The Leonard Bernstein Letters (83 page)

Dear Mr. Bernstein,

Thank you very much for your letter. I was delighted to receive it and am indeed grateful for all the good news it contains.

I do not think that there is any ecclesiastical objection to the use of Hebrew. The meaning of the words could always be supplied by a translation in the programme. It will of course, as you say, present a little problem in the preparation of the work, but no doubt it will be possible for the Hebrew to be printed phonetically as in Bloch's
Sacred Service
.

I will write to you again shortly giving you the numbers in the choir etc. In the meanwhile let me say again how pleased and excited I am at the splendid news of your letter – and in this the Choirmaster and Organist joins me.

Yours sincerely,

Walter Hussey

My dearest Lennie,

Last Friday I received your record of the
Kaddish
Symphony.

I immediately opened the wrapping and looked for a bill, but instead I found a very “long letter” from you consisting of
four
priceless words. Last Saturday morning I saw your father in the Temple and I told him that I just got a priceless
Purim
present from Lennie.

Well, needless to say how happy I am to be able to play the Symphony again and again in search for some more jewels of liturgical value which only you are capable of working in such an artistic manner, and for this I am very much indebted to you.

I shall also like to listen again to the recitations so beautifully done by Felicia and evaluate it from its philosophical as well as its artistic point of view. I only regret that I am at present extremely busy with my duties in the Temple and I shall have to wait for a while before I will be able to put aside a few hours for a thorough consideration of this beautiful music.

With many thanks and all of my best wishes to you and your dear family, for good health and lots of happiness.

Your devoted,

Solomon

P.S. I shall write to you after my first hearing of the records in the near future […]

Dear Dr. Bernstein,

I promised to let you have the particulars as regards the choir and the orchestra for the Festival in July. I have now got these from John Birch.

There are 46 boys, 8 male altos, 9 tenors and 12 basses. All the adults are professional singers and the boys are all members of our three Choir Schools, and I think really very competent.

The orchestra is the Philomusica of London and the players required for the rest of the programme are strings – 3.2.2.2 (3 players), 1 (1 player) – 18 players in all plus a chamber organ. Other players could be provided if you wished, for example trumpets and trombones, percussion, piano and harpsichord. I dare say you know of the orchestra but I think it is fair to say that they are highly competent players and perhaps the best chamber orchestra in London.

We are all tremendously excited about
The Psalms of Youth
. I do hope all goes well. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you.

Please let me know if there is any further help or information I can give you.

Yours sincerely,

Walter Hussey

Dear Dr. Hussey,

The psalms are finished, Laus Deo, are being copied, and should arrive in England next week. They are not yet orchestrated, but should be by June, and you should receive full score and parts in ample time for rehearsal. Meanwhile the choral preparation can start forthwith.

I am pleased with the work, and hope you will be, too; it is quite popular in feeling (even a hint, as you suggested, of
West Side Story
),
¹³⁰
and it has an old-fashioned sweetness along with its more violent moments. The title has now been changed to
Chichester Psalms
(“Youth” was a wrong steer; the piece is far too difficult). The work is in three movements lasting about eighteen and a half minutes, and each movement contains one complete psalm plus one or more versions from another complementary psalm, by way of contrast or amplification. Thus:

I hope my score is legible. In order to help with the Hebrew text, I shall enclose a typewritten copy of the words (the Hebrew words of Ps. 2 are a tongue-breaker!). The score contains exact notes on the pronunciation.

As to the orchestra, I have kept to the prescribed forces, except that there will be a large percussion group necessary (xylophone, glockenspiel, bongos, chimes, etc., in addition to the usual timpani, drums, cymbals, etc.). Also, I am sure more strings will be necessary than the number you list – especially the low ones. Certainly
one
bass will not do the trick. One of the three trumpets must be very good indeed, in order to perform several difficult solo passages. There is also an extensive harp part.

One last matter; I am conducting a program of my own music with the New York Philharmonic in
early
July, and I have been asked if I could include the
Chichester Psalms
. I realize that this would deprive you of the world premiere by a couple of weeks; do you have any serious objections?

In any case I wish you well with the piece; and I may even take your performance as an excuse to visit Sussex in late July. I should dearly love to hear this music in your cathedral.

Faithfully yours,

Leonard Bernstein

Dear Dr. Bernstein,

I have just returned after being away for five weeks as a result of a tiny cerebral thrombosis. In due course the doctors assure me that I shall be quite fit again and need take no notice of it, but just at present I feel slightly old and tired!

The
Chichester Psalms
arrived yesterday and I do indeed thank you for them. They are splendid and exactly the sort of thing that I was hoping for. So far as I can judge they seem to be admirable and I thank you most warmly for them.

If it is at all possible for you to come over and hear them in late July we shall be delighted for you to do so. In this case please come and stay at the Deanery. Would you like to conduct them?

As to the orchestra, Mr. Birch has got this in hand and will I am sure follow your wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Walter Hussey

Dear Mr. Bernstein,

Thank you very much for your letter.

