

Hulda is an opera by Cesar Franck. It is set in 11th-century Norway, and is based on the play Lame Hulda (1858) by Norwegian writer Bjornstjerne Bjornson. The complete opera contains a prologue, three acts and an epilogue, and was composed between 1879 and 1885. Franck died before the premiere of Hulda which took place in Montecarlo in1894.