thank the exertions of the Austrian ambassador Count _Apponyi_ for
being enabled to give a concert in Rome during Advent, at which time
all public music is forbidden. Count _Apponyi_ undertook to represent
my request for permission to the governor of Rome, but advised me
nevertheless not to wait for the reply, but to make arrangements as
quickly as possible for the concert, while he would procure for me
the necessary subscribers. I went to work immediately, but found my
efforts impeded by very considerable difficulties. The salon in the
Ruspoli Palace, which Count _Apponyi_ had procured for me, was like
every other part of that fine uninhabited building, in a very ruinous
condition. It was necessary to re-glaze the windows in many places,
to fill up the holes in the marble pavement with bricks, and to hire
the necessary furniture, chandeliers, seats, music desks, &c. &c. But
it was first of all especially necessary to cleanse the palace, from
the entrance to the saloon, from the filth with which the esplanade
and the handsome flight of marble steps ornamented with statues were
filled in such a manner, that whole cart-loads of it required to be
carried away. I was also first obliged to find one by one singers and
musicians in the immense city, and to engage them for my concert, all
of which occupied a great deal of time. Until the day of the concert,
and even on that itself till the evening, I was in continual anxiety
lest a refusal of my request should arrive and overthrow every thing
I had done. But the police were so humane, that they did not forward
this to me till the day _after_ the concert when I had already in hand
a satisfactory return in the shape of receipts. I was hereby relieved
of great uneasiness and one which until then had greatly embittered my
stay in Rome. My travelling funds had come to so low an ebb, from the
hitherto scanty receipts from my concerts in Italy, that I saw with
alarm they would in no manner suffice for an extension of our journey
to Naples, and scarcely even for a direct return to Germany. To be so
near to Naples, the most desired object of the whole journey, and now
to turn back--that was a reflexion too fearful for me to bear with
calmness! I therefore conceived the idea of applying to the _Beer_
family, which had meanwhile arrived from Venice, for a loan. Intimate
as was my friendship with the son _Meyer Beer_ (afterwards _Meyerbeer_)
I could nevertheless not overcome my reluctance to express my wish
on the subject, and applied therefore in preference to a rich friend
of mine in Alsace, who however, as it frequently happens with such
applications, paid no attention to it. But now, thanks to the handsome
receipts which my concert had brought in, all prospect of pecuniary
want was dissipated, and I could venture upon the further journey to
Naples without anxiety. This was nevertheless delayed by the illness of
my children till the latter end of January; and as _Dorette_, wholly
occupied with attending to them, could now no longer accompany me in
my excursions, I kept frequent company with the _Beer_ family, and
they having arrived later, I could now serve them as Cicerone. Of an
evening, when the light no longer permitted anything more to be seen
(for the theatres were still closed during Advent), the three sons
accompanied me sometimes to my lodgings, and we then shortened the
long evenings with a game at whist. As it was at that time, however,
very cold in Rome, and there was no means of heating my room, we used
to set ourselves down in my enormous bed with our backs turned to the
four cardinal points, with the leaf of a table between us, and in that
manner played our rubber in comfortable warmth and in the best humour.
Of my stay in Naples, the following incident is to be added.
On the day of my first concert, I received in the green-room of the San
Carlo theatre, a visit from the celebrated singer _Crescentini_, whom I
had already become acquainted with in Rome. After he had said many very
complimentary things relative to my play and my compositions, he made
the following proposition to me. The present director, _Zingarelli_,
who, with his religious turn of mind, was very unremitting in praying
with his pupils, but who practised them in music very little, was to be
pensioned off, and he, _Crescentini_ was applying for the appointment.
But as he understood nothing of instrumental music, the Neapolitan
minister contemplated appointing a second director for that, and had
thought of me, as my play and my compositions had quite enchanted him
at my concert on the previous day. If therefore I felt disposed to make
an application for the place, I was to accompany him immediately to
the minister, where further proposals would be made to me. This took
place. I returned to _Dorette_ highly satisfied with the propositions
of the minister, and we were not a little pleased at the thoughts of
taking up our home in such a paradise as Naples. But week after week
passed away, without any further communication from the minister, and
we learned from _Crescentini_ that the whole project had been abandoned
by reason of the expense it would entail. We dared not therefore delay
any longer the period of our departure, for I again found that my
treasury was so decreased by our numerous excursions in the environs of
Naples, which we had made in the company of our Silesian friends, and
of which I was always obliged to bear half the expenses, that my means
would scarcely suffice for the return journey to Switzerland.