I expect by this time you will have heard from Mr. Robert Lantz giving you a formal invitation to come for the Music Festival, and the final rehearsal and the first performance of the
Chichester Psalms
. It is unfortunately impossible to get lodgings anywhere in this part of the world at the time, they are all booked up eight or nine months ahead for the Goodwood Race Meeting which takes place on the Monday to Saturday of that week. This is most unfortunate for us because it does make it frightfully hard for any people to get accommodation for the Music Festival within a fifteen to twenty mile range. I have had a word with numbers of hotels and they all tell me the same. However, I shall indeed be
delighted for you and Mrs. Bernstein to come here and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Elwes, who live just a mile or two from the Cathedral in a very lovely house, will be delighted for the children to go there. They have two children aged 13 and 10 of their own, and a swimming pool, if only the weather will allow them to use it! They are very nice people indeed and I am sure you could feel absolutely happy for them to be there. If this would be satisfactory for you Mrs. Elwes says she would be delighted for them to be there from Thursday until Monday, and of course I shall be only too glad for you to be here.

I am delighted to hear that Chuck Solomon hopes to be in Chichester for the Psalms and I have written to tell him so, but my only fear is that if he had not made the arrangements already he may well find it impossible to get anywhere. It would be great to see him again.

Please tell me if there is any way in which I can help you further.

Yours sincerely,

Walter Hussey

My dear Dean Hussey,

Our Psalms had their “creation” last night, to a standing ovation, and I was overjoyed for you as well as for myself. I enclose this morning's
Times
review, which pays you just credit for your kindness. Even juster credit is paid you by the program notes. I'm having them sent you: won't you need them for your own use?

I have your last letter, and am most grateful for your solicitude. Mrs. Bernstein and I will be most happy to stay at the Deanery; and my children are terribly excited at the prospect of living with an English family, and making British friends of their own age. Please tell Mr. and Mrs. Elwes how very grateful we are. The only minor hitch is that our visit is planned one day earlier; we should arrive on the 28th and leave on Sunday, 1st August. I hope this does not complicate your and the Elwes' lives.

We are leaving here the 27th, arriving in London that night, which we shall spend at the Savoy Hotel. We have covering bookings at the Savoy for the whole 10-day period, so don't hesitate to evict us if you would have to; in any emergency there will be a roof over our heads.

Looking forward with immense pleasure –

Yours,

Leonard Bernstein
¹³¹

Dear Mr. Bernstein,

I am
delighted
you & Mrs. Bernstein & the children can come over to England for the first performance of the Psalms. All is ready – except the weather! Miss Chavez
¹³³
of CBS records will meet you at London Air Port and has laid on a car, if you should require it, to bring you to Chichester the next day.

I am very glad that the Psalms have met with such a warm reception – I'm sure they entirely deserve it.

I wrote to Chuck a while back, but have not heard. Still, he may well turn up when the time comes!

There was an excellent article about the
Chichester Psalms
in the
Times
(of London), but I'm afraid I haven't got a copy now. However, I'll have one when you come.

Looking forward to seeing you with great pleasure – & some little apprehension!

Yours ever,

Walter Hussey

Dear Lenny,

I hope you arrived safely back at the Savoy last night – with no breakdowns!

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for the
Chichester Psalms
. This morning the Bishop of Chichester said to the Archdeacon – they were a new revelation to him & brought home afresh the meaning of them, joyous & ecstatic & calm & poetic – he said you could imagine “David dancing before the ark”.

We were
all
thrilled with them. I was specially excited that they came into being at all as a statement of praise that is oecumenical. I shall be tremendously proud for them to go around the world bearing the name of Chichester.

I hope the family are enjoying their brief stay in London. They won the hearts of all who met them! But especially Felicia, who has gone straight to the number 1 place of the most charming & attractive of wives.

Please
come again any time you can. You will always be welcome & it will be an honour to have you here.

Bless you indeed for everything.

Walter

P.S. I wonder if there is
any
chance of getting the MS – to go with those of Britten and others who have written things for us? It doesn't matter if it is terribly crossed out & untidy!

Dear Walter,

This is the first chance I've had to sit down in relative peace since our drive back from Chichester! As you can imagine it's been non-stop – finally today I asked for time off to see an old childhood friend and write to you.

We will all remember Chichester for many reasons but the main reason is you. We talk about you so much and miss you already; so you see, for all our sakes you simply must return the visit. Do come!

Bless you for all your kindness and hospitality, and think of us once in a while as you stare at the yellow carpet! A reference to the coffee disaster!

With best wishes from us all.

Felicia
¹³⁴

Dear Walter,

We are all about to leave London, and in this last hour I wanted somehow to talk to you again, to thank you, not only on a social level, but on the deepest personal one, for all the things you are, do, and stand for. I shall carry sweet memories of Chichester for a long time.

The Psalms are, of course, dedicated to you, and you should receive the very first published copy. Meanwhile I shall arrange to have a photocopy sent you.

Again, Felicia and I send you our most affectionate thanks.

Lenny B.
¹³⁵