Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters (10 page)

NB: It wasn’t the envoy who was pregnant but the princess. And so I left England on 1 August and we sailed from Dover at 10 in the morning, we had the most beautiful weather and such a good wind that in 3½ hours we had landed in the port of Calais and partook of our midday meal with a healthy stomach, not having been at all ill during the crossing. Our plan was now to spend the month of August in Holland, to arrive in Paris towards the end of September and then gradually move on until we were finally in sight of the Untersberg. In Calais we made the acquaintance of the Duchesse de Montmorency and the Prince de Croy;
⁴
and from there I went to Dunkirk, which I wanted to see on account of the port and the endless bickering between England and France over the demolition of the fortifications. The place is very beautiful, the streets mostly wide and the majority of the houses neat and tidy. An attractive Exchange Building, much commerce and, unfortunately, the finest fortifications already torn down. I say ‘unfortunately’ as it pains me to see such fine fortifications, which cost so much, demolished. In spite of this, the English were still not satisfied and there were constant complaints in England that the fortifications hadn’t all been demolished as had been stipulated in the terms of the treaty.
⁵
As a result a commission was set up under the terms of which the Duc de Choiseul and the Duke of Bedford
⁶
were to meet and examine the case. We drove to Lille, where we had been persuaded to go by the commandant in Dunkirk, the Chevalier de Mezières. Here too we found a beautiful, well-built town, with a large population and a fair amount of commerce, and we also saw 5 regiments at firing practice and performing the most wonderful
military exercises on the occasion of a visit by the Duc de Choiseul. In particular I noticed that the French are now better drilled than they used to be: only with 2 German regiments, the Swiss and the Nassau regiments, can they not stand comparison. I should add that the daily parade was one of the finest I’ve ever seen. Now we have further proof that our human plans count for nothing. In Lille, Wolfgang succumbed to a very bad cold, and when it had got somewhat better after a couple of weeks, it was my turn; I was overcome by dizziness of a most peculiar kind. If I remained in bed, all was well, but as soon as I got up, everything started to swim and I couldn’t take 3 steps on my own across the room; it was so bad that if I tried to force myself to remain standing, I was sick. As I didn’t know if it originated in my head or my stomach, I took a laxative, then tried a footbath and, in a word, defended myself against 2 enemies at once: but this alone delayed us by 4 weeks, and I left Lille more dead than alive and was not much better when we arrived in Ghent, where we stayed only a day. Ghent is a large but sparsely populated town. In the afternoon Wolfg. played on the big new organ at the Bernardines
⁷
etc. We remained in Antwerp for 2 days on account of Sunday. Wolfgang played on the big organ in the cathedral. NB: There are some really good organs in Flanders and Brabant. But a great deal could be said about the paintings, which are quite exquisite. Antwerp is the place for these. We went to all the churches. I’ve never seen more black and white marble and such a surfeit of outstanding paintings, especially Rubens,
⁸
as I did here and in Brussels. Above all, Rubens’s ‘Descent from the Cross’ in the main church in Antwerp surpasses everything you could imagine: I left my carriage in Antwerp and took one from the postmaster to drive to Moerdijk. There we crossed a small arm of the sea, and on the other side were coaches ready to drive you to Rotterdam, where you get into a small boat and are taken almost as far as the inn. It was a good day’s journey from Antwerp to Rotterdam, namely, from half past 6 in the morning to 8 in the evening. We spent only half a day in Rotterdam
as we left in the afternoon on a Trek Schuyt
⁹
for The Hague and were already there by 7. I must admit that I should have been very sorry not to have seen Holland: for in all the towns in Europe that I’ve seen, nearly everything looks the same. But both the Dutch villages and the Dutch towns are completely different from all other towns in Europe. It would take too long to describe them, but suffice it to say that I like the fact that they’re all so neat, a quality that strikes many of us as excessive, and I shall say only that I enjoyed seeing the statue of the famous Erasmus of Rotterdam
¹⁰
in the square. We’ve now been in The Hague for a week, and have twice been with the princess and once with the Prince of Orange, who had us collected and brought back home in his carriage: only my daughter was not with us; for it was now her turn to develop a very heavy chest cold that is only now beginning to loosen. As soon as she is better,
¹¹
we have to return to the Prince of Orange and the Princess of Weilburg and the Duke of Wolfenbüttel:
¹²
– – the journey here has been paid for; – – but I’ll have to see who will pay for the return journey. For I’d prefer not to touch my money in Amsterdam. – – You’ll see from all this that your 2 letters from Monsieur Joseph
¹³
and yourself arrived in London only after we’d left. I received your third – undated – letter in Lille, where it was forwarded by Monsieur Carpentier. As you mentioned 2 other letters here, I immediately suspected that Monsieur Teissier
¹⁴
will have sent them to Amsterdam. As soon as I got to The Hague, I wrote to my banker in Amsterdam and the very next day received both letters, together with another one from
Monsieur Teissier. What was communicated to me in a newspaper is true. I am grateful to Herr Joseph for his kind letter and look forward to his safe return.