This calculation proved indeed but too correct; for on our arrival at
Geneva, my funds were completely exhausted. As my concert there also
brought in but very little, and I knew beforehand that with the then
(in the spring of 1817) prevailing famine in Switzerland, but very
little was to be earned in the other Swiss towns, I for the first time
in my life experienced the bitter anxiety arising from a want of the
means of subsistence. It is true we possessed some valuables which had
been presented to us at several courts; but the bare thought of being
obliged to sell or to pledge these, was still much too painful to our
feelings. Necessity, however, compelled us to do so. I was just on the
point of looking for a place where money was advanced upon pledges,
when _Dorette_ suggested that it would be preferable to reveal our
position to the most friendly of all our acquaintances there, the
Pastor _Gerlach_, and offered to go to him herself, as I had not the
courage to do so. She took with her her handsomest ornament, a diadem
of brilliants, a present from the Queen of Bavaria, and proceeded to
the reverend gentleman’s house. Never in all my life did I pass such
painful moments as those which elapsed during her absence. At length,
after a seemingly never-ending half hour, she returned, and brought
back the pledge--but with it the sum necessary for the prosecution
of our further journey. She was still in a state of excitement
from a fright she had experienced there. While, with the greatest
embarrassment and with faltering lips, she disclosed to the Pastor our
momentary necessities, and made a request for a loan upon the pledge
she proferred, he had suddenly burst into a loud fit of laughter and
vanished into an adjoining room. But before she had time to reflect
upon the meaning of this outburst of hilarity, which seemed to her
so greatly out of place, he returned bringing the required sum, and
said to her in the kindest manner: “I am delighted that the worthy
pair of artists have afforded me so great a pleasure as to render them
a service; but how could you think that a clergyman would lend upon
pledges like a jew?”
Thus, then, our immediate wants were relieved and we could resume our
journey. We now first went to Thierachern to fetch our carriage and
the harp, which we had left there the previous autumn. As _Dorette_
required a little time to get her hand again into play upon her
instrument, and we did not moreover require to hurry, as the favorable
period for concert-giving was passed, we stayed there a fortnight,
practised again each forenoon our duets for harp and violin, and in
the afternoons, favoured by the most beautiful spring weather, visited
once more all our former favorite spots. At length, however, we were
obliged to make up our minds to leave the paradise of Thierachern and
proceed further upon our artistic tour. In Switzerland we met with
very little success, for the permission to give public concerts was
everywhere refused on account of the prevailing famine, and it was
permitted in Zurich only because we there offered to hand over a part
of the proceeds to the poor. I there played for the first time since
my return to Germany my vocal _scena_ and a solo-quartet (Op. 43) that
I had begun in Italy and finished in Thierachern; both compositions
were received with very great applause. But with that I was obliged
to content myself; for the receipts from this concert were far below
those of the previous year. I could not therefore keep my promise as
to time, in the repayment of the sum borrowed in Geneva, which gave me
much uneasiness. But the Pastor _Gerlach_, upon my communicating to him
the reason, in excuse for my failure, returned the most satisfactory
reply, and I could thus proceed on my journey with a mind more at ease.
But even in Germany also, where we gave concerts in Freiburg,
Carlsruhe, Wiesbaden, Ems, and Aix-la-Chapelle, the receipts were but
middling, on account of the generally prevailing distress, so that they
scarcely covered our travelling expenses; and not until we reached the
last-named town, where our play produced a great sensation and enabled
us to give three very numerously attended concerts, did sufficient
remain to enable us to liquidate my debt to _Gerlach_.
