GOUNOD (Charles). - Lot 128

GOUNOD (Charles). Born in Paris. 1818–1893. French composer. Autograph letter signed “Ch. Gounod” to “Monsieur le Comte.” Paris, November 20, 1855. 2½ pp. in-4 on letterhead of the City of Paris—Public Schools—Orpheon Directorate. BEAUTIFUL LETTER. THE PREMIERE OF HIS SOLEMN MASS OF SAINT CECILIA. Gounod writes to a patron and benefactor: ...I would feel I were failing to live up to the effective and benevolent patronage you have deigned to grant to our grand choral celebration on Sunday, September 25, if I did not come to ask you, as a final favor, to kindly honor this ceremony with your presence—a ceremony whose success your powerful endorsement has just ensured... He therefore sends him six tickets as ...a humble token of the high regard I hold for your valuable support... and asks him for yet another favor, …convinced that, in your presence (…), trust is sure to bring good fortune. I have recently composed, at the request of the Committee of the Association of Musical Artists, a Solemn Mass for full orchestra, which is to be performed on Thursday, September 29, at noon in the Church of St. Eustache, on the occasion of the feast of St. Cecilia, and to benefit the relief funds and pensions intended (sic) for impoverished artists. Dare I hope (...) that you might be willing to take an interest in this work? I would be as proud as I would be grateful for your presence and your support... Gounod assures. Dedicated “In memory of J. Zimmermann, my father (actually his father-in-law), the Solemn Mass for soloists, choir, orchestra, and obbligato organ, composed by Gounod, received an enthusiastic reception, particularly from Camille Saint-Saëns, who wrote: “The appearance of the Mass of Saint Cecilia (...) caused a sort of astonishment. That simplicity, that grandeur, that serene light rising over the musical world like dawn, unsettled many people (...). The rays of light poured forth from this Mass in torrents.”