A 1000 compliments to all our good friends. – – That my letter reached you after having been opened and resealed surprises me greatly. I posted it in London myself: this never happened in London. – – The most important thing I have to tell you is that I’ve arranged for Monsieur Teissier to send you via Hamburg a very large
chest or strongbox
. Signed: LM. I don’t know when it will arrive, assuming it hasn’t already done so. Monsieur Teissier informs me that it left for Hamburg on board the
Wilhelmus
under Captain Adrian Janssen. I’d have preferred it if he’d written to tell me who he’s sent it to in Hamburg. There are all manner of things inside it. Leave it unopened until we arrive, and see that it’s not left somewhere that’s too damp, although the polished steel items that it contains are well wrapped. –

– I also need you to buy me a good
stationery box
: I mean one like yours, with good large drawers. In short, a beautiful and good box: even if it’s expensive; where else shall I put all my rubbish? – – Could I ask that on receipt of this letter you address your reply to me in
Amsterdam
and add:
Chez Messrs Jean Néel et Fils aè Amsterdam
. If I’ve already left, he’ll forward the letter. The word Neel was elided above, which is why I’m repeating it. My best wishes to you and the whole of Salzburg, I am your old friend.

PS: My wife asks you to have 6 Masses said, namely, 3 at St John of Nepomuk in the parish church, 1 at Maria Plain, 1 at Loreto at the Holy Child, and 1 in honour of St Walburgis, which is where you should have it said.

We heard of the emperor’s death in Lille on 26 August.
¹⁵
Before we left London, I read in the paper that General Plaz
¹⁶
had died. But I can’t find anything about this in Herr Johannes’s
¹⁷
list.

In his 2nd chapter, my news reporter Herr Johannes goes on to
say that Herr Franz Gschwendtner,
¹⁸
Herr Joseph Hagenauer etc. have arrived from Italy. But he says nothing about Madame Fesemayr. Is she still in Venice?– – –
tanto meglio!
– –

Please give our best wishes to Court Councillor Gilowsky
¹⁹
and congratulate him for us. It will be a source of infinite pleasure to see him again.

It’s very good that we’re not yet close to Salzburg as there are so many thieves in the country, make sure it’s safe otherwise we’ll stay out of the country even longer. – And how’s the Neutor
²⁰
coming along? – – I’ve always assumed that we’d enter by the Neutor.

But why didn’t Herr Estlinger
²¹
wait till we were back so that we could dance at his wedding? – – Congratulations to him. Old love never dies! It’s said that he still reveres an old bass fiddle, even though he has a newer one. Oh, how often he’s patched it up! – – If my old faithful carriage gets me safely home again, it will have done its duty. It certainly sets me thinking when I think of our journey.
Ma foi
, it’s been quite a jaunt.

The Mozarts spent about eight months in the Netherlands: the children gave public concerts at The Hague (22 January 1766), Amsterdam (29 January, 26 February and 16 April 1766) and Utrecht (21 April 1766); additionally, Wolfgang composed two sets of keyboard variations (K24 and K25), six sonatas for keyboard and violin (K26–31) and the
Galimathias musicum
K32, which was performed as part of the festivities surrounding the installation of Willem V, Prince of Orange, in March. On 8 May 1766 the family arrived in Brussels; from there they travelled to Paris – where they arrived on 10 May – by way of Valenciennes and Cambrai.

Monsieur!

You’ll undoubtedly be exceedingly surprised not to have received a letter from me for so long. I wouldn’t have left you without news of our circumstances if I’d not been assured that you’d received news of us on at least two occasions from Herr Kulman of Amsterdam. The only reason why I didn’t send you and my friends as detailed a description of Holland as I did of France and England was because my children have been ill. We returned to The Hague from Amsterdam for the celebrations held by the Prince of Orange – they began on 11 March and went on for some time – when our little composer was asked to write 6 keyboard sonatas with violin accompaniment for the prince’s sister, namely, the Princess of Nassau-Weilburg, which were engraved straightaway.
¹
He also had to write something for the prince’s concert
²
and compose arias for the princess etc. All of which will be produced on our arrival. I asked Herr Kulman to send you a small chest in Salzburg. As soon as it arrives, please open it and look for the small wide parcel with the word ‘Musica’ on it that’s not sealed. In it you’ll find two copies of the sonatas engraved in The Hague; take one of these copies, together with the violin part that goes with it, and have both the keyboard part and the violin part bound separately, and then present them most humbly to His Grace in our name. In the same parcel there are also two sets of variations that Wolfgang had to write on an aria that was composed for the prince’s coming of age and installation; and one that he dashed off hurriedly on another melody that everyone in Holland is singing, playing and whistling.
³
– – These are trifles! If you want to add a copy of each, you may do so as they are unusual. I shall
have the honour of showing you my violin tutor in Dutch.
⁴
This has been translated by the Dutch in the same format, with a dedication to the prince, and was presented to him in my presence at the festivities accompanying his installation. The edition is uncommonly fine, even finer than my own. The publisher –
the printer in Haarlem
– came to me with respectful mien and handed me the book in the company of the organist,
⁵
who invited our Wolfgang to play on the famous large organ in Haarlem, which he did the next morning from 10 to 11.