From Naples to Aix-la-chapelle we had now travelled for four months
continually in the direction from south to north, without stopping very
long anywhere. We had therefore found everywhere beyond and on this
side of the Alps, the trees in bloom, and thus enjoyed an extension
of the spring season in a degree such as it has never since been our
lot to know. At Aix-la-Chapelle we arrived in the height of summer,
and in the middle of the bathing season. For our farther journey to
Holland this was the most unfavourable time for concert-giving, and I
therefore resolved to stop some weeks in Aix-la-Chapelle. We had there
become acquainted with several zealous musical amateurs, at whose
houses music parties were frequently given. I had also found some good
quartet-accompaniers with whom I practised my Vienna quartets and
quintets; and as they were greatly admired by all who heard them, I
gave them frequently.
We thus passed the time of our stay in Aix-la-Chapelle in a very
pleasant manner, equally divided between work and pleasure. The
instruction of the children, which indeed had never entirely ceased
during the whole journey, for we used to give them instruction even
in the carriage as we travelled along, was now resumed with more
earnestness and regularity. I also began to compose again, and wrote
there the first number of my four-voice songs for men’s voices (Op. 44)
of which _Gœthe’s_ “Dem Schnee, dem Regen” became afterwards a favorite
table song.
Towards autumn we continued our journey to Holland, and on our way
thither first gave some concerts at Cologne and Dusseldorf which were
very well attended. Thence we proceeded to Cleves, where we made the
acquaintance of the notary, Mr. _Thomae_, a zealous friend of art and
a distinguished dilettante, who played several instruments. In his
house we had music very frequently, and the two families, inclusive of
the children, soon became so attached that they formed a life-enduring
friendship. Through this circumstance our stay in Cleves became so
attractive that we took leave of the friendly little town and its
charming environs with much reluctance.
The fame of the _Spohr_ artist-couple had however not yet reached
Holland, and we were therefore first obliged to break ground there.
In this however we soon succeeded. In that wealthy land, favourably
disposed towards German art and German artists, we made a great
sensation, and consequent thereon also a flourishing business. We had
already played at Rotterdam and the Hague, and had just arrived at
Amsterdam, where we had also already made our appearance in _Felix
meritis_ and had afterwards given a concert upon our own account,
when I received a letter from Mr. _Ihlée_, director of the theatre at
Frankfort on the Main, in which, on the part of the shareholders of
that theatre, he offered me the appointment of director of the opera
and music, and in case of my acceptance thereof, added the request
that I would enter upon it with all possible despatch. The terms, it
is true, were not so brilliant as those of my Vienna appointment,
but sufficient nevertheless to maintain a family. Certainly I should
have liked to have continued my artistic tour, in which I took great
pleasure, at least till the spring; but they were very pressing in
Frankfort, and _Dorette_ longed once more for domestic repose. I
therefore consented without further hesitation and set out immediately
upon the return journey. At Cleves, where we alighted at the friendly
house of the _Thomae_ family, we were forced, despite the pressing
urgency to accelerate our journey, to stop a few days. Although it was
now mid-winter, every thing was again done to make our stay agreeable.
Music parties, sledge excursions and other amusements succeeded each
other alternately. On the evening before our departure, as we sat
at the supper-table, cracking nuts and thinking regretfully of the
approaching parting, my friend _Thomae_ made the proposal that the
_Spohr_ family, as a memorial of their presence there, should plant one
of the nuts in the garden. This proposition was received with general
acclamation. Upon a spade being brought, both families, wrapped in warm
cloaks, repaired in procession to the garden, in the very centre of
which, after I had cleared away the snow, I dug a hole, in which the
children planted the nut. In the following spring the appearance of the
germ above ground was announced to us at Frankfort. This, carefully
protected by a circular fence, grew by degrees to a fine tree, and
even now (1852) the _Thomae_ family, as one of the sons not long since
informed me, thinks with pleasurable feelings of that evening and the
absent friends.