It’s an extremely fine instrument with 68 stops. NB: everything’s tin, as wood doesn’t last long in this damp country.

It would take too long to describe our journey from Holland through Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, across the Maas, and then across an arm of the sea at Moerdijk to Antwerp. Still more impossible would it be to describe the present sorry state of the once very great trading centre of Antwerp and list the reasons for its decline; we shall speak of this anon. We travelled via Mechlin, where we visited our old acquaintance, the local archbishop,
⁶
to Brussels, where we rested for only a day, leaving by the mail coach at 9 in the morning and arriving in Valenciennes at half past 7 in the evening. In Brussels we bought some lace for our requisites and in Valenciennes some batiste or cambric linen for our own personal use, namely, one bolt of plain and one of a floral pattern. In Valenciennes I saw the intricate clock in the town hall and in Cambrai the tomb and marble bust of the great Fénélon,
⁷
who achieved immortality with his Télémaque, his book on the education of young girls, his dialogues of the dead, his fables and other sacred and secular writings. Then, without any further stops, we travelled on to Paris, where we moved into the
rooms reserved for us by our friend Monsieur Grimm. I’ll tell you when I see you how we are lodged and what it costs.–––

Could I ask you to reply to this letter as soon as you receive it so that I get your letter before I leave? You may care to add only:
A Monsieur Mozart, chez Monsieur Grimm Secrétaire des commandements de Msgr le Duc d’Orléans Rue neuve Luxembourg
.
AParis
.

Thank God we found our luggage here in good condition; and since we have to dress in black again, one can see how much my children have grown. We are all well, for which we are infinitely grateful to God, and we commend ourselves with all our hearts to you, your wife and all your family and good friends. I doubt if anyone in Salzburg will recognize Wolfgangerl any longer; we’ve been away a long time, and since then he has seen and got to know many 1000s of people. I’ll be sending a large trunk from here, then a somewhat smaller one and, I think, another small chest. On top of all my other preoccupations, it’s a real torment having to organize these matters; no one can appreciate this if they’ve not experienced it for themselves. In addition to all this, we’ve still got our large trunk with us, as well as a smaller one, also a large valise and 2 seat-chests, together with the boot, which is full of luggage. We arrived here a day after Monsieur de Lally, the former viceroy of Pondicherry, was beheaded; I expect you’ll already have read about it in the newspapers.
⁸
My dearest Herr Hagenauer! in Amsterdam we met someone from Salzburg who because of certain circumstances has become a Calvinist. There was nothing I wanted more than to lead him back to the right path. I did all I could. It was this that persuaded me to return to Amsterdam and kept me longer in Holland than I’d intended. And perhaps I’d have achieved my objective if a single thing had not stood in my way. Don’t waste time thinking who it may be; you can’t possibly guess, even though you once knew him and still know all his relations. It’s too long ago! I shan’t say who it is as long as a glimmer of hope remains. Good God! in what a state of confusion he
left us! The most bitter tears prevented him from speaking. How many troubled and thoughtful hours this man has caused me! This is the result of persuading young people to choose a profession that is against their calling. Sad consequences! – – So many examples that I have experienced for myself in the course of my travels have confirmed me in my firm conviction that it is very wrong, and tantamount to selling souls, to force young people to take a vow before they are 25. If the supreme head of the church and all the prelates of the church – I don’t know about the prelates in the monasteries – were to travel through England, Holland and Switzerland and were properly informed about all this, they wouldn’t hesitate for a moment but would postpone the taking of monastic vows until the 25th year of life. England, and especially Holland, is teeming with these unhappy individuals, I can give you a whole list of them: and you mustn’t think that they’re all lascivious youths. Oh, I know many who are single, who have not even changed their religion and who lead thoroughly edifying lives. It’s impossible to write about things as they are. I’ll have to leave it until we can talk about it in person: my heart bleeds whenever I think about such things. Why not delay it until their 25th year? Perhaps because many a wealthy candidate or worthy individual might in the meantime question his calling and realize – the one with his money, the other with his clever mind – that he might better pursue his calling by serving not a dead body but a living, universal state. Don’t take my zealousness amiss: I love my fellow humans and value their peace of mind: but my heart is oppressed whenever I see someone wretched and tormented all his life, with only a miserable eternity to look forward to. Let’s change the subject.