In Frankfort I was received by the shareholders of the theatre
and by the whole company of the theatre and orchestra in the most
friendly manner. A dinner was given in my honour in the saloon of the
“_Weidenbusch_,” at which the usual toasts were given and speeches made
in due form. The orchestra, which, under the able direction of its
previous leader Mr. _Schmitt_, had acquired the reputation of being
one of the best in Germany, I found somewhat deteriorated, from his
long illness. But as a ready disposition was shewn by all to meet my
wishes and arrangements, and as they soon accustomed themselves to my
method of directing, the former _ensemble_ was soon re-established. My
predecessor had led with the violin, and by the wish of the singers I
began also in the same manner, indicating the time with the bow, and
keeping the violin ready at hand, in order to assist with that when
necessary. But I soon accustomed them to so precise a practise of their
parts that such assistance as that was soon no longer necessary. I now
laid the violin aside and directed in the French style, with the bâton.
The routine of business on the Frankfort stage was at that time as
follows: the managers chosen by the shareholders, met every week the
technical directors (Mr. _Ihlée_ for the drama and I for the opera)
at a sitting at which the programme for the week was agreed upon
and everything concerning the management arranged. The _præses_, or
_senior_ of this directory, was a merchant of the name of _Leers_, who
liked the office and therefore always managed to be re-elected. In
the course of time he had acquired a certain tact in the routine of
managing the theatre, and spoke usually therefore in a very decided
tone. His whole endeavour was directed to economy, in order to diminish
the yearly recurring deficit of from 14 to 17,000 florins, which
the shareholders were obliged to cover. He liked best the singers,
performers and musicians, who engaged at the lowest salaries, and in
the choice of the operas and plays which were to be given he always
decided upon those which would entail the least expense. _Ihlée_ and
I had also an especial interest in getting rid of the deficit, as we
had a share in any overplus secured to us by agreement: but we thought
this would be much more surely attained if an endeavour was made to
raise the character of the theatre by engaging distinguished talent and
the representation of classical works. We were therefore frequently in
opposition to Mr. _Leers_ and his colleagues, and one of them only,
Mr. _Clement Brentano_, entertained the same opinion as ourselves. But
he seldom succeeded in obtaining the victory for it, as it was always
his custom to defend it merely with light sallies of wit and sarcasm.
The animosity which sprung out of this difference of opinion between
Mr. _Leers_ and myself was not perceptible, however, till a later
period, for at first we agreed very well. It was therefore not very
difficult for me to obtain the consent of the managers to bring out
my opera “Faust.” I was very desirous of at length hearing this work,
which I had written five years before at Vienna, and I hastened all the
preparations as much as possible. As there was no baritone among the
singers of the theatre who could satisfactorily take the part of Faust,
I was obliged to give it to the tenor, Mr. _Schelble_, afterwards the
founder and director of the society of St. Cecilia, who possessed in
his _mezzo-tenore_, the necessary compass as also the requisite skill
in execution. After the rehearsals had commenced, _Schelble_ expressed
the wish that I would write another air for him which would shew his
voice off to more advantage than those which were in the opera. As I
found a suitable place for its introduction immediately after the duet
at the commencement, and Mr. _George Döring_ (hautboy of the orchestra
and subsequently a much admired romance writer) furnished me with
appropriate words for it, I was very pleased to be enabled to satisfy
_Schelble’s_ wish. This air: “Liebe ist die zarte Blüthe” (Love is the
tender blossom), which was afterwards so frequently sung at concerts,
and innumerable times in London by _Pischek_, is therefore the first
thing I composed in Frankfort. Meanwhile the study of the opera had
proceeded so well that it could be announced and performed for the
first time in March (1818). At first, it is true, it pleased the great
majority less than the connoisseurs, but with each representation
gained more admirers; so that from that time it has remained almost
constantly in the repertorium of the Frankfort stage, and has been
studied anew after short intervals.
This success encouraged me to new dramatic compositions. I therefore
looked about me for the materials for a work of the kind, and found
one that suited me in _Appel’s_ book of ghost stories, in the tale
called “Der schwarze Jäger” (the black huntsman). _Döring_, with whom I
spoke upon the subject, offered to work it out as an opera. We devised
together a plot which differed chiefly from _Kind’s_ text-book (which
was at that time as yet unknown to us) in this, that we retained the
tragical conclusion of the story. As soon as _Döring_ had written the
first scenes, I immediately set about the composition. The introduction
was already for the most part sketched out, when the celebrated
tragedian Madame _Schröder_, and her daughter, the afterwards more
celebrated _Schröder-Devrient_, came to Frankfort, and during her
visit saw the work I was engaged upon on the piano. They then informed
that _C. M. von Weber_ was composing music for the same subject as an
opera, and had already finished the first act. This induced me to lay
my work aside, as I had reason to fear _Weber_ would come forward with
his opera much earlier than I. As it afterwards proved, however, such
was not the case; for the “Freischütz” appeared first in 1820, and
my opera “Zelmira and Azor,” which I began almost a year later, was
already given on the 4th April 1819. Nevertheless I have not regretted
that I abandoned the materials of _Appel’s_ story, for with my music,
which is not adapted to please the multitude and excite the popular
enthusiasm, I should never have met with the unexampled success that
the “Freischütz” met with.
As I was now again obliged to look about me for a libretto, I
began meanwhile to write quartets. The chief reason for this was
the solicitation of some lovers of that kind of music to institute
public-quartet performances, which had not hitherto been given in
Frankfort. At these I wished also to be enabled to bring forward some
new compositions, and for that purpose I wrote in the course of the
summer the three quartets (Op. 45). When I played the first of these at
a musical soirée at _Schelble’s_, _Jean Paul_ was one of the audience.
He appeared to interest himself very much for this new composition
and ascribed to it a highly poetical signification, of which while
composing it I certainly never thought, but which recurred in a very
striking manner to my mind at every subsequent performance of the
quartet.
On the 29th July 1818 my family was again increased by the birth of
a little daughter, who was christened by the name of Theresa after
her godmother Mrs. _Thomae_ of Cleves, and was held over the font
by my friend _Speyer_. _Dorette_ now felt very happy at having a
permanent-dwelling place, so as to be able to devote herself wholly to
the care of the new visitor.
In the autumn began the first set of the public quartets in the little
saloon of the “Rothes Haus.” The assistants were: second violin
the concertmaster Mr. _Hofmann_, viol Mr. _Bayer_, violoncello Mr.
_Hasemann_, at that time bass-trumpet of the orchestra, and afterwards
first violincellist of the Cassel orchestra. I brought forward some
quartets of _Haydn_, _Mozart_, _Beethoven_, and some of my own, which
we had practised in the most careful manner in two rehearsals. They
made therefore a great sensation by the precision of their execution,
and were so well received that in the course of the winter another set
could be given.
In September 1818 I began also the composition of the new opera.
Mr. _Ihlée_ had proposed as subject the text of the formerly very
much admired opera “_La Belle et la Bête_,” by _Gretry_. As this at
that time had wholly disappeared from the German repertory, and was
wholly unknown to the younger generation, I readily assented to the
proposition; for from my earliest youth I had a predeliction for this
tale, and even remembered an air of _Gretry’s_ opera, that namely of
_Zelmira_ with the echo, which as a boy I had frequently heard my
mother sing, and also sung myself. Herr _Ihlée_ offered to alter the
text to the style of the modern opera, which, as he well understood
stage business, he did greatly to my satisfaction.--At that time
_Rossini’s_ music became then first known in Germany, and “Tancred” in
particular brought down a very storm of applause in Frankfort. Almost
at every sitting of the theatre I was obliged to hear from Mr. _Leers_
the words: “That is an opera that pleases and attracts the public,
you must bring out more of that kind!”--Little as I was an admirer of
_Rossini’s_ music, as the severe criticism thereof in the diary of the
Italian journey shews, yet the applause which “Tancred” had met with
in Frankfort was not wholly without influence on the style of my new
opera. I was furthermore induced to this by the considerable power
of execution possessed by four singers (Miss _Friedel_, the sisters
_Campagnoli_, and Mr. _Schelble_) who were at my command. This explains
why the music to “Zelmira and Azor” has so much colouring and vocal
ornamentation in the parts sustained by the three sisters, and that of
Azor. The opera was studied most attentively by the singers and the
orchestra, and met with great success at the very first representation,
indeed a more general one than “Faust,” which however, at a later
period, both in Frankfort and the rest of Germany, reassumed the place
in public estimation which its real merits as an opera more properly
justified.